3 June 2014, IISD News - The first day of the international  conference on 'Ecosystems, Economy and Society: How Large-Scale Restoration Can  Stimulate Sustainable Development' opened with a high-level overview of major  challenges and pathways to sustainable development. In opening remarks, Antoine  Frérot, CEO, Veolia, pointed to the need to change business-as-usual practices,  commenting that "impoverishing nature impoverishes humanity."

Frérot's words captured a major theme throughout the day: how to value the  services ecosystems provide humans and quantify their benefits in a way that  encourages investment in their rehabilitation. Valerie Hickey, World Bank, spoke  on the dual mandate to balance economic and ecological interests. This "dual  mandate" has become a "dueling mandate," according to Hickey, who stressed that  a poor environment does not have to be a trade-off for a rich  society. Julia Marton-Lefèvre, Director General, the International Union  for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), illustrated how restoring degraded  forests contributes to breaking down thematic silos and promotes nature-based  solutions to benefit both the economy and the environment. She noted the  importance of a landscape approach, saying a singular focus may result in  unintended consequences for other objectives.

A second plenary focused on restoration efforts around the world, from the  Louisiana coastline to the drylands of Africa. Carole Saint-Laurant, IUCN,  presented a video explaining the Bonn Challenge, which aims to restore 150  million hectares of degraded and deforested land by 2020. The progress made  toward that goal has debunked two myths about forest landscape restoration: that  it takes too long and costs too much. To the contrary, change can happen rapidly  and often reaps economic benefits that far outweigh the costs, according to  Saint-Laurant.

Dennis Garrity, UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Drylands  Ambassador, said millions of African smallholder farmers have begun to  adopt agricultural practices that capitalize on the beneficial co-existence of  certain tree species and crops through EverGreen Agriculture, farmer-managed  natural regeneration of trees. Garrity said EverGreen Agriculture is  inexpensive and easily taught and encouraged the audience to become  involved in spreading this phenomenon.

In the afternoon, attendees split into three break-out sessions, focusing on:  how large-scale restoration might stimulate economic activities and new  businesses; regulatory frameworks that facilitate the implementation of  restoration; and the financing of restoration projects and valuing their  benefits.

Moderating the financing session, Hickey stressed the importance of  convincing skeptics that, while restoration does have upfront costs, it is an  investment that has returns. To overcome the cost barrier, Pierre Gerber, the  Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), described how his team is  helping smallholder livestock grazers in China reach the profitable stage  of grassland restoration with financing from carbon credits, using a methodology  validated by Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) .

A concluding plenary session examined the effects of high flow experimental  releases downstream of the Glen Canyon Dam and the Colorado River pulse flow,  implemented by the US Department of the Interior. US Assistant Secretary for  Water and Science Ann Castle noted the experiments underscored the deep  connection humans have with rivers, describing how residents flocked to the  Colorado River when the pulse flow temporarily returned water to the dry  riverbed below the Morelos Dam. Pedro Brancalion, University of São Paulo  Brazil, presented the Atlantic Forest Restoration Pact, underscoring the  importance of a strong coalition of diverse stakeholders in its success.

The conference is taking place from 29-30 May 2014, at the National Academy  of Sciences in Washington DC, US. It is the Seventh Future Environmental Trends  Conference. The Veolia Institute, IUCN, French Agency for Development (AFD) and  US National Research Council Water Science and Technology Board organized the  conference.

Source: http://forests-l.iisd.org/news/ecosystems-economy-and-society-conference-highlights-large-scale-restoration-as-path-to-sustainable-development/