134-504: The Great Fen is a habitat restoration project being undertaken on The Fens in the county of Cambridgeshire in England. It is one of the largest restoration projects in the country, and aims to create a 3,700 hectare wetland and aims to connect Woodwalton Fen National Nature Reserve (NNR), Holme Fen NNR and other nature reserves to create a larger site with conservation benefits for wildlife and socio-economic benefits for people. This
268-774: A shifting baseline . Today, it’s widely recognized that there may be several possible targets for restoration, based on a range of factors. Targets are set based on factors such as the level of ecosystem degredation, how much ecosystem functionality can realistically be restored, local community views, and the costs of restoration efforts. There are many reasons to restore ecosystems. Some include: There are considerable differences of opinion on how to set restoration goals and define their success. As Laura J. Martin writes, "Restoration targets are moral and political matters as well as logistical and scientific ones." Some restorationists urge active restoration (e.g. killing invasive animals) and others believe that protected areas should have
402-667: A "false renaissance" for the organization, given the more troubled missions that followed. Beginning in the last decades of the Cold War , critics of the UN condemned the organization for perceived mismanagement and corruption. In 1984, American President Ronald Reagan withdrew the United States' funding from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (or UNESCO) over allegations of mismanagement, followed by
536-488: A biological system, where ecosystems are broken up into smaller parts through land-use changes (e.g. agriculture ) and natural disturbance. This both reduces the size of the population and increases the degree of isolation. These smaller and isolated populations tend to be more vulnerable to extinction. Fragmenting ecosystems decreases the quality of the habitat. The edge of a fragment has a different range of environmental conditions and therefore supports different species than
670-403: A bird hide), and Kesters Docking. Woodwalton Fen is one of Britain's oldest nature reserves and occupies a substantial site of 208 ha north-east of Huntingdon . Its international importance has been repeatedly recognised in its designations as a Ramsar site, a Special Area of Conservation (SAC), a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a national nature reserve (NNR). Woodwalton
804-577: A center for coordinating the actions of member nations. It is widely recognised as the world's largest international organization. The UN is headquartered in New York City , in international territory with certain privileges extraterritorial to the United States, and the UN has other offices in Geneva , Nairobi , Vienna , and The Hague , where the International Court of Justice is headquartered at
938-413: A commitment to achieve international development in areas such as poverty reduction , gender equality and public health . Progress towards these goals, which were to be met by 2015, was ultimately uneven. The 2005 World Summit reaffirmed the UN's focus on promoting development, peacekeeping, human rights and global security. The Sustainable Development Goals (or SDGs) were launched in 2015 to succeed
1072-611: A degraded natural ecosystem commenced in 1896, at Nairm (as it is known to people of the Kulin nation), or Port Phillip Bay, Melbourne. Local government and community groups replanted degraded areas of the foreshore reserves with the indigenous plant species, coastal teatree ( Leptospermum laevigatum ). The projects were motivated by utilitarian considerations: to conserve recreation sites, and promote tourism. However, some local residents, including Australian journalist, nature writer and amateur ornithologist, Donald Macdonald , were distressed at
1206-400: A desired successional pathway may be difficult if multiple stable states exist. Looking over 40 years of wetland restoration data, Klötzli and Gootjans (2001) argue that unexpected and undesired vegetation assemblies "may indicate that environmental conditions are not suitable for target communities". Succession may move in unpredicted directions, but constricting environmental conditions within
1340-658: A diverse international group of restoration scientists and practitioners. The second edition builds on the first edition of the Standards, which was released December 12, 2016, at the Convention on Biological Diversity 's 13th Conference of the Parties in Cancun, Mexico. The development of these Standards has been broadly consultative. The first edition was circulated to dozens of practitioners and experts for feedback and review. After release of
1474-400: A global level, the concept of nature-positive has emerged as a societal goal to achieve full nature recovery by 2050, including through restoration of degraded ecosystems to reverse biodiversity loss . The Society for Ecological Restoration defines restoration as "the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed." Restoration ecology is
SECTION 10
#17328443685091608-651: A hectare of remnant raised bog , an echo of the habitat that would have dominated the area centuries ago. This is the most south-easterly bog of its type in Britain. Holme is a key component of the Great Fen Project for it approximately marks the south-western limit of Stage 2 of the Project plan. The reserve is open to the public throughout the year. The fields of New Decoy Farm are being made wildlife friendly with new ditches and scrapes, and grazing cattle. Rymes Reedbeds
1742-590: A means to reduce the presence of invasive species and limit their spread. As this approach emphasizes the control of invaders, the restoration techniques can differ from typical restoration projects. The goal of such projects is not necessarily to restore an entire ecosystem or habitat. These projects frequently use lower diversity mixes of aggressive native species seeded at high density. They are not always actively managed following seeding. The target areas for this type of restoration are those which are heavily dominated by invasive species. The goals are to first remove
1876-969: A myriad of autonomous, separately administered funds, programmes, research and training institutes, and other subsidiary bodies . Each of these entities have their own area of work, governance structure, and budgets such as the World Trade Organization (or the WTO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (or the IAEA), operate independently of the UN but maintain formal partnership agreements. The UN performs much of its humanitarian work through these institutions, such as preventing famine and malnutrition (the World Food Programme ), protecting vulnerable and displaced people (the UNHCR ), and combating
2010-688: A narrow range may rein in the possible successional trajectories and increase the likelihood of the desired outcome. A study quantified climate change mitigation potentials of 'high-income' nations shifting diets – away from meat-consumption – and restoration of the spared land. They find that the hypothetical dietary change "could reduce annual agricultural production emissions of high-income nations' diets by 61% while sequestering as much as 98.3 (55.6–143.7) GtCO 2 equivalent, equal to approximately 14 years of current global agricultural emissions until natural vegetation matures", outcomes they call "double climate dividend". For most restoration projects it
2144-553: A resolution , over strenuous American and Israeli opposition, declaring Zionism to be a form of racism . The resolution was repealed on 16 December 1991, shortly after the end of the Cold War. With an increasing Third World presence and the failure of UN mediation in conflicts in the Middle East , Vietnam , and Kashmir , the UN increasingly shifted its attention to its secondary goals of economic development and cultural exchange. By
2278-408: A restoration project. Spatial heterogeneity of resources can influence plant community composition, diversity, and assembly trajectory. Baer et al. (2005) manipulated soil resource heterogeneity in a tallgrass prairie restoration project. They found increasing resource heterogeneity, which on its own was insufficient to ensure species diversity in situations where one species may dominate across
2412-504: A restoration site that is closer to remaining vegetation will be more likely to be naturally regenerated through seed disperal than a site that is further away. Ecosystem function describes the most basic and essential foundational processes of any natural systems, including nutrient cycles and energy fluxes . An understanding of the complexity of these ecosystem functions is necessary to address any ecological processes that may be degraded. Ecosystem functions are emergent properties of
2546-580: A separate field in ecology in the late twentieth century. The term was coined by John Aber and William Jordan III when they were at the University of Wisconsin–Madison . In 2024, the European Union passed a nature restoration law aiming to restore 20% of degraded ecosystems by 2030 and 100% by 2050. The representative of Austria, Leonore Gewessler , voted against the will of its government and can face up to 10 years in prison for doing so. Prior to
2680-1032: A single conceptual umbrella". Community assembly theory attempts to explain the existence of environmentally similar sites with differing assemblages of species. It assumes that species have similar niche requirements, so that community formation is a product of random fluctuations from a common species pool . Essentially, if all species are fairly ecologically equivalent, then random variation in colonization, and migration and extinction rates between species, drive differences in species composition between sites with comparable environmental conditions. Genetic diversity has shown to be as important as species diversity for restoring ecosystem processes. Hence ecological restorations are increasingly factoring genetic processes into management practices. Population genetic processes that are important to consider in restored populations include founder effects , inbreeding depression , outbreeding depression , genetic drift , maladaption and gene flow . Such processes can predict whether or not
2814-527: A special international regime. The plan failed and a civil war broke out in Palestine, that led to the creation of the state of Israel afterward. Two years later, Ralph Bunche , a UN official, negotiated an armistice to the resulting conflict , with the Security Council deciding that “an armistice shall be established in all sectors of Palestine”. On 7 November 1956, the first UN peacekeeping force
SECTION 20
#17328443685092948-544: A species successfully establishes at a restoration site. Leaf litter accumulation plays an important role in the restoration process. Higher quantities of leaf litter hold higher humidity levels, a key factor for the establishment of plants. The process of accumulation depends on factors like wind and species composition of the forest. The leaf litter found in primary forests is more abundant, deeper, and holds more humidity than in secondary forests. These technical considerations are important to take into account when planning
3082-508: A variety of strategies employed at different restoration sites to better understand the most successful management techniques to control invasion. To develop restoration ecology into a full science and to improve its practice requires generalizations about the processes governing the development of restored communities. While new experiments can be designed, one way forward is to use data from existing restoration studies to relate plant species performance to their ecological trait. Progress along
3216-423: A viable ecosystem restoration strategy, especially in countries with large agriculture footprints. Climate benefits from nature restoration are "dwarfed by the scale of ongoing fossil fuel emissions ". It risks "over-relying on land for mitigation at the expense of phasing out fossil fuels". Despite these issues, nature restoration is receiving increasing attention, with a study concluding that "Land restoration
3350-991: A wide variety of topics. These include the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues , which advises UN agencies on issues relating to indigenous peoples , the United Nations Forum on Forests , which coordinates and promotes sustainable forest management, the United Nations Statistical Commission , which co-ordinates information-gathering efforts between agencies, and the Commission on Sustainable Development , which co-ordinates efforts between UN agencies and NGOs working towards sustainable development . ECOSOC may also grant consultative status to non-governmental organizations. as of April 2021 almost 5,600 organizations have this status. The UN Charter stipulates that each primary organ of
3484-719: A world body to guarantee peace. The winners of the war, the Allies , met to decide on formal peace terms at the Paris Peace Conference . The League of Nations was approved and started operations, but the United States never joined. On 10 January 1920, the League of Nations formally came into being when the Covenant of the League of Nations , ratified by 42 nations in 1919, took effect. The League Council acted as an executive body directing
3618-418: Is a driver of environmental degradation . However it is vital that ecosystem restoration efforts do not clash with increasing needs for food production. Restoration frameworks aim to assist policy decisions by minimizing trade-offs between ecological restoration and production and evaluating the best use of land to balance carbon storage and food growing. For example, agroforestry is increasing considered as
3752-421: Is a key component of the Great Fen Project and features a variety of fen habitats. The result is an attractive reserve with an impressive list of rare plants and animals. Habitats include Purple Moor Grass meadows, tall fen and scrub communities, woodland, and other assemblages of grasses, sedges, herbs and mosses. Holme Fen is situated south of Peterborough , around 5 km north-west of Woodwalton Fen and on
3886-731: Is a long-term project managed in partnership by the Environment Agency , Huntingdonshire District Council , Middle Level Commissioners , Natural England and the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire (WTBCN). Woodwalton Fen, Holme Fen and Darlows Farm are managed by Natural England, while the WTBCN manages the Countryside Centre for educational and community work, together with Corney's Farm, New Decoy Farm, Old Decoy Farm, Engine Farm, Rymes Reedbeds (which has
4020-503: Is administered by the UN organizations. The General Assembly is the primary deliberative assembly of the UN. Composed of all UN member states , the assembly gathers at annual sessions at the General Assembly Hall , but emergency sessions can be summoned. The assembly is led by a president , elected by the member states on a rotating regional basis, and 21 vice-presidents. The first session convened on 10 January 1946 in
4154-474: Is also being restored with new reedbeds on open water. Kesters Docking is being sown as species-poor grassland, and it will also have areas of open water and reedbeds. 52°28′N 0°12′W / 52.467°N 0.200°W / 52.467; -0.200 Restoration ecology Ecological restoration , or ecosystem restoration, is the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, destroyed or transformed. It
Great Fen - Misplaced Pages Continue
4288-410: Is an important option for tackling climate change but cannot compensate for delays in reducing fossil fuel emissions" as it is "unlikely to be done quickly enough to notably reduce the global peak temperatures expected in the next few decades". Researchers have found that, in terms of environmental services, it is better to avoid deforestation than to allow for deforestation to subsequently reforest, as
4422-513: Is appointed by the General Assembly, after being recommended by the Security Council, where the permanent members have veto power. There are no specific criteria for the post, but over the years it has become accepted that the position shall be held for one or two terms of five years. The current secretary-general is António Guterres of Portugal, who replaced Ban Ki-moon in 2017. The International Court of Justice (or ICJ), sometimes known as
4556-480: Is controversial and sometimes critiqued as carbon colonialism. Another driver of restoration projects in the United States is the legal framework of the Clean Water Act , which often requires mitigation for damage inflicted on aquatic systems by development or other activities. Ecological restoration draws on a wide range of ecological concepts. Disturbance is a change in environmental conditions that disrupt
4690-460: Is distinct from conservation in that it attempts to retroactively repair already damaged ecosystems rather than take preventative measures. Ecological restoration can reverse biodiversity loss, combat climate change , support the provision of ecosystem services and support local economies. The United Nations has named 2021-2030 the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Habitat restoration involves
4824-593: Is generally recommended to source material from local populations, to increase the chance of restoration success and minimize the effects of maladaptation . However the definition of local can vary based on species, habitat and region. US Forest Service recently developed provisional seed zones based on a combination of minimum winter temperature zones, aridity, and the Level III ecoregions. Rather than putting strict distance recommendations, other guidelines recommend sourcing seeds to match similar environmental conditions that
4958-845: Is important for protecting biodiversity. However, conservation biology is primarily rooted in population biology . Because of that, it is generally organized at the population genetic level and assesses specific species populations (i.e. endangered species ). Restoration ecology is organized at the community level, which focuses on broader groups within ecosystems. In addition, conservation biology often concentrates on vertebrate and invertebrate animals because of their salience and popularity, whereas restoration ecology concentrates on plants . Restoration ecology focuses on plants because restoration projects typically begin by establishing plant communities. Ecological restoration, despite being focused on plants, may also have " umbrella species " for individual ecosystems and restoration projects. For example,
5092-548: Is important if we are to understand how to restore natural processes and minimize anthropogenic impacts on the ecosystems. Ecological succession is the process by which a community changes over time, especially following a disturbance. In many instances, an ecosystem will change from a simple level of organization with a few dominant pioneer species to an increasingly complex community with many interdependent species. Restoration often consists of initiating, assisting, or accelerating ecological successional processes, depending on
5226-440: Is not addressed, and that the time-scales set out for 'complete' restoration are unreasonably short, while other critical markers for full-scale restoration are either ignored or abridged due to feasibility concerns. In other instances an ecosystem may be so degraded that abandonment (allowing a severely degraded ecosystem to recover on its own) may be the wisest option. Local communities sometimes object to restorations that include
5360-476: Is not always a sustainable solution long term without additional weed control, such as mowing, or re-seeding. Restoration projects are also used as a way to better understand what makes an ecological community resistant to invasion. As restoration projects have a broad range of implementation strategies and methods used to control invasive species, they can be used by ecologists to test theories about invasion. Restoration projects have been used to understand how
5494-733: The Charter of the United Nations was completed over the following two months, and it was signed on 26 June 1945 by the representatives of the 50 countries. The UN officially came into existence on 24 October 1945, upon ratification of the Charter by the five permanent members of the Security Council : the United States, the United Kingdom, France, the Soviet Union and China — and by a majority of
Great Fen - Misplaced Pages Continue
5628-563: The Cold War . Two notable exceptions were a Security Council resolution on 7 July 1950 authorizing a US-led coalition to repel the North Korean invasion of South Korea , passed in the absence of the Soviet Union, and the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement on 27 July 1953. On 29 November 1947, the General Assembly approved resolution 181 , a proposal to partition Palestine into two state, with Jerusalem placed under
5762-942: The General Assembly , the Security Council , the Economic and Social Council , the International Court of Justice , the UN Secretariat , and the Trusteeship Council , although the Trusteeship Council has been suspended since 1994. The UN System includes a multitude of specialized agencies , funds, and programmes, including the World Bank Group , the World Health Organization , the World Food Programme , UNESCO , and UNICEF . Additionally, non-governmental organizations may be granted consultative status with
5896-697: The Haiti earthquake . Acting under the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 in 2011, NATO countries intervened in the First Libyan Civil War . The Millennium Summit was held in 2000 to discuss the UN's role in the 21st century. The three-day meeting was the largest gathering of world leaders in history, and it culminated in the adoption by all member states of the Millennium Development Goals (or MDGs),
6030-519: The ICJ Statute , which forms an integral part of the UN Charter, and non-members may also become parties. The ICJ's rulings are binding upon parties and, along with its advisory opinions, serve as sources of international law . The court is composed of 15 judges appointed to nine-year terms by the General Assembly. Every sitting judge must be from a different nation. The Economic and Social Council (or
6164-663: The International Court of Justice and the UN Secretariat . A sixth principal organ, the Trusteeship Council , suspended its operations on 1 November 1994 upon the independence of Palau ; the last remaining UN trustee territory. Four of the five principal organs are located at the main UN Headquarters in New York City, while the International Court of Justice is seated in The Hague . Most other major agencies are based in
6298-559: The Methodist Central Hall in London and comprised representatives of 51 nations. When the General Assembly decides on seminal questions such as those on peace and security, admission of new members and budgetary matters, a two-thirds majority of those present and voting is required. All other questions are decided by a majority vote. Each member has one vote. Apart from the approval of budgetary matters, resolutions are not binding on
6432-461: The Monarch butterfly is an umbrella species for conserving and restoring milkweed plant habitat, because Monarch butterflies require milkweed plants to reproduce. Finally, restoration ecology has a stronger focus on soils , soil structure , fungi , and microorganisms because soils provide the foundation of functional terrestrial ecosystems. The Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) released
6566-632: The Peace Palace . The UN was established after World War II with the aim of preventing future world wars , and succeeded the League of Nations , which was characterized as being ineffective. On 25 April 1945, 50 nations assembled in San Francisco , California, for a conference and initialised the drafting of the UN Charter , which was adopted on 25 June 1945. The charter took effect on 24 October 1945, when
6700-518: The Salvadoran Civil War , launched a successful peacekeeping mission in Namibia , and oversaw democratic elections in post- apartheid South Africa and post- Khmer Rouge Cambodia. In 1991, the UN authorized a US-led coalition that repulsed Iraq's invasion of Kuwait . Brian Urquhart , the under-secretary-general of the UN from 1971 to 1985, later described the hopes raised by these successes as
6834-634: The UN Assistance Mission for Rwanda failed to intervene in the Rwandan genocide amidst indecision in the Security Council. From the late 1990s to the early 2000s, international interventions authorized by the UN took a wider variety of forms. The United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 authorised the NATO -led Kosovo Force beginning in 1999. The UN mission in the Sierra Leone Civil War
SECTION 50
#17328443685096968-470: The UN High Commissioner for Refugees , became the ninth secretary-general. Guterres has highlighted several key goals for his administration, including an emphasis on diplomacy for preventing conflicts, more effective peacekeeping efforts, and streamlining the organization to be more responsive and versatile to international needs. On 13 June 2019, the UN signed a Strategic Partnership Framework with
7102-510: The UN offices at Geneva , Vienna , and Nairobi , and additional UN institutions are located throughout the world. The six official languages of the UN, used in intergovernmental meetings and documents, are Arabic , Chinese , English , French , Russian and Spanish . On the basis of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations , the UN and its agencies are immune from
7236-863: The War in Darfur in Sudan and the Kivu conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and sent observers and chemical weapons inspectors to the Syrian Civil War . In 2013, an internal review of UN actions in the final battles of the Sri Lankan Civil War in 2009 concluded that the organization had suffered a "systemic failure". In 2010, the organization suffered the worst loss of life in its history, when 101 personnel died in
7370-533: The World Economic Forum in order to "jointly accelerate" the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development . The United Nations is part of the broader UN System, which includes an extensive network of institutions and entities. Central to the organization are five principal organs established by the UN Charter: the General Assembly , the Security Council , the Economic and Social Council ,
7504-429: The system as a whole , thus monitoring and management are crucial for the long-term stability of ecosystems. A completely self-perpetuating and fully functional ecosystem is the ultimate goal of restorative efforts. We must understand what ecosystem properties influence others to restore desired functions and reach this goal. Community assembly "is a framework that can unify virtually all of (community) ecology under
7638-584: The " Four Powers ", refers to the four major Allied countries, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and China , emerged in the Declaration by the United Nations. On New Year's Day 1942, Roosevelt, Churchill, the Soviet Union's former Foreign Minister Maxim Litvinov , and the Chinese Premier T. V. Soong signed the " Declaration by United Nations ", and the next day the representatives of twenty-two other nations added their signatures. During
7772-461: The "social-ecological restoration". The goal of ecosystem restoration depends on the specific context of each location. Traditionally, the aim has been to return ecosystems to a past state (historic baseline), based on the idea that past conditions represent a 'pristine' or ideal functioning state. However, this approach is now questioned because human-driven environmental changes, including climate change, continuously alter ecosystems, resulting in
7906-475: The 1960s. Since then, 80 former colonies have gained independence, including 11 trust territories that had been monitored by the Trusteeship Council . By the 1970s, the UN's budget for economic and social development programmes vastly exceeded its spending on peacekeeping . After the end of the Cold War in 1991, the UN shifted and expanded its field operations, undertaking a wide variety of complex tasks. The UN comprises six principal operational organizations:
8040-453: The 1970s, the UN budget for social and economic development was far greater than its peacekeeping budget. After the Cold War, the UN saw a radical expansion in its peacekeeping duties, taking on more missions in five years than it had in the previous four decades. Between 1988 and 2000, the number of adopted Security Council resolutions more than doubled, and the peacekeeping budget increased by more than tenfold. The UN negotiated an end to
8174-556: The Assembly's business. It began with four permanent members—the United Kingdom , France , Italy , and Japan . After some limited successes and failures during the 1920s, the League proved ineffective in the 1930s, as it failed to act against the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1933. Forty nations voted for Japan to withdraw from Manchuria but Japan voted against it and walked out of
SECTION 60
#17328443685098308-405: The Broken Hill regeneration area project. This project involved the natural regeneration of indigenous flora on a severely wind eroded site of hundreds of hectares, located in arid western New South Wales. Local and state governments, and the Broken Hill mining industry, supported and funded the project. In fact, as the regeneration area project was so well adapted to the harsh arid-zone conditions,
8442-420: The Chinese seat on the Security Council in place of the Republic of China (also known as Taiwan). The vote was widely seen as a sign of waning American influence in the organization. Third World nations organized themselves into the Group of 77 under the leadership of Algeria, which briefly became a dominant power at the UN. On 10 November 1975, a bloc comprising the Soviet Union and Third World nations passed
8576-404: The Congo by 11 May 1964. While travelling to meet rebel leader Moise Tshombe during the conflict, Dag Hammarskjöld , often named as one of the UN's most effective secretaries-general, died in a plane crash . Months later he was posthumously awarded the Nobel Peace Prize . In 1964, Hammarskjöld's successor, U Thant , deployed the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus , which would become one of
8710-428: The ECOSOC) assists the General Assembly in promoting international economic and social co-operation and development. It was established to serve as the UN's primary forum for global issues and is the largest and most complex UN body. The ECOSOC's functions include gathering data, conducting studies and advising and making recommendations to member states. Its work is carried out primarily by subsidiary bodies focused on
8844-552: The Economic and Social Council and other agencies. The UN's chief administrative officer is the secretary-general , currently António Guterres , who is a Portuguese politician and diplomat. He began his first five-year term on 1 January 2017 and was re-elected on 8 June 2021. The organization is financed by assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states. The UN, its officers, and its agencies have won multiple Nobel Peace Prizes , although other evaluations of its effectiveness have been contentious. Some commentators believe
8978-539: The General Assembly on a regional basis . The presidency of the Security Council rotates alphabetically each month. The UN Secretariat carries out the day-to-day duties required to operate and maintain the UN system. It is composed of tens of thousands of international civil servants worldwide and headed by the secretary-general , who is assisted by the deputy secretary-general . The Secretariat's duties include providing information and facilities needed by UN bodies for their meetings and carrying out tasks as directed by
9112-494: The Government's goal of being the first generation to leave the environment in a better state than it was inherited, a long-term 25-year plan was needed to maintain and improve England's natural capital. United Nations The United Nations ( UN ) is a diplomatic and political international organization with the intended purpose of maintaining international peace and security , developing friendly relations among nations, achieving international cooperation, and serving as
9246-443: The League instead of withdrawing from Manchuria. It also failed to act against the Second Italo-Ethiopian War , after the appeal for international intervention by Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I at Geneva in 1936 went with no avail, including when calls for economic sanctions against Italy failed. Italy and other nations left the League. When war broke out in 1939 , the League effectively closed down. The first step towards
9380-454: The Millennium Development Goals. In addition to addressing global challenges, the UN has sought to improve its accountability and democratic legitimacy by engaging more with civil society and fostering a global constituency. In an effort to enhance transparency, in 2016 the organization held its first public debate between candidates for secretary-general. On 1 January 2017, Portuguese diplomat António Guterres , who had previously served as
9514-438: The New South Wales state government adopted it as a model for the proposed restoration of the twenty million hectares of the arid western portion of the state that had been reduced to a severely eroded condition. Legislation to this effect was passed in 1949. Another significant early Australian settler ecological restoration project occurred on the north coast of New South Wales. From approximately 1840 settlers forcibly occupied
9648-469: The Security Council, the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, and other UN bodies. The secretary-general acts as the spokesperson and leader of the UN. The position is defined in the UN Charter as the organization's chief administrative officer. Article 99 of the charter states that the secretary-general can bring to the Security Council's attention "any matter which in their opinion may threaten
9782-449: The UN began operations. The UN's objectives, as outlined by its charter, include maintaining international peace and security, protecting human rights , delivering humanitarian aid , promoting sustainable development , and upholding international law . At its founding, the UN had 51 member states ; as of 2024 , it has 193 sovereign states , nearly all of the world's recognized sovereign states. The UN's mission to preserve world peace
9916-420: The UN can only make recommendations to member states, the Security Council has the power to make binding decisions that member states have agreed to carry out, under the terms of Charter Article 25. The decisions of the council are known as United Nations Security Council resolutions . The Security Council is made up of fifteen member states: five permanent members (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and
10050-600: The UN system obey the Noblemaire principle , which calls for salaries that will attract and retain citizens of countries where compensation is highest, and which ensures equal pay for work of equal value regardless of the employee's nationality. In practice, the International Civil Service Commission , which governs the conditions of UN personnel, takes reference to the highest-paying national civil service. Staff salaries are subject to an internal tax that
10184-447: The UN's longest-running peacekeeping missions. With the spread of decolonization in the 1960s, the UN's membership shot up due to an influx of newly independent nations. In 1960 alone, 17 new states joined the UN, 16 of them from Africa. On 25 October 1971, with opposition from the United States, but with the support of many Third World nations, the People's Republic of China was given
10318-523: The United Kingdom and Singapore. Boutros Boutros-Ghali , the secretary-general from 1992 to 1996, initiated a reform of the Secretariat, somewhat reducing the size of the organisation. His successor, Kofi Annan , initiated further management reforms in the face of threats from the US to withhold its UN dues. Though the UN Charter had been written primarily to prevent aggression by one nation against another, in
10452-580: The United Nations can establish various specialized agencies to fulfill its duties. Specialized agencies are autonomous organizations working with the United Nations and each other through the coordinating machinery of the Economic and Social Council. Each was integrated into the UN system through an agreement with the UN under UN Charter article 57. There are fifteen specialized agencies, which perform functions as diverse as facilitating international travel, preventing and addressing pandemics, and promoting economic development. The United Nations system includes
10586-607: The United Nations. After months of planning, the UN Conference on International Organization opened in San Francisco on 25 April 1945. It was attended by 50 nations' governments and a number of non-governmental organizations. The delegations of the Big Four chaired the plenary meetings. Previously, Churchill had urged Roosevelt to restore France to its status of a major power after the liberation of Paris in August 1944. The drafting of
10720-542: The United States) and ten non-permanent members (currently Algeria , Ecuador , Guyana , Japan , Malta , Mozambique , the Republic of Korea , Sierra Leone , Slovenia and Switzerland ). The five permanent members hold veto power over UN resolutions, allowing a permanent member to block adoption of a resolution, though not debate. The ten temporary seats are held for two-year terms, with five members elected each year by
10854-723: The World Court, is the primary judicial organ of the UN. It is the successor to the Permanent Court of International Justice and occupies the body's former headquarters in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands , making it the only principal organ not based in New York City. The ICJ's main function is adjudicating disputes among nations. Examples of issues they have heard include war crimes, violations of state sovereignty and ethnic cleansing. The court can also be called upon by other UN organs to provide advisory opinions on matters of international law. All UN member states are parties to
10988-598: The academic study of the science of restoration, whereas ecological restoration is the implementation by practitioners. Ecological restoration includes a wide diversity of methods including erosion control, reforestation , removal of non-native species and weeds, revegetation of disturbed areas, daylighting streams , the reintroduction of native species , habitat and range improvement for targeted species and establishing wildlife corridors . Many scholars and practitioners argue that ecological restoration must include local communities and stakeholders: they call this process
11122-415: The aim of the restoration, or an incomplete understanding of the underlying ecological framework lead to insufficient measures. This may be because, as Peter Alpert says, "people may not [always] know how to manage natural systems effectively". Furthermore, many assumptions are made about myths of restoration such as carbon copy , where a restoration plan, which worked in one area, is applied to another with
11256-466: The bare minimum of human interference, such as rewilding . Skeptics doubt that the benefits justify the economic investment or point to failed restoration projects and question the feasibility of restoration altogether. It can be difficult to set restoration goals because, as Anthony Bradshaw writes, "ecosystems are not static, but in a state of dynamic equilibrium." Some scientists argue that, though an ecosystem may not be returned to its original state,
11390-497: The coastal hinterlands, dispossessed First Nations communities, destroyed extensive areas of biologically diverse rainforest and converted the land to farms. Only small patches of rainforest survived. In 1935 dairy farmer Ambrose Crawford began restoring a degraded four acre (1.7 hectare) patch of local rainforest, or "Big Scrub" (Lowland Tropical Rainforest), as it was referred to, at Lumley Park reserve, Alstonville. His main restoration techniques were clearing weeds that were smothering
11524-653: The current species extinction rate, or the rate of the Holocene extinction , is 1,000 to 10,000 times higher than the normal, background rate. Habitat loss is a leading cause of species extinctions and ecosystem service decline. Two methods have been identified to slow the rate of species extinction and ecosystem service decline: conservation of quality habitat and restoration of degraded habitat. The number and size of ecological restoration projects have increased exponentially in recent years. Restoration goals reflect political choices, and differ by place and culture. On
11658-466: The data. Managers vary in how much data they collect, and how many records they keep. Some agencies keep only a handful of physical copies of data that make it difficult for the researcher to access. Many restoration projects are limited by time and money, so data collection and record-keeping are not always feasible. However, this limits the ability of scientists to analyze restoration projects and give recommendations based on empirical data. Agriculture
11792-590: The delegations from the Allied Big Four at the Dumbarton Oaks Conference from 21 September to 7 October 1944. They agreed on proposals for the aims, structure and functioning of the new organization. It took the conference at Yalta in February 1945, and further negotiations with the Soviet Union, before all the issues were resolved. By 1 March 1945, 21 additional states had signed the Declaration by
11926-468: The deliberate rehabilitation of a specific area to reestablish a functional ecosystem. This may differ from historical baselines (the ecosystem's original condition at a particular point in time). To achieve successful habitat restoration, it is essential to understand the life cycles and interactions of species, as well as the essential elements such as food, water, nutrients, space, and shelter needed to support species populations. Scientists estimate that
12060-590: The development of International Principles & Standards for the Practice of Ecological Restoration by the Society for Ecological restoration (see below) – however, this approach is contended, with scientists active in the field suggesting that this is restrictive, and instead principles and guidelines offer flexibility. There is further complication in that restoration ecologists who want to collect large-scale data on restoration projects can face enormous hurdles in obtaining
12194-472: The diversity of the species introduced in the restoration affects invasion. We know that generally higher diversity prairies have lower levels of invasion. The incorporation of functional ecology has shown that more functionally diverse restorations have lower levels of invasion. Furthermore, studies have shown that using native species functionally similar to invasive species are better able to compete with invasive species. Restoration ecologists have also used
12328-669: The dramatic increase in the number of protected natural areas in the 1980s. In 1997 the National Wildlife Federation signed a memorandum of understanding with the Intertribal Bison Cooperative, the first-ever conservation agreement between an environmental organization and an inter-tribal group, to advocate for the restoration of wild bison to tribal lands. Anishinaabek/Neshnabék throughout the Great Lakes region are leading ecological restoration projects that, in
12462-532: The early 1990s the UN faced several simultaneous, serious crises within Somalia, Haiti, Mozambique, and the nations that previously made up Yugoslavia. The UN mission in Somalia was widely viewed as a failure after the United States' withdrawal following casualties in the Battle of Mogadishu . The UN mission to Bosnia faced worldwide ridicule for its indecisive and confused mission in the face of ethnic cleansing. In 1994,
12596-695: The eight governments in exile of countries under Axis occupation , together with the Soviet Union and representatives of the Free French Forces , unanimously adopted adherence to the common principles of policy set forth by Britain and the United States. Roosevelt and Churchill met at the White House in December 1941 for the Arcadia Conference . Roosevelt is considered a founder of the UN, and coined
12730-576: The emergence of ecology as a scientific discipline, large-scale restoration began with big game restoration in the early 20th century. The first native plant restoration project in the United States was established in 1907 by Eloise Butler in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This was followed by the Vassar College Ecological Laboratory restoration program, founded by Professor Edith Roberts in 1921. The first tallgrass prairie restoration
12864-712: The establishment of the United Nations was the Inter-Allied Conference in London that led to the Declaration of St James's Palace on 12 June 1941. By August 1941, American President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill had drafted the Atlantic Charter ; which defined goals for the post-war world. At the subsequent meeting of the Inter-Allied Council in London on 24 September 1941,
12998-512: The first edition, SER held workshops and listening sessions, sought feedback from key international partners and stakeholders, opened a survey to members, affiliates and supporters, and considered and responded to published critiques. The International Principles and Standards for the Practice of Ecological Restoration: Indigenous peoples , land managers, stewards, and laypeople have been practicing ecological restoration or ecological management for thousands of years. Restoration ecology emerged as
13132-686: The forced dispossession of the First Nations communities of Australia. The substantial Traditional Ecological Knowledge of First Nations communities was not utilised in the historical restoration projects. Many of the first Australian settler restoration projects were initiated by volunteers, often in the form of community groups. Many of these volunteers appreciated and utilised science resources, such as botanical and ecological knowledge. Local and state government agencies participated, and also industry. Australian scientists came to play an increasingly important role. A prominent scientist who took an interest in
13266-414: The former leads to irreversible effects in terms of biodiversity loss and soil degradation . Furthermore, the probability that legacy carbon will be released from soil is higher in younger boreal forest. Global greenhouse gas emissions caused by damage to tropical rainforests may have been substantially underestimated until around 2019. Additionally, the effects of af- or reforestation will be farther in
13400-417: The functioning of an ecosystem. Disturbance can occur at a variety of spatial and temporal scales, and is a natural component of many communities. For example, many forest and grassland restorations implement fire as a natural disturbance regime . However the severity and scope of anthropogenic impact has grown in the last few centuries. Differentiating between human-caused and naturally occurring disturbances
13534-476: The functions of a " novel ecosystem " are still valuable. Ecosystem restoration can mitigate climate change through activities such as afforestation . However, afforestation can have negative impacts on biodiversity especially when considering tree-planting initiatives in tropical savannas . The impacts of afforestation on water supply and quality are also debated and vary by region, climate and age of afforestation projects. Forestry-based carbon offsetting
13668-531: The future than keeping existing forests intact. It takes much longer − several decades − for the benefits for global warming to manifest to the same carbon sequestration benefits from mature trees in tropical forests and hence from limiting deforestation. Therefore, scientists consider "the protection and recovery of carbon-rich and long-lived ecosystems, especially natural forests" to be "the major climate solution ". Both restoration ecologists and conservation biologists agree that protecting and restoring habitat
13802-489: The indigenous vegetation. It was also found that furrowing (or ploughing) of eroded areas resulted in the natural regeneration of indigenous vegetation. So successful were these programs that the South Australian government adopted them as approved state soil conservation policies in 1936. Legislation introduced in 1939 codified these policies. In 1936 mining assayer Albert Morris and his restoration colleagues initiated
13936-406: The interior. Restorative projects can increase the effective size of a population by adding suitable habitat and decrease isolation by creating habitat corridors that link isolated fragments. Reversing the effects of fragmentation is an important component of restoration ecology. The composition of the surrounding landscape can also influence the effectiveness of restoration projects. For example,
14070-527: The introduction of large predators or plants that require disturbance regimes such as regular fires, citing threat to human habitation in the area. High economic costs can also be perceived as a negative impact of the restoration process. Public opinion is very important in the feasibility of a restoration; if the public believes that the costs of restoration outweigh the benefits they will not support it. Many failures have occurred in past restoration projects, many times because clear goals were not set out as
14204-495: The laws of the countries where they operate, safeguarding the UN's impartiality with regard to host and member countries. Below the six organs are, in the words of the author Linda Fasulo, "an amazing collection of entities and organizations, some of which are actually older than the UN itself and operate with almost complete independence from it". These include specialized agencies, research and training institutions, programmes and funds and other UN entities. All organizations in
14338-586: The loss of valued biological qualities, and campaigned to fully restore the Teatree ecosystems and conserve them and their indigenous fauna. The degraded arid-zone regions of Australia were the site of historical ecological restoration projects. Pastoral industry established in the arid-zone regions of South Australia and New South Wales resulted in the substantial degradation of these areas by ca.1900 resulting in severe wind erosion. From approximately 1930, Australian pastoralists implemented revegetation projects aiming to
14472-410: The maintenance of international peace and security", a phrase that secretaries-general since Trygve Lie have interpreted as giving the position broad scope for action on the world stage. The office has evolved into a dual role of an administrator of the UN organization and a diplomat and mediator addressing disputes between member states and finding consensus to global issues . The secretary-general
14606-428: The members. The Assembly may make recommendations on any matters within the scope of the UN, except matters of peace and security that are under consideration by the Security Council. Draft resolutions can be forwarded to the General Assembly by its six main committees: As well as by the following two committees: The Security Council is charged with maintaining peace and security among nations. While other organs of
14740-591: The organization to be a leader in peace and human development, while others have criticized it for ineffectiveness, bias, and corruption . In the century prior to the UN's creation, several international organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross were formed to ensure protection and assistance for victims of armed conflict and strife. During World War I , several major leaders, especially U.S. President Woodrow Wilson , advocated for
14874-646: The other 46 nations. The first meetings of the General Assembly , with 51 nations represented, and the Security Council took place in London beginning in January 1946. Debates began at once, covering topical issues such as the presence of Russian troops in Iranian Azerbaijan and British forces in Greece . British diplomat Gladwyn Jebb served as interim secretary-general. The General Assembly selected New York City as
15008-455: The rainforest plants and planting of suitable indigenous rainforest species. Crawford utilised professional government botanists as advisors, and received support from his local government council. The restored rainforest reserve still exists today. The UK Natural Capital Committee (NCC) made a recommendation in its second State of Natural Capital report published in March 2014 that in order to meet
15142-458: The range of resource levels. Their findings were consistent with the theory regarding the role of ecological filters on community assembly. The establishment of a single species, best adapted to the physical and biological conditions can play an inordinately important role in determining the community structure. Restoration is used as a tool for reducing the spread of invasive plant species many ways. The first method views restoration primarily as
15276-478: The reversal of vegetation degradation was botanist and plant ecologist Professor T G Osborn , University of Adelaide, who, in the 1920s, conducted pioneering research into the causes of arid-zone indigenous vegetation degradation. From this time, Australian botanists, plant ecologists and soil erosion researchers have increasingly developed interests in the recovery of ecological functioning on degraded sites. The earliest known attempt by Australian settlers to restore
15410-405: The same results expected, but not realized. One of the struggles for both fields is a divide between restoration ecology and ecological restoration in practice. Many restoration practitioners as well as scientists feel that science is not being adequately incorporated into ecological restoration projects. In a 2009 survey of practitioners and scientists, the "science-practice gap" was listed as
15544-495: The scope of a problem in-depth, without providing concrete solutions. Additionally many restoration ecology studies are carried out under controlled conditions and frequently at scales much smaller than actual restorations. Whether or not these patterns hold true in an applied context is often unknown. There is evidence that these small-scale experiments inflate type II error rates and differ from ecological patterns in actual restorations. One approach to addressing this gap has been
15678-543: The second edition of the International Standards for the Practice of Ecological Restoration on September 27, 2019, in Cape Town, South Africa, at SER's 8th World Conference on Ecological Restoration. The publication provides updated and expanded guidance on the practice of ecological restoration, clarifies the breadth of ecological restoration and allied environmental repair activities, and includes ideas and input from
15812-429: The second most commonly cited reason limiting the growth of both science and practice of restoration. There are a variety of theories about the cause of this gap. However, it has been well established that one of the main issues is that the questions studied by restoration ecologists are frequently not found useful or easily applicable by land managers. For instance, many publications in restoration ecology characterize
15946-497: The severity of the disturbance. Following mild to moderate natural and anthropogenic disturbances, restoration in these systems involves hastening natural successional trajectories through careful management. However, in a system that has experienced a more severe disturbance (such as in urban ecosystems), restoration may require intensive efforts to recreate environmental conditions that favor natural successional processes. Habitat fragmentation describes spatial discontinuities in
16080-437: The site for the headquarters of the UN. Construction began on 14 September 1948 and the facility was completed on 9 October 1952. The Norwegian Foreign Minister, Trygve Lie , was the first elected UN secretary-general . Though the UN's primary mandate was peacekeeping , the division between the United States and the Soviet Union often paralysed the organization; generally allowing it to intervene only in conflicts distant from
16214-436: The south-western shore of the former Whittlesey Mere . The Fen occupies a crescent-shaped site approximately 2.5 km long by 1.5 km wide and has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Geological Conservation Review Site (GCR). Holme Fen is the largest Silver birch woodland in lowland Britain. More importantly it contains approximately 5 hectares of rare acid grassland and heath and
16348-437: The species and then in so doing, reduce the number of invasive seeds being spread to surrounding areas. An example of this is through the use of biological control agents (such as herbivorous insects) which suppress invasive weed species while restoration practitioners concurrently seed in native plant species that take advantage of the freed resources. These approaches have been shown to be effective in reducing weeds, although it
16482-711: The species is exposed to, either now, or under projected climate change. For example, sourcing for Castilleja levisecta found that farther source populations that matched similar environmental variables were better suited for the restoration project than closer source populations. Similarly, a suite of new methods are surveying gene-environment interactions in order to identify the optimum source populations based on genetic adaptation to environmental conditions. Some view ecosystem restoration as impractical, partially because restorations often fall short of their goals. Hilderbrand et al. point out that many times uncertainty (about ecosystem functions, species relationships, and such)
16616-482: The study of techniques like prescribed burning . It was followed by the 40-hectare Schulenberg Prairie at the Morton Arboretum , initiated in 1962 by Ray Schulenberg and Robert Betz. Betz then worked with The Nature Conservancy to establish the 260-hectare Fermi National Laboratory tallgrass prairie in 1974. Restoration ecology emerged as a distinct sub-discipline of ecology and natural resources management with
16750-529: The substantial to full restoration of indigenous flora to degraded, wind eroded areas. At his arid-zone Koonamore research station in South Australia, established in 1925, Professor T G Osborn studied the loss of indigenous vegetation caused by overstocking and the resultant wind erosion and degradation, concluding that restoration of the indigenous saltbushes ( Atriplex spp.), bluebushes ( Maireana spp.) and mulga ( Acacia aneura ) vegetation communities
16884-593: The term United Nations to describe the Allied countries . Churchill accepted it, noting its use by Lord Byron . The text of the Declaration by United Nations was drafted on 29 December 1941, by Roosevelt, Churchill, and Harry Hopkins . It incorporated Soviet suggestions but included no role for France. One major change from the Atlantic Charter was the addition of a provision for religious freedom , which Stalin approved after Roosevelt insisted. Roosevelt's idea of
17018-627: The war, the United Nations became the official term for the Allies. In order to join, countries had to sign the Declaration and declare war on the Axis powers . The October 1943 Moscow Conference resulted in the Moscow Declarations , including the Four Power Declaration on General Security which aimed for the creation "at the earliest possible date of a general international organization". This
17152-458: The words of Kyle Whyte, "seek to learn from, adapt, and put into practice local human and nonhuman relationships and stories at the convergence of deep Anishinaabe history and the disruptiveness of industrial settler campaigns." Australia has been the site of historically significant ecological restoration projects, commencing in the 1930s. These projects were responses to the extensive environmental damage inflicted by colonising settlers, following
17286-423: Was complicated in its initial decades due in part to Cold War tensions that existed between the United States and Soviet Union and their respective allies. Its mission has included the provision of primarily unarmed military observers and lightly armed troops charged with primarily monitoring, reporting and confidence-building roles. UN membership grew significantly following the widespread decolonization in
17420-594: Was established to end the Suez Crisis ; however, the UN was unable to intervene against the Soviet Union's simultaneous invasion of Hungary , following the country's revolution . On 14 July 1960, the UN established the United Nations Operation in the Congo (or UNOC), the largest military force of its early decades, to bring order to Katanga , restoring it to the control of the Democratic Republic of
17554-432: Was possible, if a stock exclosure and natural regeneration revegetation technique was applied to degraded paddocks. Most likely influenced by Osborn's research, throughout the 1930s South Australian pastoralists adopted this revegetation technique. For example, at Wirraminna station (or property, ranch), following fencing to exclude stock, severe soil-drifts were fully revegetated and stabilised through natural regeneration of
17688-405: Was supplemented by a British military intervention . The invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 was overseen by NATO. In 2003, the United States invaded Iraq despite failing to pass a UN Security Council resolution for authorization, prompting a new round of questioning of the UN's effectiveness. Under the eighth secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon , the UN intervened with peacekeepers in crises such as
17822-410: Was the 1936 Curtis Prairie at the University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum . Civilian Conservation Corps workers replanted nearby prairie species onto a former horse pasture, overseen by university faculty including Aldo Leopold , Theodore Sperry , Henry C. Greene , and John T. Curtis . The UW Arboretum was the center of tallgrass prairie research through the first half of the 20th century and
17956-407: Was the first public announcement that a new international organization was being contemplated to replace the League of Nations. The Tehran Conference followed shortly afterwards at which Roosevelt, Churchill and Joseph Stalin , the leader of the Soviet Union, met and discussed the idea of a post-war international organization. The new international organisation was formulated and negotiated amongst
#508491