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https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/16/climate/trump-oil-drilling-alaska.html#:~:text=The%20Trump%20administration%20on%20Monday,of%20leases%20just%20before%20Jan.

This NYT article gives a summary on how capital-driven activities affecting Life on Land directly impact indigenous communities and dismiss their rights and beliefs.

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The lease sales could occur just before Inauguration Day, leaving the administration of Joseph R. Biden Jr. to try to reverse them after the fact.

The Trump administration announced Monday it would begin selling oil leases for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. Credit... Christopher Miller for The New York Times

The Trump administration on Monday announced that it would begin the formal process of selling leases to oil companies in a last-minute push to achieve its long-sought goal of allowing oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.

That sets up a potential sale of leases just before Jan. 20, Inauguration Day, leaving the new administration of Joseph R. Biden Jr., who has opposed drilling in the refuge, to try to reverse them after the fact.

"This lease sale is one more box the Trump administration is trying to check off for its oil industry allies," said Adam Kolton, executive director of the Alaska Wilderness League, in a statement. "But it is disappointing that this administration until the very end has maintained such low regard for America's public lands, or the wildlife and Indigenous communities that depend on them."

The Arctic refuge is one of the last vast expanses of wilderness in the United States, 19 million acres that for the most part are untouched by people, home instead to wandering herds of caribou, polar bears and migrating waterfowl. It has long been prized, and protected, by environmentalists, but President Trump has boasted that opening part of it to oil development was among the most significant of his efforts to expand domestic fossil fuel production.

The Federal Register on Monday posted a "call for nominations" from the Bureau of Land Management, to be officially published Tuesday, relating to lease sales in about 1.5 million acres of the refuge along the coast of the Arctic Ocean. A call for nominations is essentially a request to oil companies to specify which tracts of land they would be interested in exploring and potentially drilling for oil and gas.

The American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said it welcomed the move. In a statement, the organization said that development in the refuge was "long overdue and will create good-paying jobs and provide a new revenue stream for the state - which is why a majority of Alaskans support it."

The administration's announcement establishes a tight timeline for lease sales, with the earliest they could occur being on or about Jan. 17. The call for nominations will allow for comments until Dec. 17, after which the bureau, part of the Interior Department, could issue a final notice of sales to occur as soon as 30 days later.

Normally the bureau would take time to review the comments and determine which tracts to sell before issuing the final notice of sale, a process that can take several months. In this case, however, the bureau could decide to make the entire coastal plain available and issue the notice immediately.

An Interior Department spokesman, Conner Swanson, did not respond to emailed questions about the timing of the call for nominations, which was first reported by Bloomberg News. Mr. Swanson referred only to a Bureau of Land Management news release announcing the move. In the release, the bureau's state director for Alaska, Chad Padgett, said the call for nominations "brings us one step closer to holding an historic first Coastal Plain lease sale."

Any sales would be subject to review by agencies in the Biden administration, including the bureau and the Justice Department, a process that could take a month or two. That could allow the Biden White House to refuse to issue the leases, perhaps by claiming that the scientific underpinnings of the plan to allow drilling in the refuge were flawed, as environmental groups have claimed.

In 2017, in a reversal of decades of protections, the Trump administration and the Republican-controlled Congress opened the refuge's coastal plain to potential oil and gas development.

The coastal plain is thought to overlie geological formations that could hold billions of barrels of oil, although that assessment is based on data collected in the 1980s. Only one exploratory well has ever been drilled in the refuge, and a New York Times investigation found that the results were disappointing.

Should sales proceed, it is unclear how much interest drilling in the refuge will attract from oil companies. It would be at least a decade before any oil would be extracted, and by then the drive to wean the world from fossil fuels may have lessened any need for it. Arctic oil production is also difficult and costly; companies may decide it's not worth the effort financially. They also may fear the potential impact to their reputations by drilling in such a pristine place.

In August, the Interior Department announced that it had accepted a final environmental review of the lease-sale plan and would begin preparing to auction off acreage. At the time, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said he believed that sales could occur before the end of the year.

Environmentalists and other opponents, including a group representing an Alaska Native tribe, the Gwich'in, who live near the refuge, filed suit, claiming that the Interior Department did not adequately take into account the effects of oil and gas development on climate change and on wildlife.

The Gwich'in are especially concerned about the effects on herds of Porcupine caribou, which roam throughout that part of Alaska and neighboring areas in Canada and use the coastal plain for calving. The Gwich'in, who have spiritual ties to the animals and rely on them for food, say even exploratory drilling and its accompanying road building and other activities, could affect calving and ultimately the survival of the herds.

Others, including many scientists, are concerned about the survival of polar bears, which come to land from their natural habitat, sea ice, as the ice melts and retreats northward. The subpopulation of bears in the area is already among the most threatened of any in the world.

Scientists fear that even preliminary exploration, in the form of a seismic survey to get a better sense of the petroleum reserves beneath the coastal plain, could disturb, injure or even kill bears and their cubs in winter dens as trucks and other heavy equipment roll across the tundra.

Plans for such a survey have recently been revived by the Bureau of Land Management. They have been proposed by an Alaska Native village corporation, the Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation, using a contractor, SAExploration, that had been part of a similar proposal in 2018 that went nowhere.

If the bureau gives final approval to the plan, it could begin by the end of this year. Even if the survey proceeds, however, it will not be finished until well after the sales take place.

Coral Davenport contributed reporting.

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Trump Administration, in Late Push, Moves to Sell Oil Rights in Arctic Refuge (Published 2020)

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The lease sales could occur just before Inauguration Day, leaving the administration of Joseph R. Biden Jr. to try to reverse them after the fact. The Trump administration on Monday announced that it would begin the formal process of selling leases to oil companies in a last-minute push to achieve its long-sought goal of allowing oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.

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“We have more than a decade of experience and knowledge on designing forest solutions for people, climate and nature through REDD+,” says Tim Christophersen, head of UNEP’s Nature for Climate branch and coordinator of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. “Now we can apply that knowledge to other ecosystems, to ensure that climate investments in nature have a high integrity and impact.”

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Nature-based solutions can reduce global warming and shift our economies and societies onto a sustainable path, the report found. With careful planning and ramped-up investment, nature-based solutions can cut net emissions by the equivalent of up to 18 gigatons of carbon dioxide per year by 2050 - a "significant proportion" of the total mitigation needed to avoid dangerous climate change.

However, these solutions must be designed well, and look for benefits beyond carbon, to succeed. The report recommends that they build on social and environmental safeguards developed for the UN Climate Convention's REDD+ mechanism to save and restore forests, which include principles of free, prior and informed consent by local and indigenous communities.

"We have more than a decade of experience and knowledge on designing forest solutions for people, climate and nature through REDD+," says Tim Christophersen, head of UNEP's Nature for Climate branch and coordinator of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. "Now we can apply that knowledge to other ecosystems, to ensure that climate investments in nature have a high integrity and impact."

Here are five key ecosystems where nature-based solutions can deliver:
Forests: where the most is at stake

Demarcation between forested and deforested land in Central Africa. Photo: Axel Fassio/CIFOR

Protecting, managing and restoring forests offers roughly two-thirds of the total mitigation potential of all nature-based solutions. Despite massive and ongoing losses, forests still cover more than 30 per cent of the planet's land. Billions of people depend on them for their livelihoods, food and water. In mountainous areas, they protect settlements from floods, landslides and avalanches.

Well-funded protected areas can conserve forests with high carbon and biodiversity stocks, such as those in tropical latitudes. In working forests, sustainable harvesting and community management can prevent losses while benefitting people. Degraded and abandoned farmland can be planted with native trees or helped to regenerate naturally.

These solutions could also reduce demand for land, for instance by making existing agriculture more productive, promoting plant-rich diets and reducing food waste. The UN-REDD Programme deploys the expertise of UNEP, the Food and Agriculture Organization and UN Development Programme to support initiatives in developing countries to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, including through the use of nature-based solutions.
Peatlands: Earth's most potent carbon stores

Local women take action for peatland restoration and research in Riau, Indonesia. Photo: Aris Sanjaya/CIFOR

Peatlands may only cover 3 percent of the world's land, but they hold nearly 30 percent of its soil carbon. Preserving and restoring peatlands means keeping them wet so that the carbon doesn't oxidize and float off into the atmosphere. Drained peat is also susceptible to fires that can devastate wildlife, pollute whole regions and be tough to contain.

Peatland protection is a low-tech, cost-effective way to preserve massive carbon stocks and plant and animals species. Like forests, peatlands regulate freshwater supplies and prevent flooding, while supplying communities with food and fuel. The Global Peatlands Initiative aims to unlock international finance for conservation and management of peatlands so that they are not drained and displaced by farming, infrastructure and mining.
Farmlands: where carbon feeds humanity

A Kenyan farmer growing fodder trees, shrubs, and grass for dairy cattle - a practice improving soils and ecosystem services. Photo: World Agroforestry Center

Without carbon in the soil, humanity would starve. The more organic carbon in the soil, the more bountiful our crop yields, and the cooler the climate. Conserving and restoring the carbon content of croplands and rangelands involves nature-based solutions with new techniques like sustainable grazing, crop rotation and minimum tillage. A shift to sustainable farming with regenerated, carbon-rich soils can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from chemical fertilizers and pesticides and cut energy use during farming. Less intensive livestock-rearing can cut emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and counter the conversion of more forests and other natural areas for grazing land. The UN Decade on Restoration is working closely with partners who focus on soil conservation and restoration, such as www.4p1000.org.
Oceans and coasts: the many benefits of mangroves

Restoring mangroves helps store carbon and protects life underwater. Photo: Jenny Stock / Ocean Image Bank

Mangroves, salt marshes and seagrass beds trap and accumulate organic matter in their soils and prevent it from being lost to the atmosphere. Coastal nature-based solutions may focus on protecting communities and infrastructure from storms and rising sea levels. But any initiative to protect, sustainably use or replant mangroves or seagrass meadows also advances climate mitigation. Coastal wetlands are also habitats for spawning fish and other biodiversity that support livelihoods of coastal communities and contribute to global food security.
Cities: the urban frontier of climate change

Trees as part of urban architecture in Singapore. Photo: Adrien Olichon / Unsplash

The majority of humanity now lives and works in cities, which are introducing their own nature-based solutions. More and more municipalities are replacing 'gray' with 'green' infrastructure by creating parks, restoring urban lakes and streams, using sustainable building materials and lining streets and roofs with trees. (UNEP has developed guidelines on how countries can make their infrastructure more resilient). Such measures protect against flooding, heatwaves and disease and improve well-being of people. They encourage people to walk and cycle and consume less concrete and other carbon-intensive resources.

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Five ecosystems where nature-based solutions can deliver huge benefits

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Nature-based solutions to climate change in forests, farmlands, oceans, coasts and cities.

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Image: UNSPLASH/Steven Kamenar

Nature-based solutions are actions and policies that protect, manage and restore natural ecosystems, while addressing societal challenges.

These solutions are recognized as an effective way of combating issues such as climate change and deforestation.

Investment by G20 economies in nature-based solutions needs to double by mid-century to help prevent an environmental crisis.

Nature is a powerful tool in the fight against threats like climate change and biodiversity loss, but more must be done to fully utilize its potential - and we need to act quickly.

Not only are trees, plants and healthy soil an abundant and cost-effective means of removing and storing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, they are also home to insects, birds, animals and a world of microscopic organisms that help to underpin human life.

Sustainable agriculture and forestry solutions that harness the power of nature can help protect, preserve and restore natural ecosystems and address some of society's challenges.

But investment to scale up these initiatives needs to increase many times over to help meet climate targets.

Repair, restore and regenerate

So, what are nature-based solutions?

The term refers to actions and policies that use nature's resources to protect and restore ecosystems, while helping resolve society's challenges.

It's an approach to agriculture, forestry and land management that treats nature as a planetary life-support system, preserving woodlands, peat and grasslands, aquatic systems and working lands used to grow crops or rear livestock.

Nature-based solutions aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, promote healthy ecosystems and reduce the likelihood of flooding, soil erosion, drought and other extremes of the climate crisis.

"A fast overhaul of the entire food and agriculture systems is needed to shift market dynamics from driving soil and forest degradation towards starting to repair, restore and regenerate nature and communities," says Rainforest Alliance CEO Santiago Gowland.

Gowland points to solutions such as regenerative farming - which improves rather than depletes natural resources like soil - and sustainable forestry, where timber is harvested without devastating large areas of tree canopy.

Other examples include Scotland's plan to plant shade-giving trees along the banks of remote rivers to help cool the waters where salmon spawn - waters that are becoming inhospitably hot due to climate change.

Preserving ecosystems

Deforestation alone has removed 1.5 billion hectares of forest in the past 300 years or so - an area roughly one and a half times the size of the US.

Deforestation reached its peak in the 1980s, with records showing a 150 million hectare net loss during that decade as vast tracts of the Brazilian Amazon were cleared to graze livestock. This compares to canopy loss of 19 million hectares each decade between 1700 and 1850.

Rates have fallen since the 1980s, and some regions have begun to regrow more forests than they lose - as shown in green on the chart above.

Financing a nature-based future

Preventing deforestation and other unsustainable farming and forestry practices requires investment in environmentally focused solutions - and lots of it.

Funding from the G20 - consisting of the EU and 19 of the world's largest economies - accounts for 92% of global investments in nature-based solutions, but is mostly spent on domestic initiatives.

Image: State of Finance for Nature in the G20

The group invests $120 billion each year on nature-based solutions, assets and activities, but this needs to more than double to $285 billion by 2050 to avert a nature, climate and land degradation crisis, according to the State of Finance for Nature in the G20 report, released in January 2022.

This joint analysis by the UN Environment Programme, the World Economic Forum and the Economics of Land Degradation Initiative looks at how wealthy nations can promote sustainable farming and supply chains, and increase protection for oceans, forests and other natural spaces to limit global warming.

"The amount of money being invested in nature-based solutions is not nearly enough," the report's co-author Ivo Mulder told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. "I would hope that G20 countries can lead by example and they're not doing that at the moment."

The report's authors call on governments and private investors in G20 countries to substantially increase their international investments in initiatives that put nature at the heart of efforts to build back better after the pandemic. Climate and nature-related financial risks should also be fully disclosed by companies and financial institutions, they say.

What is the World Economic Forum doing about nature?

Biodiversity loss and climate change are occurring at unprecedented rates, threatening humanity's very survival. Nature is in crisis, but there is hope. Investing in nature can not only increase our resilience to socioeconomic and environmental shocks, but it can help societies thrive.

There is strong recognition within the Forum that the future must be net-zero and nature-positive. The Nature Action Agenda initiative, within the Platform for Accelerating Nature-based Solutions, is an inclusive, multistakeholder movement catalysing economic action to halt biodiversity loss by 2030.

Dynamic and flourishing natural ecosystems are the foundation for human wellbeing and prosperity. The Future of Nature and Business report found that nature-positive transitions in key sectors are good for the economy and could generate up to $10.1 trillion in annual business value and create 395 million jobs by 2030.

To support these transitions, the Platform for Accelerating Nature-based Solutions has convened a community of Champions for Nature promoting the sustainable management of the planet for the good of the economy and society. The Nature Action Agenda also recently launched the 100 Million Farmers initiative, which will drive the transition of the food and agriculture system towards a regenerative model, as well as the BiodiverCities by 2030 initiative to create an urban development model that is in harmony with nature.

Get in touch if you would like to collaborate on these efforts or join one of our communities.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

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What are nature-based solutions and how can we finance them?

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Nature-based solutions are actions and policies that protect, manage and restore natural ecosystems, while addressing societal challenges. These solutions are recognized as an effective way of combating issues such as climate change and deforestation. Investment by G20 economies in nature-based solutions needs to double by mid-century to help prevent an environmental crisis.

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Project Goals

Led by Durham University, NATURVATION involves 14 institutions across Europe working in fields as diverse as urban development, innovation studies, geography, ecology, environmental assessment and economics. Our partnership includes city governments, non-governmental organisations and business. We will assess what nature-based solutions can achieve in cities, examine how innovation is taking place, and work with communities and stakeholders to develop the knowledge and tools required to realise the potential of nature-based solutions for meeting urban sustainability goals.

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NATure-based URban innoVATION is a 4-year project, funded by the European Commission and involving 14 institutions across Europe in the fields of urban development, geography, innovation studies and economics. We will seek to develop our understanding of what nature-based solutions can achieve in cities.

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Education for sustainable development with a systemic approach in blue economy and green economy https://summitdialogues.org/dialogue/39188/  

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Education for sustainable development with a systemic approach in blue economy and green economy https://summitdialogues.org/dialogue/39188/  

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Nature-Based Solutions in the SDGs

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Consumo Sostenibles con Soluciones basadas en la Naturaleza para garantizar alimentos sanos y nutritivos para todos con enfoque a los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible.

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Tema1.- la seguridad alimentaria y el estado nutricional: Los más vulnerables tengan mas repercusiones socioeconómicas y sanitarias de la pandemia de la enfermedad por coronavirus (COVID-19). Pensamiento sistémico en los Objetivos de Desarrollo sostenible para realizar Acciones Tema2.- Reducir drás…

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Deforestation is leading to more infectious diseases in humans

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As more and more forest is cleared around the world, scientists fear that the next deadly pandemic could emerge from what lives within them.

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Matiur Rahman: In Assam, we the Indigenous Peoples are facing lot of problems. Biodiversity is in crisis. The Forestation is continuing. The Temperature is very high. Diminishing Land for Floods. The Indigenous Foods are not protected. Indigenous foods are healthy and hygiene.
The Indian Government have no any policy in this regard. In this situation what shall we do. How can the UN or World Communities can help us ?
-Matiur Rahman, Working President, Assam Sanmilita Mahasangha, State : Assam, Country : India.

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We need to put more focus on transforming production over consumption. While making individual changes can be impactful, they are nevertheless heavily dependant on one’s income level. Box-bottled water, plant-based food, and most eco-friendly products for example are often more costly than their counterparts, and are choices that can only be made under the luxury of having open access to food and nutrition (in the case of plant-based food choices). Recycling is also mostly reliant on the public waste management infrastructure and fundings.

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Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

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For many people in the world, food waste has become a habit: buying more food than we need at markets, letting fruits and vegetables spoil at home or taking larger portions than we can eat.

These habits put extra strain on our natural resources and damage our environment. When we waste food, we waste the labour, effort, investment and precious resources (like water, seeds, feed, etc.) that go into producing it, not to mention the resources that go into transporting and processing it. In short, wasting food increases greenhouse gas emissions and contributes to climate change.

It's a big problem. In fact, worldwide, tonnes of edible food are lost or wasted every day. Between harvest and retail alone, around 14 percent of all food produced globally is lost. Huge quantities of food are also wasted in retail or at the consumer level.

The part of food that is lost from harvest up to, but not including, the retail level is called . The part wasted at the consumer or retail level is referred to as . We make this distinction to address the root causes of this problem, a problem that everyone from farmers and producers to customers and shop-owners can help end.

Reducing food loss and waste is essential in a world where millions of people go hungry every day . When we reduce waste, we respect that food is not a given for the millions of people who go hungry every day.

It's up to us to change our habits to make not wasting food a way of life!

Here are some easy actions you can take to re-connect to food and what it stands for:
1. Adopt a healthier, more sustainable diet
Life is fast-paced and preparing nutritious meals can be a challenge, but healthy meals don't have to be elaborate. The internet is full of quick healthy recipes that you can share with your family and friends
2. Buy only what you need
Plan your meals. Make a shopping list and stick to it, and avoid impulse buys. Not only will you waste less food, you'll also save money!
3. Pick ugly fruit and vegetables
Don't judge food by its appearance! Oddly-shaped or bruised fruits and vegetables are often thrown away because they don't meet arbitrary cosmetic standards. Don't worry - they taste the same! Use mature fruit for smoothies, juices and desserts.
4. Store food wisely
Move older products to the front of your cupboard or fridge and new ones to the back. Use airtight containers to keep open food fresh in the fridge and ensure packets are closed to stop insects from getting in.
5. Understand food labelling
There's a big difference between "best before" and "use-by" dates. Sometimes food is still safe to eat after the "best before" date, whereas it's the "use-by" date that tells you when it is no longer safe to eat. Check food labels for unhealthy ingredients such as trans fats and preservatives and avoid foods with added sugar or salt.
6. Start small
Take smaller portions at home or share large dishes at restaurants.
7. Love your leftovers
If you don't eat everything you make, freeze it for later or use the leftovers as an ingredient in another meal.

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15 quick tips for reducing food waste and becoming a Food hero

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We all have a part to play in saving food

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Future of food - solutions for circular food systems

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Future of food - solutions for circular food systems

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ENVforum Annual Conference 2021 - Future of Food

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The Asia-Europe Environment Forum (ENVforum) Annual Conference 2021 focused on Circular Food Systems as possible solutions to reverse climate change. The following Policy Briefs sumarise the outcomes and discussions arising from the conference.