Several countries in Africa and Latin America launched, on Thursday, an initiative described as “historic” aimed at reviving 300,000 square kilometers of rivers by 2030, in addition to lakes and wetlands that have been degraded by human activities.
Initiative details
- The United Nations and other stakeholders announced in a statement during the international organization’s conference on water in New York that this “fresh water challenge” launched by a coalition of governments of a number of countries, most notably Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mexico and Gabon, aims to revive 300,000 km of rivers by 2030. That’s “seven times the Earth’s circumference” and 350 million hectares of wetlands, roughly the size of India.
The United Nations warns that water shortages threaten all parts of the world
- Considered the “largest river and wetland restoration in history” initiative, this initiative called on all governments to set national goals to restore critically needed freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity.
- Freshwater ecosystems are among the most vulnerable on the planet today, at a time when all parts of the world are suffering from water shortages, due to overconsumption, pollution and climate change.
The United Nations is sounding the alarm.. a water crisis facing the world
decrease in the amount of fresh water
- The statement quoted Stuart Orr of the WWF as saying that “the most telling indicator of the damage” that humans have caused and continues to do to rivers, lakes and wetlands “is the staggering 83 percent decline of freshwater species since 1970”. in changing this trend.
- Welcoming the coalition’s commitment, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program Inger Andersen said, “Rivers, lakes and wetlands support our societies and economies if they are healthy, but they are systematically undervalued and neglected.”
- “At a time when countries have pledged to restore one billion hectares of land, the Freshwater Challenge represents a critical first step in drawing the needed attention to freshwater ecosystems,” Unger was quoted as saying by AFP.
