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First Annual Santa Barbara Permaculture Network Eco-Hero Award
March 17, 2019 @ 6:30 am PDT
MARCH 1 2019 THE UN declares 2021 to 2030 ‘Decade on Ecosystem Restoration’ and on March 17 6:30 pm John D Liu Journalist Filmmaker, Soil Scientist, Founder & Ambassador for Ecosystem Restoration Camps will be receiving an Ecohero Award eat az talk at the Lobero Theater starting at 6:30pm with a reception to follow . John D. Liu considers Global Ecosystem Restoration the great work of our time
The United Nations has issued a massive global ‘call to action’ to mobilize the political and financial support necessary to restore the world’s deforested and degraded ecosystems over the coming decade to support the wellbeing of 3.2 billion people around the globe. More than 2 billion hectares (5 BILLION ACRES) – an area larger than the South American continent – stand to be restored.
The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, approved by the General Assembly on 1 March, will run from 2021 to 2030 and emphasize scaling-up of restoration work to address the severe degradation of landscapes, including wetlands and aquatic ecosystems, worldwide. It will likely boost landscape restoration work to the top of national agendas, building on a public demand for action on issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and the resulting impacts on economies and livelihoods.
Land degradation is estimated to cost the global economy between USD 2 and 4.5 trillion each year, while economic benefits of restoration efforts could annually reach an estimated USD 84 billion. At least 7 million hectares of tropical forest landscapes are cleared and degraded each year, putting livelihoods, biodiversity and food security at risk, while exacerbating climate change, conflict and human migration. Restoration could remove up to 26 gigatons of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
MORE about John D Liu
As a young Chinese American, John D. Liu’s early career started as a cameraman and journalist covering major geopolitical events. In 1995 he got an assignment to film the Loess Plateau, one of the driest and poorest regions in China, where the Chinese government and the local people of the region transformed a massive degraded area the size of Belgium into a verdant and productive green oasis.
Stunned by what he saw and with the realization this ecosystem restoration model could be replicated all over the world, Liu was inspired to become a soil scientist, and spent the next 20 years visiting more than 80 countries, documenting similar large scale ecosystem restoration projects, eventually creating the award winning What if … We Change, and Hope in a Changing Climate documentary film series. Broadcast on BBC, National Geographic and other outlets, these series cover successful ecosystem restoration projects in Portugal, Jordan, China, Ethiopia, Sweden, Rwanda, Spain, Mongolia, Uganda, Australia and more.
John D Liu shows what is possible for Earth with restoration, delivering a message hope and inspiration. But Liu also feels the human species is at a crossroads, to survive or not survive as a civilization, and suggests ecosystem restoration is mandated on a planetary scale. Restoring biodiversity, biomass, and accumulation of organic matter Sequestering excess carbon in our atmosphere on a massive scale is one of the last remaining solutions to staving off the worst effects of climate change.
Bringing the vision into the 21st century, Liu with others launched the Ecosystem Restoration Camps movement, where he currently serves as Ecosystem Restoration Camp Ambassador.
The Ecosystem Restoration camps are for youth and all ages to come together and learn practical hands on skills and effective strategies for restoring soil and water cycles, reversing desertification, and ultimately mitigating climate change. Camp Altiplano, the first ecosystem restoration camp, located in Spain where one of the largest deserts in the world is emerging, celebrated its first anniversary last summer.
For tickets the March 17 event when First Annual Santa Barbara Permaculture Network’s Honoring Echo award is given to John D Liu of Ecosystems Restoration Camps
https://www.lobero.org/events/sb-permaculture-honoring-john-d-liu/
Ecosystem Restoration Camps
https://www.ecosystemrestorationcamps.org
Official Announcement from UN Environment March 1 2019 :New UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration offers unparalleled opportunity for job creation, food security and addressing climate change
https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/press-release/new-un-decade-ecosystem-restoration-offers-unparalleled-opportunity