The cry for help Restoring our
Contributing Writers: Azad Ali, Tangerine Clarke,
George Alleyne, Nelson King,
Vinette K. Pryce, Bert Wilkinson,
GENERAL INFORMATION (718) 260-2500
Caribbean L 10 ife, June 14–20, 2019 BQ
By Tim Christophersen
NAIROBI, June 7, 2019
(IPS) - On the 1st of March
2019, we saw one of the
rare moments in history
when the entire world
comes together and agrees
on a joint way forward.
The United Nations General
Assembly recognized
the urgent need to tackle
the compounded crisis of
climate change and biodiversity
loss, and passed a
resolution to proclaim 2021
- 2030 as the UN Decade
on Ecosystem Restoration.
With the aim to restore at
least 350 million hectares
of degraded landscapes by
2030 — an area the size
of India — the UN Decade
is a loud and clear call to
action for all of us. And it
is a great opportunity for
the UN-REDD Programme
and its partner countries
to build on 10 years worth
of relevant experience with
safeguards, impactful policies
and measures, and
attracting private and public
investments.
It is high time that we
bring more attention to the
essential role of nature for
a peaceful, fair and prosperous
future. Nature can provide
more than one third
of the solution to climate
change, but nature-based
solutions such as ecosystem
restoration and forest
conservation currently
receive less than 3 percent
of climate finance. Neglecting
nature in our implementation
of climate solutions
means we are also
not doing enough to save
biodiversity. The double
whammy of climate change
and biodiversity loss has
impacts that go far beyond
our economy. If we do not
act now, the very foundations
of our culture, and
our cohesion as a global
civilization could be at
risk.
How can we turn the
tide? While ecosystem restoration
is not a silver bullet
for our current crisis, it
is a useful approach to shift
the narrative, from despair
to action. Restoration is
about active participation
at all levels. The restoration
of ecosystems can at
the same time restore a
sense of community, and
restore dignity and hope to
disadvantaged and marginalized
communities around
the world. It can provide
many young people with a
new sense of purpose and
opportunity, and help vulnerable
communities to
adapt to climate change.
To harness the full potential
of this UN Decade, we
need three key changes, at
global and national level:
– Investments: public
funding needs to crowd
more private sector investments
into restoration. For
the 350 million hectare target,
we need an estimated
837 billion USD of public
and private investments by
2030. This can be achieved
through a mix of shifting
subsidies and other fiscal
incentives, and public risk
capital to attract private
investments.
– Capacity: we need
a huge cadre of young
(or young-at-heart) green
entrepreneurs, who will
need a combination of skills
on ecology, social transformation,
and sound financial
and business sense. There
are potentially millions of
jobs world-wide, if we can
train and help these ‘ecopreneurs’
of the future.
– Government leadership:
above all, we need
governments to step up.
They need to take over the
baton now from the citizens
who are protesting for
better climate protection,
more decent jobs, and more
equality. There is already
a ‘regreening revolution’
underway across degraded
landscapes and coastal
areas world-wide. But we
need governments to ensure
this is going in the right
direction, by giving clear
policy signals, and setting
solid strategies to integrate
nature-based solutions into
national climate action and
sustainable development
pathways.
The restoration of ecosystems
across the globe,
at a significant scale, has
the potential to be a big
part of the required joint
effort of humanity to turn
the tide of environmental
degradation. We have risen
to critical global challenges
before, and we can do it
again.
OP-EDS
By Schneps Media
The New York Police
Department suffered two
shocking suicides in as
many days last week in
Brooklyn and Queens.
Assistant Chief Steven
Silks, a 38-year member of
the NYPD, took his own life
on a Forest Hills street on
June 5; he was mere days
from a mandatory retirement
from the force.
The next day in Brooklyn,
Detective Joseph Calabrese
of the Brooklyn South Homicide
Squad also killed himself.
According to reports, it
happened a few hours after
his wife had been hospitalized
for a condition.
Some of us think of our
first responders as real-life
heroes there to protect us
against the bad guys. Of
course, the reality is that
police officers are humans,
not comic book characters.
They grapple with both the
everyday issues life brings
us, but they are compounded
by issues unique to their
job.They have seen crime
scene horrors no one should
see. They deal with highpressure
situations that
could threaten someone’s
life, or even their own.
Some have dealt with the
trauma of a close colleague
being killed in the line of
duty, while others have
made tragic decisions that
cannot be reversed.
We urge our police officers
who are struggling with
their mental health to seek
the care they need. Don’t
throw your families into
undue suffering. It can get
better.
Nature can
provide more than
one third of the
solution to climate
change, but naturebased
solutions
such as ecosystem
restoration and
forest conservation
currently receive
less than 3 percent
of climate finance.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR are welcome from all readers. They should be addressed care of this newspaper to the Editor,
Caribbean-Life Publications, 1 MetroTech Center North, Brooklyn, New York 11201, or sent via e-mail to caribbeanlife@
schnepsmedia.com. All letters, including those submitted via e-mail, MUST be signed and the individual’s verifiable
address and telephone number included. Note that the address and telephone number will NOT be published and the
name will be published or withheld on request. No unsigned letters can be accepted for publication. The editor reserves
the right to edit all submissions.
Founded 1990 • Published by Brooklyn Courier Life LLC
Corporate Headquarters: One Metrotech Center North, Suite 1001, Brooklyn, NY 11201
PRESIDENT & PUBLISHER: Victoria Schneps-Yunis
CEO & CO-PUBLISHER: Joshua Schneps
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER: Ralph D’Onofrio
EDITOR EMERITUS: Kenton Kirby
ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Kevin Williams
This newspaper is not responsible for typographical errors in ads beyond the cost of the space occupied
by the error. All rights reserved. Copyright© 2019 by Brooklyn Courier Life LLC. Caribbean
Life is protected by Federal copyright law. Each issue of Caribbean Life is registered with the Library
of Congress, Washington, D.C. The Caribbean Life, its advertisements, articles and photographs, may
not be reproduced, either in whole or part, without permission in writing from the publisher except
brief portions for purposes of review or commentary consistent with the law.
degraded planet
A group of policemen on duty. Getty / Antonprado
/schnepsmedia.com