A coalition of governments has launched the Freshwater Challenge, an unprecedented initiative to restore degraded rivers, lakes, and wetlands that are crucial for addressing the world's worsening water, climate, and biodiversity crises. The Freshwater Challenge, announced at the United Nations Water Conference in New York (which took place at the end of March), seeks to restore 300,000 km of rivers, equivalent in length to more than seven times around the Earth, and 350 million hectares of wetlands, an area larger than India, by 2030.
Great Blue Heron in flight at sweetwater wetlands. Park Paynes Prairie, Florida.
Freshwater ecosystems provide essential benefits to people and nature, including mitigating and adapting to changing climate conditions, supporting food security, and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, one-third of the world's wetlands have been lost in the past 50 years. Rivers and lakes are among the most degraded ecosystems globally, with fish populations, critical for community food security, facing unprecedented declines.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) sixth assessment report, released this week, underscores the serious impacts of changing climates on freshwater ecosystems and emphasises the need to protect and restore them to enhance resilience in societies, economies, and ecosystems.
The Freshwater Challenge is championed by the governments of Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Gabon, Mexico, and Zambia. It calls on all governments to commit to clear targets in their updated National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans, National Determined Contributions, and National Implementation Plan for the SDGs to urgently restore healthy freshwater ecosystems.
Read more: High seas treaty: The UN secured a deal to protect international waters
The Freshwater Challenge is a country-driven initiative embracing an inclusive and collaborative approach to implementation, involving indigenous people, local communities, and other stakeholders in co-creating freshwater solutions. Building on the Global Biodiversity Framework agreed upon in Montreal in December 2022, which included the restoration of 30% of the world's degraded 'inland waters', the Challenge will contribute to the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. It is a global effort led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to revive the planet.
The Freshwater Challenge will focus on providing country-level evidence for designing and implementing effective restoration measures, identifying priority areas for restoration, updating national strategies and plans, and mobilising resources and financial mechanisms to achieve targets. The initiative aims to catalyse global action and drive progress towards the common global goals of protecting and restoring freshwater ecosystems to benefit present and future generations.
As a leading company specialising in developing large-scale reforestation projects, DGB Group is committed to safeguarding nature and addressing the urgent need for ecosystem restoration. We recognise the vital role that healthy rivers, lakes, and wetlands play in tackling the world's water, climate, and biodiversity crises. We are dedicated to supporting initiatives that prioritise the restoration of these essential ecosystems. Our commitment to sustainability, collaboration with local communities, and adherence to best practices in ecosystem restoration are all oriented towards supporting nature to thrive.
Contact our experts and find out how you can contribute
