A sustainable recovery for people and planet.

Sustainability is not an add on but absolutely fundamental for business and economic growth, Many Pacific island nations face infrastructure and housing emergencies due to massive deficits, high urbanization, and increasing populations. Many communities also lack systems and do not know how to properly maintain infrastructure and homes.

Climate change vulnerability exacerbates this challenge, undermining the capacity in the region to reduce poverty and raise living standards. The development of infrastructure for human needs, roads, power plants, health and sanitation, and settlements is intended to lift people out of poverty and improve the quality of life. However, the unprecedented increase in population and the pace of urbanization and the corresponding growth of infrastructure have put us on the path to ecological collapse. It is estimated that about 50% of our planet's landmass is degraded. Every minute, tropical forests are being transformed by industrial logging, urbanization, agriculture and infrastructure development. To date, less than 20% of the world's remaining forest area is considered intact. Even within Protected Forest areas, 6 million square kilometers (32.8%) of land is under intense human pressure.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, which is linked to rampant deforestation and unhealthy consumption habits, is an example of how our relationship with nature has almost crossed a point of hopelessness, scientists pushing at least 30% of the world into Protected Forest areas by year 2030, using protected forest areas and effective area-based conservation measures (OECM). According to leaderspledgefornature.org

"We still have a long way to go with only about 15% of the land and 7.6% of the oceans designated or proposed for protection. Most of the world leaders have backed a pledge to reverse biodiversity loss by 2030."

The opposition to scientists' proposals is largely due to the costs involved and concerns over potential economic losses to the global agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors. However, an independent study led by the University of Cambridge estimated the costs would only be between $ 103 billion and $ 178 billion. This includes $ 68 billion for existing systems, of which only $ 24.3 billion is currently being spent. Extending protected forest area to 30% would result in higher overall revenue than an additional $ 64 billion of non-expansion to $ 454 billion per year by 2050. In the tropics, focusing on protecting 30% of forests and mangroves alone would avoid the value of losses $ 170 billion to $ 534 billion per year by 2050 by preventing flood damage, land loss and coastal storm surges and mitigating the impacts of climate change. Its value is even higher when all biomes are considered. We are able to prevent ecological collapse and most likely the end of human civilization as we know it.

According to the UN environment program, the Regenerative Approach Solution for Development is: Restoration of damaged ecosystems and protection of existing natural areas must be recognized as part of sustainable development and included in a country's development plans. Wild forest areas should not be considered "underdeveloped" but become more important for human well-being. This paradigm shift is key to mitigating climate change and ending the biodiversity crisis.

How can we meet our ambitious target of turning 30% of our planet into protected areas by 2030? Here are some underlying ideas:

1. Include environmental costs in infrastructure and agricultural development planning , The encroachment of human activities into natural areas cannot continue to be ignored. Serious indirect impacts include deforestation, habitat loss and hunting of wildlife, and the release of greenhouse gases. The environmental costs associated with this development are hardly ever considered during the planning and feasibility stages. Market distortions and existing land policies underestimate the use of natural resources, making business as usual systems more competitive in the short term. For example, even without the expansion of agricultural land, thanks to better agricultural practices, the current global biomass potential exceeds the demand for the planet's 10 billion people in the future.

The loss of natural areas must be unacceptable in national strategies and policies, from both an economic and environmental point of view. The COVID-19 pandemic and available evidence suggest that zoonotic diseases stemming from contact between wild animals and humans suggest that investing in the health of natural ecosystems has a tremendous return on investment.

2. Embrace traditional and indigenous knowledge , Eighty percent of the world's remaining biodiversity exists on indigenous peoples' lands. Nature is better preserved on these lands, but traditional and customary knowledge is often ignored, Recognizing that indigenous peoples' rights to land, benefit sharing, and institutions are important for meeting conservation objectives, including restoration and protection of wilderness areas. Customary land management conserves biodiversity, stores carbon, maintains a variety of important ecosystem services, protects rich cultures and traditional ways of life, and responds to the needs of the most vulnerable.

3. Mainstream land protection and restoration into development plans

It is estimated that 287 million hectares of degraded land in the tropics can be restored to sustainable intact forest. Restoration plans can create jobs through replantation activities, nursery of endemic plants, and the eradication and control of invasive species. Revenue from domestic and international tourism is also expected to increase, providing better benefits to local communities, The value avoided from the loss of forest regeneration is calculated in billions of dollars worldwide. Tropical forest regrowth, especially if assisted, is often rapid and results in carbon sequestration rates of 1.4 tonnes per hectare annually.

4. Create a "Paris Agreement" for biodiversity

Drawing on lessons learned from the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity must reach agreement on global targets. Countries can make voluntary pledges to fulfill objectives such as the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) of the Paris agreement. Participating countries must announce their own national biodiversity targets, policies and schedules, subject to periodic reviews, to achieve the overall target. Rich countries should also include financial and technological commitments to help conserve biodiversity in developing countries through the Global Environment Facility (GEF), international financial institutions such as the ADB , or bilateral pledges.

5. Involve the private sector in ecosystem conservation and restoration, The global biodiversity crisis is largely the result of a lack of international commitment and funding over the past 25 years. It is unlikely that developing countries will be able to finance significant action against biodiversity loss. However, corporations, especially those involved in natural resource-based sectors, have a strong financial interest in preserving biodiversity for their own survival and sustainability. For example, protecting the habitat of wild pollinators increases global crop production by $ 235 billion to $ 577 billion annually. The seafood production, forestry, and insurance industries have a strong stake in preserving biodiversity for supply chain sustainability, and are very little investments.

The United Nations has declared 2021-2030 as a Decade on Ecosystem Restoration to prevent, stop and reverse ecosystem degradation around the world. The good news is that we have solutions to combat biodiversity loss and climate change and reduce the damage from taking too many years to pass and inaction. The first step is to consider restoring forests and ecosystems as equivalent development to infrastructure such as energy, health and transportation.