The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is calling on governments to channel investments towards nature and nature-based solutions as part of their economic recovery packages to address the ongoing pandemic.
The impacts of the pandemic have exacerbated poverty and environmental challenges, according to IUCN State Members. They participated in two separate virtual events hosted by IUCN in early March.
The IUCN Nature-based Recovery initiative aims to ensure that at least 10% of overall investments in stimulus packages are channeled to nature, nature-based solutions, and interventions that add value to nature. ECO suggests this proportion is far too low.
IUCN Director General Dr. Bruno Oberle said the decisions that will be taken now regarding how the world will recover from the pandemic, will impact our future for decades to come.
As part of the new initiative, IUCN will analyse a range of measures to stimulate economic activity, conserve nature and foster sustainable development. The goal is to help decision-makers worldwide adopt “nature-positive” policies and measures guided by tools such as the IUCN Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions (NbS).
At the meeting, Costa Rica’s Minister of Environment and Energy, Ms Andrea Meza Murillo said “The economic recovery has to be green and it has to be blue, and nature-based solutions give us the opportunity of being sustainable and with long-term investments.”
See: New IUCN initiative urges governments to invest in nature as part of their recovery from the global pandemic There are also links here to recordings of the virtual events on IUCN’s Youtube channel.
