Lord Goldsmith, the Foreign Office minister for Climate and the Environment, has this week announced a new programme which will enable new research and innovations to help protect and restore natural ecosystems across Africa and Asia.
The initiative, known as Reversing Environmental Degradation in Africa and Asia [REDAA], will seek to reverse the deterioration of nature and biodiversity in sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia and South Asia.
REDAA will support work to improve the condition of natural landscapes in these regions and improve the resilience of local communities against climate-related phenomena through research on the ground and action driven by people.
Institutions in the target regions will be able to apply for research grants to explore local ecosystems and develop new ways of approaching local environment management, conservation and restoration of nature.
A new Nature Facility has also been launched by the UK, the role of which will be to work alongside the Foreign Office to ensure that any UK bilateral aid spending is pro-nature.
The Foreign Office says that the move follows up on the government’s 10-point plan for Financing Biodiversity, which was unveiled in September at the UN General Assembly.
Lord Goldsmith commented: “Through REDAA and the Nature Facility, we are using our ODA as a catalyst to unlock more public and private finance for nature.
“We are beginning to see the commitments made at COP26 translate into actions. Countries, businesses, and financial institutions have begun the journey towards a nature positive economy. The UK is playing our part too.”
In the background of the government’s announcement, research supported by REDAA uncovered that local, nature-based solutions are a critical element to closing the equalities gap.
The Foreign Office says that restoring nature can create jobs and new income streams for vulnerable communities, with estimations suggested that increased investment in nature-based solutions could create more than 20 million new roles.
The launch of REDAA and the Nature Facility forms part of the government’s wider commitment to spend £11.6 billion on international climate finance to help facilitate the global transition to a green economy and mitigate the impacts of climate change in poorer countries.
Photo by Anastasia Palagutina on Unsplash
