About

Free Spirit Foundation, one of the 36 co-authors and co-leaders of the ACTION PLAN for the United Nations Decade for Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030, has launched the PLANET 2030 movement. In an era marked by escalating climate change and biodiversity loss, the imperative to heal, to protect and restore nature has never been more urgent. The health of our planet is intricately linked to the health of its ecosystems. By conserving and restoring nature, we not only mitigate the impacts of climate change but also safeguard the well-being of future generations. At PLANET 2030, we recognize that nature conservation and restoration are essential pillars in the fight against climate change and are vital for the preservation of biodiversity and the sustainability of our planet.

The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration is a rallying call for the protection and revival of ecosystems all around the world, for the benefit of people and nature. It aims to halt the degradation of ecosystems, and restore them to achieve global goals. Only with healthy ecosystems can we enhance people’s livelihoods, counteract climate change, and stop the collapse of biodiversity. The UN Decade runs from 2021 through 2030, which is also the deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals and the timeline scientists have identified as the last chance to prevent catastrophic climate change.

Our organization, the Free Spirit Foundation, is one of the 35 global organizations selected as co-authors and co-leaders of the ACTION PLAN for the United Nations Decade for Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030 (released in April 2023).

Ecosystem restoration means assisting in the recovery of ecosystems that have been degraded or destroyed, as well as conserving the ecosystems that are still intact. Healthier ecosystems, with richer biodiversity, yield greater benefits such as more fertile soils, bigger yields of timber and fish, and larger stores of greenhouse gases.

Restoration can happen in many ways – for example through actively planting or by removing pressures so that nature can recover on its own. It is not always possible – or desirable – to return an ecosystem to its original state. We still need farmland and infrastructure on land that was once forest, for instance, and ecosystems, like societies, need to adapt to a changing climate.

Between now and 2030, the restoration of 350 million hectares of degraded terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems could generate US$9 trillion in ecosystem services. Restoration could also remove 13 to 26 gigatons of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. The economic benefits of such interventions exceed nine times the cost of investment, whereas inaction is at least three times more costly than ecosystem restoration.

All kinds of ecosystems can be restored, including forests, farmlands, cities, wetlands and oceans. Restoration initiatives can be launched by almost anyone, from governments and development agencies to businesses, communities and individuals. That is because the causes of degradation are many and varied, and can have an impact at different scales.

Ecosystems are the web of life on Earth. An eco- system comprises all the living organisms and the interactions among them and with their surround- ings in a given place. They exist at all scales, from a grain of soil to the entire planet, and include forests, rivers, wetlands, grasslands, estuaries and coral reefs. Cities and farmlands containimportant human-modified ecosystems.

Ecosystems provide us with priceless benefits. They include a stable climate and breathable air; supplies of water, food and materials of all kinds; and protection from disaster and disease. Natural ecosystems are important for our physical and mental health, and for our identity. They are home to precious wildlife. For many, they are a source of wonder and spirituality.

All over the world, ecosystems face massive threats. Forests are being cleared; rivers and lakes polluted; wetlands and peatlands drained; coasts and oceans degraded and overfished; mountain soils eroded; and farmlands and grass- lands overexploited.

Unless we change our ways and protect and restore our ecosystems, we will not only destroy the landscapes we love, we will undermine the foundations of our own well-being and bequeath a degraded, inhospitable planet to future generations.

Jane Goodall Institute France joins the PLANET 2030 global movement

Visitors of the COP28 could discover the PLANET 2024 campaign through the ‘I AM the EARTH’ video

The first Nature Restoration Summit mobilizing the private sector to support ecosystem regeneration

More than 100 global experts in nature restoration converge around an inspiring book.

More than 300 artists combine their talent for an amazing classical music concert in Paris.

290,000 visitors at the International Film Festival Rotterdam viewed the PLANET 2030 video campaign