United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030) A/RES/73/284 Recognizing the crucial role that women play in ecosystem conservation and restoration, and stressing the need for the full participation of women at all levels of policymaking and implementation for ecosystem conservation and restoration, Noting in this context the importance of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security, 20 adopted in 2012 by the Committee on World Food Security, and the Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Soil Management, endorsed by the Council of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations at its 155th session, Recognizing that protecting ecosystems and avoiding harmful practices against animals, plants, microorganisms and non-living environments contributes to the coexistence of humankind in harmony with nature, Recognizing also that ecosystem restoration is a complement to conservation activities and that priority should be given to conserving biodiversity and preventing the degradation of natural habitats and ecosystems by reducing pressures and maintaining ecological integrity and the provision of ecosystem services, Concerned about the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services worth more than 10 per cent of annual global gross domestic product, due to land degradation, Noting that land degradation is a pervasive, systemic phenomenon occurring in all parts of the terrestrial world and that urgent and timely action is needed to avoid, reduce and reverse it, and noting in this regard the relevant work of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, 21 Noting also that coral reefs are projected to decline by a further 70 to 9 0 per cent at a temperature increase of 1.5 degrees Celsius, with larger losses at 2 degrees Celsius, and that there has been a decline of about 35 per cent in both marine/coastal and inland natural wetland areas studied between 1970 and 2015, Recalling the commitment to halting and reversing the decline in the health and productivity of our ocean and its ecosystems and to protecting and restoring its resilience and ecological integrity, Noting the invitation to the General Assembly by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity at its fourteenth meeting, in its decision 14/30, to designate the decade 2021–2030 the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, 1. Decides to proclaim 2021–2030 the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, within existing structures and available resources, with the aim of supporting and scaling up efforts to prevent, halt and reverse the degrada tion of ecosystems worldwide and raise awareness of the importance of successful ecosystem restoration; 2. Stresses that ecosystem restoration and conservation contribute to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, 22 as well as other _______________ 20 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, document CL 144/9 (C 2013/20), appendix D. See, for example, Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, Assessment Report on Land Degradation and Restoration: Summary for Policymakers (Bonn, Germany, 2018), in which the Platform reaffirmed the global dimension of land degradation and reconfirmed the economic sense of urgent and concerted action and investment in avoiding land degradation and restoring degraded lands. 22 Resolution 70/1. 21 19-03519 5/6