The UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration, launched on World Environment Day this year, has one goal: to prevent, halt and reverse ecosystem degradation worldwide. For the 3.2 billion people affected by degraded land, nature is not simply an instrument for growth, it is fundamental to their livelihood.
Environmental impacts have risen alongside our dependence on nature. While governments, businesses and financial institutions have made progress towards accounting for carbon emissions, most economic decisions still do not account for our impacts and dependencies on natural capital – from the soils we use for growing crops and forests sequestering carbon to land generating diverse and key ecosystem services for our well-being.