Niagara College’s dean of Business, Tourism and Environment, Al Unwin, has always been passionate about biological diversity and ecological restoration. Since his childhood, Unwin has been drawn to nature and has had a keen interest in the impacts that our environment have on our population and vice versa. Now, after a 30 year career in environmental sciences, Unwin is bringing his expertise to the United Nations.
Earlier this year, Unwin was invited to join the Canadian delegation to the United Nations. Members of the delegation are preparing for the 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity under the United Nations, which is scheduled to take place in October in Kuming, China.
While Unwin will join the convention virtually, he is looking forward to supporting the Government of Canada as important discussions regarding biological diversity take place.
“This is an honourable and humbling opportunity that I couldn’t say no to,” said Unwin. “I’m passionate about this work and the interactions that our current and future generations have with nature are extremely important to me. That is why the Canadian delegation is working tirelessly to identify what goals and targets should be in place for the next decade to prevent the biodiversity loss that is currently taking place.”
The United Nations has declared the decade of 2021 to 2030 the decade of ecosystem restoration. The initiative aims to significantly scale up the restoration of degraded and destroyed ecosystems to combat climate change and enhance food security, water supply and biodiversity. The UN estimates that the restoration of 350 million hectares of degraded land between now and 2030 could eliminate up to 26 gigatons of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
While this will be Unwin’s first time serving as part of a Canadian UN delegation, this is not his first time participating at the United Nations convention on Biological Diversity. He previously joined the convention when he served on the Society of Ecological Restoration Board of Directors. After his term on the board, Unwin became a Global Restoration Ambassador for the organization and spoke at the Convention on Biological Diversity in Montreal, as well as the 13th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 13) to the Convention on Biological Diversity under the United Nations in December 2016.
“I’m excited to represent Canada and Niagara College on one of the largest world stages,” said Unwin. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that highlights the importance of creating jobs and careers in environmental sciences, a lesson that I will be able to share with future generations of NC students.”
