This winter UCLA pledged join the Nature Positive Universities Alliance. The pledge is a commitment by the university to take action in protecting and restoring species and ecosystems, carrying out baseline assessments, and setting goals, as well as producing an annual progress report for the alliance.

Created jointly by the United Nations (UN) Environment Programme and the University of Oxford, aims to spur the world’s higher education institutions to do more work that halts and reverses damage to natural areas so species and ecosystems can flourish. 

“Universities have an important role in addressing the global biodiversity crisis through research and teaching, and also through the hands-on opportunity for restoration and access to nature on our campuses,” said Nurit Katz, UCLA’s chief sustainability officer. “UCLA committed to biodiversity action in our comprehensive sustainability plan, and now we are excited to join universities around the world in the Nature Positive Pledge to build a community of practice to protect vital ecosystems,” she noted.  

As of the initiative’s launch at the UN Biodiversity Conference, also known as COP 15, 114 universities from 47 countries have taken the pledge to assess their environmental impact to make tailored actions to improve their ecological footprint on the planet. 

To learn more about the coalition and UCLA’s involvement, check out the UCLA Newsroom.

Image Source: Nurit Katz