Ayer Devens | Pocket Forests
Global Context
Sustainable Development Goals developed by the United Nations is a call for action for a global partnership toward peace and prosperity for people and the planet. Nature-based solutions, such as pocket forests, offer communities opportunities to think globally and act locally. From improved soil health, to increased biodiversity, stormwater management, carbon storage, and improved air quality, pocket forests are one tool that communities can use to achieve a number of global Sustainable Development Goals.
The U.N. Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (https://www.decadeonrestoration.org/) recommends nature-based solutions such as pocket forests to contribute to achieving global ecological restoration goals which, “aims to prevent, halt and reverse the degradation of ecosystems on every continent and in every ocean. It can help to end poverty, combat climate change and prevent a mass extinction. It will only succeed if everyone plays a part.”
by UN Biodiversity
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework was adopted on December 18, 2022 at the 15th Meeting of the Conference of Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) https://www.cbd.int/article/cop15-final-text-kunming-montreal-gbf-221222, which includes four goals and 23 targets to be achieved by the year 2030.
Pocket Forests contribute to Targets 2 and 12:
Target 2: “Ensure that by 2030 at least 30 percent of areas of degraded terrestrial, inland water, and coastal and marine ecosystems are under effective restoration, in order to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, ecological integrity and connectivity.”
Target 12: "Significantly increase the area and quality and connectivity of, access to, and benefits from green and blue spaces in urban and densely populated areas sustainably, by mainstreaming the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, and ensure biodiversity-inclusive urban planning, enhancing native biodiversity, ecological connectivity and integrity, and improving human health and well-being and connection to nature and contributing to inclusive and sustainable urbanization and the provision of ecosystem functions and services.”
Global Context Resources
Spotlight: Global Context Report
Online Resources
Articles
Massachusetts State Climate Summaries 2022
US Department of Commerce NOAA
https://statesummaries.ncics.org/chapter/ma/
Bylaw Review: Encouraging Nature-Based Solutions
Mass Audubon
Forests: The Value of Nature Facts Sheets
Mass Audubon
Wetlands-Waterways: The Value of Nature Facts Sheets
Mass Audubon
Grasslands-Farmlands: The Value of Nature Facts Sheets
Mass Audubon
Urban Green Space: The Value of Nature Facts Sheets
Mass Audubon
Coastal: The Value of Nature Facts Sheets
Mass Audubon
References: The Value of Nature Facts Sheets
Mass Audubon
Videos
Climate Emergency: Feedback Loops Series
Northern Light Productions
His Holiness the Dalai Lama In Conversation with Greta Thunberg and Leading Scientists
Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama