COP15 is short for the fifteenth convention of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, which was signed in 1992. (Reporting by Arnav Jha)
Image Credit source: AP/PTI
Canada on Tuesday in Montreal COP15 Biodiversity Summit In the opening ceremony of the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made a very serious comment about biodiversity. “Humanity has become a weapon of mass extinction,” he said. He said the conference in Montreal “is giving us an opportunity to stop this orgy of destruction”.
The Secretary-General delivered his speech in front of representatives of 196 countries who have gathered at the summit to create a new global framework for protecting Earth’s biodiversity. These creatures have reached the verge of extinction due to human activities. China is presiding over the conference. It was earlier to be held in Kunming but due to the Zero COVID policy there, it has been organized in Montreal, Canada. It is expected that the conference will last for two weeks i.e. till 19th December.
What is the Biodiversity Summit and why is it important?
COP15 is short for the fifteenth convention of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, which was signed in 1992. The purpose of both the recently concluded COP27 and COP15 is different. While COP27 was about climate change, COP15 focused on biodiversity. Like the Climate Change Conference, the President keeps changing in the Convention on Biodiversity, but here the summit is held every two years. The summit was to be held in 2020 but it was delayed due to Corona.
In 2010 CBD member nations agreed on a 10-year framework for action to conserve and promote biodiversity known as the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. The framework set 20 targets to be met by 2020. In these, targets were set ranging from reducing the loss of natural biodiversity including forests to continuing agriculture for a long time and preserving the environment.
Aichi Targets also provided financial resources and expertise to meet these goals. Unfortunately, as the goals expire in 2020, a UN document reveals that the world collectively hasn’t made enough progress on even one of the 20 goals outlined in 2010.
However, there has been little success in reducing deforestation to about a third of 2010 levels. Serious crisis continued on the natural habitat of organisms like wetland. Apart from this, it was also observed that instead of investing in the conservation of biodiversity, countries around the world are still investing half a trillion dollars on harmful government subsidies for agriculture and fossil fuels.
More than one million species on the verge of extinction
Experts have warned that humanity has brought more than one million species around the world to the brink of extinction. Most estimates show that between 1970 and 2018, wildlife populations around the world declined by an average of 69 percent.
While extinction is part of the natural cycle of life, human activity has accelerated the process by more than 1,000 times. Most endangered species are insects, which account for about two-thirds of all known animal species on Earth.
The extinction of insects is not known because of their sheer numbers, but a 2020 study found that the world may have lost somewhere between five and 10 percent of all insect species in 150 years. This equates to approximately 2,50,000 to 5,00,000 species.
This is quite dangerous. Experts say that insects are responsible for pollination of about 75 percent of the world’s crops and 80 percent of wild plants. Insects are needed to maintain the food chain. If there are no insects, there will be no pollination of the plants and there will be a crisis on the plants.
Apart from the loss of species, a 2022 United Nations report makes it clear that 40 percent of the world’s land has been degraded. There is lack of natural resources in them, soil fertility is poor and even water is not able to feed the living beings. Due to these, biodiversity is ending and the cover of native vegetation and trees on the earth is decreasing. This includes ‘desert’ land as well as industrial land with the use of fertilizers.
It should be noted that biodiversity is important not only for global health and food security, but also for the world’s economies. In a 2020 report, the World Economic Forum said that nearly half of global GDP, or about $44 trillion, is “moderately or heavily dependent” on nature.
This is why the world needs a new agreement for collective biodiversity conservation efforts for the next 10 years and beyond.
For this reason, scientists, experts and stakeholders have been pushing for a draft COP15 similar to the Paris Agreement for Biodiversity, citing the 2015 climate change draft, which has committed to limit global warming to 1.5°C. Target has been set.
what to expect
A draft resolution released last year called for 21 targets to be met by 2030, which has now reportedly been increased to 23. This ranges from reducing the use of harmful pesticides to mandating companies to report environmental risks of their activities. But perhaps the most ambitious and important goal is “30 by 30”.
Simply put, this target obliges countries to conserve 30 percent of their land and marine areas by 2030. More than 110 countries have already committed to this goal. But it should be noted that countries around the world have already failed to meet the previous targets. Aichi has set a target of conserving 17 percent of terrestrial and inland waters and 10 percent of coastal and marine areas by 2020.
It should also be noted that it is not clear in the agreement that if the world adopts the target of 30 to 30, then it should be implemented by different countries at their own level or it should be implemented at the global level.
As is the case with climate change, success in biodiversity will require a fundamental rethinking of how humans live their lives and their land-use patterns. A lot of capital will be required for the conservation of nature. However, how much capital will be required is a matter of debate. In a recent report, the UN Environment Program has estimated that by 2025, the world will need $384 billion every year to conserve nature.
The report compared this to subsidies harming country’s biodiversity around the world and found that $1 trillion is being spent on it.
According to other estimates from organizations working on conservation, the annual cost of conservation of biodiversity will be from 722 billion to 967 billion dollars. To be clear, it will not be easy to meet this target. The conflict between the developing and developed world during COP27 is expected to come to the fore in this summit as well. Especially when the investment to be made on it will be discussed. Middle and low-income countries will definitely seek funding from the “Global North” ie developed countries so that the necessary funds can be spent for the fight to conserve nature. Whether the rich countries will agree to bear this cost or not remains to be seen.
: Language Inputs