How to accelerate ecological restoration actions
On International Day for Biological Diversity, we highlight the remarkable efforts underway to accelerate ecological restoration at St. Mary's Biosphere Reserve on the island of St. Kitts. Home to thousands of species, this UNESCO-designated site spans vast marine areas, forested ridges, agricultural hills, cloud forests, mangroves, and coral reefs. Despite its rich biodiversity, 32% of the land is degraded, necessitating urgent restoration efforts. St. Mary's is the first site to benefit from the expertise of volunteer scientists from the UNESCO Earth Network project, aimed at collecting key data, implementing restoration plans, and identifying sustainable livelihood opportunities.
St Mary's Biosphere Reserve’s main challenges
Like many Caribbean islands, the socio-economic history of St Kitts and Nevis was marked by a heavy dependence on the lucrative sugar trade. Thanks to governmental efforts to diversify the economy since 1970s, the federation turned to tourism development, which brought unprecedented opportunities to improve the livelihood of locals. However, when the tourism industry came to a near standstill between 2020 and 2021, St Kitts and Nevis saw a 14.5% drop in its GDP, followed by another 4.3% contraction in 2021.
In addition, as a Small Developing State (SIDS), it faces a number of natural challenges accentuated in the last decade by climate change, with more frequent and violent natural disasters, including hurricanes and seismic events. The effects of climate change highlight the need to protect tropical forests and promote resilient and biodiversity-friendly agriculture.
What does agriculture have to do with biodiversity conservation?
One of the primary goals of St Mary's Biosphere Reserve is to conserve biodiversity, particularly one of the most emblematic species of the area, the critically endangered leatherback turtle. It may not seem obvious, but this goal is closely related with sustainable agricultural practices.
As explained by Dr Kimberly Steward (Ross University), leachate and chemicals used in farming end up on the beach and affect nesting zones as well as the algae, food and refuge for the leatherback and other turtle species.
What were the objectives of the UNESCO Earth Network mission to the biosphere reserve?
With the generous support of the Government of Italy, the Earth Network project embarked on a mission to St. Mary’s Biosphere Reserve site to promote and work on ecological restoration. The initiative addressed specific challenges associated with agricultural practices, tools and methods of the St. Mary’s Biosphere Reserve site: cultivation, preservation and monetization of sustainable and biodiversity-led agriculture processes.
Furthermore, an inventory of biodiversity loss, i.e., soil-erosion, tropical forest depletion, diminished mangrove cultivation, extent of fauna and different species of birds, bees and other pollinators etc., was prepated. The mission also analysed potential employment opportunities based on sustainable, biodiversity-friendly agriculture practices and tools, i.e., better use of tropical forests as sources of new fruit and vegetable cultivation, and introducing new seed varieties more tolerant to heat and drought; and examined opportunities for the creation of small enterprises associated with sustainable use of natural resources and biodiversity.
Development of the mission and its first achievements
The mission was conducted in two phases, both led by volunteer expert, Dr. Haydi Berrenstein. The first field mission took place from 20 - 24 February 2023 to collect data, assess the situation and exchange with local experts, as well as to interview local stakeholders.
A second mission took place in August 2023, when the Earth Network volunteer expert and local community members worked together to formulate technical advice towards an ecological restoration plan in line with available good practices and assess the feasibility of a local biodiversity inventory.
Additionally, in August 2023, a plan to improve their practices began to be implemented, through the creation of a Seed Bank, the development of natural fertilizers and a whole Biodiversity Agricultural Reforestation plan. The overall aim is to embrace better use of tropical forests, enhance the cultivation of new fruits and combat soil erosion.
Furthermore, the knowledge generated through the mission was consolidated and included in the UNESCO Biodiversity Portal, which provides real-time data from UNESCO-designated sites, as well as top-notch solutions.
Lecturer, Gender mainstreaming expert, Women digital transformation Advocate, Tech Educationalist, Certified Project Manager, Advanced data & Business Intelligence analyst, Ph.D. in Computer Science (with focus in AI)
2moData analytics to the rescue! This is the process of examining and interpreting data to discover valuable insights that can inform decision-making and solve problems. Using AI to save the planet!...
CEO di PT. Natural Molekuler Universal
2moUNESCO's mission seemed patchy which in fact from 1945 only resulted in nonsense, an increasingly critical environment, especially in the tropics. UNESCO's only success was to make the platform on ecological issues twinkle like the light of fireflies at night. Work that is easy to make and engineer is as if carrying out work to save the earth ends only on the most expensive quality paper. Only with integrated policies can this environmental problem be overcome by UNESCO... but indeed developed countries need heroes and scapegoats to escape the environmental sins they have created.
Direccion General en Elite FM
2mo¡Excelentes ideas para acelerar la restauración ecológica! 👍
Open to work
2moThe importance of ecological restoration cannot be overestimated in the current context of climate change and biodiversity loss. However, accelerating these actions is crucial to repairing the damage done to our environment. Accelerating ecological restoration actions is essential if we are to reverse the trend of environmental degradation we are seeing on a global scale. By understanding basic principles, mobilizing stakeholders, and using technology in innovative ways, we can work together to restore the health of our planet. Each of us has a role to play in this crucial undertaking, and it's by joining forces that we can make a difference