The Grand African Green Up, a poetic and visually stunning documentary on restoration in Africa, was premiered this World Environment Day weekend as part of National Geographic’s Planet Possible campaign.

The film celebrates the work of the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100) as it strives to restore at least 100 million hectares of land by 2030. Showcasing the work being done in Kenya, Tanzania, Madagascar, Ghana and Senegal, the documentary special features poetic narration by Kenyan environmentalist and activist, Wanjira Mathai, with breath-taking visuals of the continent’s most awe-inspiring landscapes and vistas, all set to a rousing soundtrack.

The Grand African Green Up was directed by Safi Graauw and produced as a collaboration between AFR100 and Justdiggit, an organisation that aims to restore nature and to become the illuminating light of nature-based solutions.

Read more about the film here.

With deforested and degraded landscapes being a key environmental issue facing the continent, The Grand African Green Up introduces the people directly affected by the deteriorating state of their land, as well as the heroes who are working to make a difference. It will be broadcast through National Geographic Africa, with expected viewership of 18 million households across 45 countries.

The Grand African Green Up offers a message of hope as the world embarks on the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, a global drive to prevent, halt and reverse environmental degradation.

Be inspired by this beautiful film this weekend and join #GenerationRestoration to play your part in healing our planet.

 

 

 

 

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Join this artistic celebration of World Environment Day, organised by Brahma Kumaris Brazil, to find out more about ten ways we can change the world. Featuring short talks, music, dance and mediation, this Portuguese-language event aims to inspire individual action as we mark the official start of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration on World Environment Day on June 5.

The talks will focus on respect and care for nature, how to achieve a simple lifestyle, the benefits of a plant-based diet, and renewable energy.

What: Brahma Kumaris Brazil: Ten Ways to Change the World

When: June 6; 6.30 pm Brazil

Where: On YouTube. Watch here.

Find out more about the UN Decade with UNEP’s Ecosystem Restoration playbook, a practical guide to healing the planet.

Keep up-to-date with all the events leading up to World Environment Day with the official events schedule here.

Get involved and register your own event here. Everyone can be part of #GenerationRestoration.

Welcome to the virtual Ecosystem Restoration Classroom: a new initiative to take young South African learners -- and others -- on a journey across three unique landscapes threatened by human development.

Launched on World Environment Day by UNEP and partners, this compelling virtual tour, featuring videos and animation, seeks to bring ecosystem restoration to life by transporting school children out of the classroom and into the landscapes that the world is trying to save during the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, which launches today.

The aim is to raise awareness about how humanity is damaging the natural world and show students how ecosystems can be revived. Because, after all, at the end of this 10-year push to revive our natural systems, the world’s children will be taking their places as the leaders of the future.

A direct response to COVID-19, the video-based content – which will be subtitled in three local languages – features footage from three iconic landscapes in the Western Cape and Kwa-Zulu Natal provinces, as well as interviews with experts in the field. The virtual Ecosystem Restoration Classroom will target 1,000 primary schools and aims to empower students to be ecosystem ambassadors.

“Our beautiful planet we call home needs our help to survive,” said Latita Liebenberg, who hosts the series. “As a young South African, I would like to encourage all young people to use this Decade of Ecosystem Restoration to make greener choices, to ensure sustainability and leave our planet in the best possible shape for our future and generations to come.”

Read more here about the Ecosystem Restoration Classroom, which is a joint partnership between UNEP, CapeNature, Western Cape Government Environmental Affairs and Development Planning and the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa. 

On this World Environment Day, join #GenerationRestoration and find out more about how to heal our planet.

Glaciers in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region -- sometimes called the Third Pole -- are a vital resource for 1.3 billion people.

In Pakistan's Karakoram range, ice grafting or ice stupas are made to supply villages and farmers with fresh water for longer. Climate change is leading to little or no snow in some areas, and so restoring glaciers is an ingenious way to adapt to water scarcity.

Find out more about ecosystem restoration here and on this World Environment Day, join #GenerationRestoration to be part of a global movement to reimagine, recreate and restore our planet.

Sometimes, the task may seem impossible: How can we reverse the massive damage humans have done to the world’s ecosystems? But in Pakistan, researcher Ashiq Ahmed Khan proved that change is possible by saving a pine tree and reviving an ecosystem.

When Khan first visited the rugged Sulaiman Mountains, in 1982, he was there to study the markhor, a near-threatened goat and Pakistan’s national animal.

On his return visit four years later, Khan’s focus shifted from the markhor to the pine forest it called home, which had been decimated by deforestation. “It had been cut,” said Khan. “It was shocking.”

The revelation would lead Khan, 74, to launch a campaign to conserve Balochistan’s mountain forests and one of their most recognizable trees, the Chilghoza pine. When he joined the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in 1992, it became his mission to protect and restore the forests. He did this in part by helping farmers build irrigation canals, allowing them to grow cash crops, such as wheat, maize and garlic, which provided an income.

Today, some 260km² of forest is protected, much with the help of residents who were once responsible for felling the trees.

Read the full story here.

Khan’s success is a testament to the ability of communities to band together and revive natural spaces lost to development. And to the importance of nature-based solutions.

This is what the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration is all about: making a difference by preventing, halting and reversing ecosystem degradation. As Khan’s story shows, everyone can take part. Each year, the world loses 10 million hectares of forests – an area the size of the Republic of Korea. Replanting those forests is a key part of the UN Decade.

 

 

 

 

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To mark the launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration on World Environment Day, editors and journalists at China Global Television Network (CGTN) have created a series of cartoons to highlight the importance of protecting and restoring our natural world.

“Due to human activities and climate change, many of the world's wildlife species have been lost and quite a few are endangered. It's high time for us to restore ecosystems and curb environmental pollution by growing trees, cracking down on wildlife trade and using natural resources properly. Saving nature is saving ourselves,” the team says.

Check out the original story and all the amazing drawings here.

CGTN is China's new international media organization, with TV channels and multimedia digital platforms in five different languages.

Check out all the events surrounding World Environment Day here and join #GenerationRestoration today.