Global restoration goals

DONATING TO RESTORE NATURE IS A NO-BRAINER

Nature is probably the most wonderful thing we have on this planet. And it’s not just plain beautiful. A thriving nature is essential in building resilience to climate change, reducing the risk of disasters, protecting human health, and securing water and food supply. Restoring nature should be our top priority. Not only does it help the planet. Giving to nature creates jobs, aids economic recovery, brings economic benefits for society, and supports nature-based solutions to the Sustainable Development goals set by the UN.

Luckily, nature restoration is becoming a top priority more and more each day. The United Nations initiated the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration to reverse the degradation of ecosystems worldwide. The movement is further strengthened by the recent additions of the COP15 agreement and its’ 30 by 30 goals to restore 30% of terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Sumthing is proud to be listed as an official actor in this movement.

SUPPORTING GOALS THAT MATTER

The global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it is the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). IUCN outlines a number of briefs on issues central to her work. These issue briefs ‘provide an accessible overview of the often complex issues related to nature and sustainable development’. They provide focus on the most pressing issues, and quantify these issues.

We’ve taken up a number of these issues and flipped them on their head to turn them into goals. The idea is really simple: to create a movement of restoration that is bigger than the forces of degradation. While humanity gets its act together to reduce negative impacts, we’re unleashing a massive positive impact to counteract the harm. This way at least we won’t degrade any further. And once we start to overshoot those goals, we can start to clean up the mess that’s been made in the past. 

These numbers are massive, so hang tight;

• Remove marine plastic pollution:
  14,000,000,000 kg plastic each year
• Reforestation and forest restoration:
  20,000,000,000 m2 of forest each year
• Soil revitalisation
  200,000,000,0000 m2 of land each year
• Coral restoration
  1,170,000,000 m2 each year (quantification by UNEP)
• Kelp restoration
  40,000,000,000 m2 each year (quantification by UN decade of restoration)
  

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To put these goals into perspective:
The Eiffel tower in Paris weighs 10,000,000 kg.
Grand Canyon National park is about 5,000,000,000 square meters.

DIRECTING OUR SUPPORT TO WHERE IT MAKES THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE

These ambitious goals call for a strategic approach. It’s important to consider where our contributions are most effective and where our input creates maximal output. Fortunately, Wageningen University and the International Institute for Sustainability, have developed a global map for Ecosystem Restoration Priorities. The map provides a global guidance and identifies areas where terrestrial restoration efforts can have the most significant impact. Want to dig deeper? Check out the full article of Wageningen University about the priority areas.

We often encounter organisations that want to support restoration projects close to home. However, the map from Wageningen University clearly shows where companies can maximise their environmental and social impact. Our platform and technology make it possible to visualise the impact you are making anywhere in the world. Even if the project you’re supporting isn’t around the corner, you can still keep an eye out and pay a virtual visit. 

WE'VE GOT OUR WORK CUT OUT FOR US

We have the numbers, we know how to maximise our impact: we are ready. However, we are all in this together. Everybody will need to play their part. We plan to make that happen by turning donating to nature into an awesum experience. Read more about that mission here.