Mobilising finance will be a key challenge, so the launch of a practical finance roadmap – developed with our partners at the Global Mangrove Alliance and the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions – was an important step forward. Governments including Germany, Norway and the UK as well as the Green Climate Fund, the UN Environment Programme and the Bezos Earth Fund announced new finance to address the drastic under-funding of mangrove conservation. Complementing these efforts, we secured a US$2 million grant from the Bezos Earth Fund to develop a pipeline of investible mangrove projects and establish a Mangrove Breakthrough secretariat. While the Mangrove Breakthrough offers huge opportunities for mangrove restoration, it is critical that this is done right to ensure long-term benefits for people, nature and climate. With partners from the Global Mangrove Alliance and the Blue Carbon Initiative, we launched Best Practice Guidelines for Mangrove Restoration endorsed by the world’s leading scientists and practitioners. These science- based guidelines enable successful mangrove restoration through community-based ecological restoration approaches. They cover ecological, social and financial factors that can make or break a restoration project. To further support restoration efforts, the Global Mangrove Alliance also launched a Mangrove Restoration Tracker Tool to help practitioners record and monitor their progress. This will enable better sharing of information and insights across mangrove restoration projects.
HIGHLIGHTS
Challenge accepted! COP28 brings freshwater boost
The Freshwater Challenge was launched by six countries – Colombia, DR Congo, Ecuador, Gabon, Mexico and Zambia – at the UN 2023 Water Conference in New York. By UNFCCC COP28 in Dubai in December 2023, a further 38 countries had joined the Freshwater Challenge, becoming the world’s largest initiative to restore degraded rivers, lakes and wetlands and to protect vital freshwater ecosystems.
The Freshwater Challenge aims to restore 300,000 km of degraded rivers – equivalent to more than seven times around the Earth – and 350 million hectares of degraded wetlands, which is an area larger than India, as well as conserve intact ecosystems. As one of the organisations supporting the initiative since the very onset, we have been providing technical knowledge and strategic guidance, and have been pushing hard to bring more governments on board. Private sector organisations have pledged their support to the country-led effort, including IKEA and AB InBev, the world’s largest brewer. Importantly, the Freshwater Challenge will take an inclusive, collaborative approach, working with Indigenous people, local communities and other water users to co-create solutions to improve to tackle the climate and nature crises. Going forward, we will provide technical assistance, facilitate knowledge exchange and support resource mobilisation.
Mangrove mapping in Lamu, Kenya
Mangrove Breakthrough unlocks progress Since the announcement of the Mangrove Breakthrough at the UN Climate Change Conference in 2022 (COP27), we have been a driving force in mobilising cross-sectoral collaboration to conserve the world’s remaining mangroves, restore half of recent losses and double the area of mangroves under protection by 2030. Inspired and based on data from the Global Mangrove Watch that Wetlands International convened, as well as our work as part of the Global Mangrove Alliance, the Mangrove Breakthrough will drive massive investment and mobilisation of state and non-state actors. At UNFCCC COP28 in Dubai, more than 50 governments had endorsed the Mangrove Breakthrough targets, representing around 60% of the world’s mangroves. Ministers, Indigenous peoples and local community organisations, financial institutions, donors, NGOs and other supporters presented progress and ambitious commitments on policy, finance and technology to deliver the Breakthrough.
Explore more: Mangrove Breakthrough – Financial Roadmap Best Practice Guidelines Mangrove Restoration Tracker Tool
Explore more: Water Action Agenda
Corredor Azul is a ten-year programme led by Wetlands International and funded by DOB Ecology. The Corredor Azul encompasses the fourth largest wetland system in the world, the heart of which is the Paraná River and the Paraguay River in South America.
8
9
Wetlands International Annual Review 2023
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online