6 October 2008: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP), in
cooperation with governments, is drawing up some projects to demonstrate that
re-investing in damaged ecosystems can generate significant economic,
environmental and social returns.

In total, UNEP aims to launch pilot projects
that are large-scale and involve the nationally significant rehabilitation of
nature-based assets in five countries during the run up to the next meeting of
the Convention on Biological Diversity, scheduled to take place in Nagoya,
Japan, in 2010. Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive
Director, said the projects would also serve as key adaptation measures for
communities and countries facing increasingly severe climate change impacts.
While recognizing the urgent need for investments in hard infrastructure –
cleaner and greener energy, sustainable transport networks and urban planning –
he also called for investment in ‘soft’ infrastructure – from forests and
fisheries to wetlands and soils – to ensure water and food supplies in the face
of global warming. [UN
Press Release] [UNEP
press release]