Building on International Mountain Day’s theme “Restoring mountain ecosystems”, a virtual technical session showcased good practices and success stories from mountain ecosystem restoration initiatives around the world.

Rosalaura Romeo, Mountain Partnership Secretariat (MPS) Coordinator, opened the event, stating, “Sharing knowledge is key to unlocking the full potential of ecosystem restoration in mountains. Let us join hands in the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and exchange good practices for restoring the vitality and resilience of mountain ecosystems.”

The event included two panels with the first highlighting the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) role in guiding the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and promoting restorative practices. Speakers from the FAO-led UN Decade Task Force on Best Practices presented the Task Force’s key outputs such as the Standards of practice to guide ecosystem restoration and the Framework for Dissemination of Good Practices. These resources guide global restoration projects to maximize benefits for nature and people, facilitating the tracking of global progress and providing accessible best practices to support countries in their efforts.

The second panel highlighted successful restoration projects in the Andes, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan. These examples demonstrated how mountain ecosystem restoration can boost ecosystem health, livelihoods and climate resilience. The key takeaway across these diverse initiatives and regions was clear: local communities and mountain people are at the heart of effective restoration.

The Restoration Initiative in Pakistan is bringing together key stakeholders to address deforestation and degradation in Chilgoza pine forests. The project has prevented overgrazing, reduced unauthorized tree cutting, and promoted non-timber forest products.

A restoration project in South-Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, restored 4 800 hectares of degraded mountains using institutional and community methods focused on biodiversity and climate change mitigation.

In the Andes, Acción Andina is aiming to restore and protect 1 million hectares of forest by 2045. The initiative’s key focus is to engage the local community to build local leadership, enhance livelihoods and create sustainable, long-term restoration projects.

While in the snowy peaks of Kyrgyzstan, the Baiboosun Nature Reserve was established to protect biodiversity and regulate activities like hunting and grazing. This has positively transformed the local community’s perspective on restoration, generating eco-sustainable job opportunities and improving habitats for snow leopards and ibex populations.

In closing, Christophe Besacier, Senior Forestry Officer at FAO and Co-Leader of the Task Force on Best Practices, called for continued collaboration and emphasized the need for nature-based solutions and a global restoration movement to ensure long-term resilience and sustainability.

The event, “Sharing knowledge throughout the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration: Good practices for the restoration of mountain ecosystems”, was hosted by the MPS and the FAO-led Task Force on Best Practices on 13 December 2023 via Zoom.

©Анастасия Волошина