Fabiola Yañez met with the First Ladies of ALMA to discuss the environmental well-being of the region

The First Lady, Fabiola Yañez, conducted a new virtual meeting with the Alliance of Spouses of Heads of State and Representatives (ALMA) to get involved in the launch of the “United Nations Decade for Ecosystem Restoration”.

The alliance, which is under the coordination of Yañez, has joined the global initiative that promotes “restoring ecosystems as a driver of well-being, prosperity and environmental sustainability”. The research is to promote the broad participation of all of society, in particular young people, girls and boys in the activities of restoration and care of the ecosystems of the region.

The activity was carried out with the support of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and was convened with the axis “Why is it urgent to accelerate the restoration of ecosystems in Latin America and the Caribbean?

Besides Yañez, in charge of the convocation, the First Ladies attended Cecile Morel (Chile); Ana García de Hernandez (Honduras) and Silvina abdoo (Paraguay). On behalf of UNEP, the Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean participated, Mercy Martin and the executive director of Rewilding Argentina, Sofia heinonen.

As moderator of the discussion, the journalist and moderator was summoned, Sergio Elguezabal, recognized for his career in environmental and sustainable development issues.

“Under the leadership of UNEP and FAO, the United Nations Decade will inspire governments and other agencies to collaborate and develop the right skills for implement large-scale restoration initiatives for terrestrial and marine ecosystems», Said Fabiola Yañez.

For his part, Piedad Martín argued that “the first ladies of ALMA can be ambassadors of this message” for the restoration of ecosystems and “sources of inspiration and convergence for this social movement around care and recovery of nature ”.

As stated, all present agreed that in the face of the need for the triple threat of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, the world must fulfill its commitment to restore at least 1 billion hectares of degraded land over the next decade and they must also add similar commitments to clean up the oceans.

Restoring small and large ecosystems is part of the agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals (2015-2030). Protecting environments helps protect the “livelihoods” of those who depend on them, as well as “controlling disease and reducing the risk of natural disasters,” it said in a statement.

the United Nations Decade for Ecosystem Restoration aims to promote the recovery of degraded or destroyed natural spaces, as well as to preserve those which are still intact.

“Having healthier ecosystems, with richer biodiversity, offers greater benefits such as more fertile soils, greater availability of resources for the livelihoods of local communities, or better conditions for tackling climate change. Says the UN initiative, which specifies that green spaces of various types can be reclaimed, including forests, farmlands, cities, wetlands and oceans.

“Almost anyone can launch restoration initiatives, from governments and development agencies to businesses, communities and individuals; Indeed, the causes of degradation are many and varied, and can have an impact at different scales, ”he concludes.

ALMA’s role

The articulation of ALMA was born from the “frank and constructive dialogue between the First Ladies of Latin America”, with an agenda of priority issues such as children, education, women, youth, migrants and climate change. The countries that compose it are Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay and the Dominican Republic.

In their founding statement, agreed on August 6, 2019, the First Ladies of ALMA expressed the desire to expand relationships and mutual collaboration, in addition to strengthen links to facilitate the exchange of good practices and experiences. It is a research whose result allows them to create the synergies necessary to support the efforts of the authorities in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 of the United Nations (UN).

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