It is a further step on the long road which must lead, within six months, to the conclusion of a new global agreement intended to slow down the erosion of biodiversity. For five days, from Monday 11 to Friday 15 October, the representatives of more than a hundred countries gathered, for the great majority in a virtual way, to open the 15e world conference (COP15) on biological diversity.
As planned, this first sequence – COP15 will be held in two stages – was above all an opportunity to launch a new call for mobilization and to reaffirm the priorities of the various stakeholders. The more conflicting subjects should be put on the table at the next working session in Geneva (Switzerland) in January 2022, before being negotiated during the COP15 itself, so far scheduled for face-to-face in China in April. “Our impression is that there is unanimity between all parties on the urgency to act, summed up on behalf of Africa the Minister of the Environment of Senegal, Abdou Karim Sall. We must now transform this goodwill into concrete action through the new global framework for the next decade. “
During this week, states adopted a “Kunming Declaration”, named after the city in southwest China where the “physical” part of the conference was held. A consensual text that recalls the need for profound transformations to put biodiversity “On the road to recovery” by 2030 and list 17 commitments to achieve it.
“The Kunming Declaration points us in the right direction, greeted Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, executive secretary of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. Thanks to it, States have committed themselves to negotiating an effective global framework, with the necessary resources and with a mechanism for monitoring and evaluating progress. “” It is an ambitious, pragmatic and balanced text which will influence the post-2020 framework “, also assured Zhao Yingmin, the Chinese vice-minister in charge of ecology.
Strengthen national action plans
With this declaration, the signatories promise in particular to strengthen their national action plans, to work on “Promote integration” conservation efforts in all decision-making processes, to allow “Full and effective participation” indigenous peoples and local communities or even “Strengthen efficiency” protected areas. If it does not contain any quantified objective, the text “Take note” the call by many states to achieve 30% of land and seas under protection by 2030, a goal that is included in the draft agreement and is supported by 72 states. China, which officially took over the presidency of COP15, has not commented on this ambition.
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