BACK TO NATURE!

The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030

A healthy natural world is the basis for all life on Earth. The correct balance of flora and fauna ensures clean air and water, regulates the climate, enhances wellbeing, and provides an abundance of food for all the planet’s inhabitants.

By expanding our towns and cities, cutting down forests and draining bogs, we humans have upset this natural balance. Many ecosystems can still be saved, but to do so we will need to work together to restore the ecosystems we have lost.

What does this mean for us? It’s time to take action!

The United Nations (UN) has declared 2021 to 2030 the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Many states, organisations and initiatives are already supporting this project, and now Zoo and Tierpark Berlin are also participating as official actors. The common goal is to create a strong global movement that is broadly anchored in society and promotes the re-establishment of ecological systems – as an overarching political goal and through a variety of large and small initiatives on the ground.

#GenerationRestoration: Join the global movement to save our natural world!

Draw attention to the problem! Talk to the people around you about why animals and natural habitats need our protection and how a healthy natural world is crucial for us all. Each individual can make a difference.

Find ways to minimise your carbon footprint and think about how to reduce and recycle your waste. There are many ways to avoid waste – at home, in the office, at school, or when you’re out and about. More sustainable alternatives, like reusable cups and containers, are often available.

The illegal wildlife trade is a big problem. When you’re on holiday, do not purchase goods or souvenirs that may have resulted from animal poaching. Poaching often has a huge impact in the places these animals come from.

Every ecosystem is important. Create green oases to help the climate. Small wild areas in towns and cities provide a sanctuary for insects, birds and amphibians. Even a plant or two on your balcony or windowsill can help.

A global movement

The United Nations General Assembly has declared 2021 to 2030 the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. The goal is to stop global species extinction and restore the planet’s natural balance. Zoo and Tierpark Berlin are part of this global movement.

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For a long time, humans have been using and abusing nature all over the world. As a result, global biodiversity is more threatened today than ever before. This trend must not only be stopped, it must be reversed – because functioning ecosystems are also necessary for human survival. A healthy natural world is a prerequisite for achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and for conserving biodiversity, fighting climate change, protecting the soil, and providing food security.

The UN Decade is coordinated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

0 goals

The member states of the United Nations have adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals. These are intended to create a world that is free from poverty and inequality, that provides education and healthcare for all, and that has intact natural habitats, a healthy climate, and a sustainable economy. All member countries have pledged to achieve these goals by 2030.

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As many as 150 animal and plant species are currently dying out every day. Experts estimate this species loss is 100 times higher than it would be without the presence of humans. Pollution, climate change, poaching, and the destruction and overexploitation of natural habitats are causing the largest mass extinction since the disappearance of the dinosaurs.

Our ecosystem restoration projects

  • Reforestation efforts are reconnecting the fragmented natural habitats of the endangered red panda. Providing people living in these areas with energy-efficient stoves and encouraging the use of more efficient fuels also ensures that fewer trees are cleared for firewood, which allows the forests to recover.

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  • Working with the WWF, we are implementing one of the most important reintroduction projects in Eurasia. Having been driven to extinction in their natural habitat by humans, European bison are now being reintroduced into the wild in Azerbaijan. The herds play an important role in the ecosystem and help to shape their habitat.

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  • We are committed to the protection and reintroduction in Germany of the European hamster, which is threatened with extinction. Animals born at the Tierpark’s breeding and research station are being released into the wild in hamster-friendly habitats around the country, where the rodent is a keystone species in the ecosystem.

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    With our species protection program Berlin World Wild, Zoo and Tierpark Berlin are part of a global network that is helping to protect species all over the world.

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    Opening hours

    Today, 19. March
    9:00 - 18:00
    Last admission: 17:00
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    • Our animals are full up. No more feeding sessions today.
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