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Standards of Practice for Ecosystem Restoration

United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021–2030 aims to prevent, halt and reverse ecosystem degradation and recover biodiversity, and ecosystem integrity; enhance human health and well-being, including sustainable delivery of ecosystem goods and services; and mitigate climate change.

To create a shared vision of ecosystem restoration, UN Decade partners, through a consultative process, launched ten principles for achieving the highest level of recovery possible through restoration projects. To facilitate application of these principles and thereby maximize restoration outcomes for nature and people, the Standards of practice to guide ecosystem restoration was developed to provide key recommendations for all phases of restoration projects. These recommendations are applicable to the broad array of restorative activities included as ecosystem restoration under the UN Decade, across all types of ecosystems (urban, production, cultural, semi-natural and natural) and restoration projects, from voluntary community member-led efforts to highly resourced, nationally funded projects.

In addition to providing guidance necessary for the success of the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, the Standards support efforts to achieve the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) developed through the Convention on Biological Diversity. Target 2, in particular, seeks to “Ensure that by 2030 at least 30 per cent of areas of degraded terrestrial, inland water, and coastal and marine ecosystems are under effective restoration, in order to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, ecological integrity and connectivity.” The Standards are integrated into guidance for achieving Target 2.