In a historic agreement aimed at preserving biodiversity, nations have agreed to reserve a third of the earth for nature by 2030.
In addition, there will be goals for safeguarding key ecosystems such as rainforests and wetlands, as well as the rights of indigenous peoples.
The agreement was reached early Monday morning during the COP15 UN biodiversity summit in Montreal, Canada.
Due to Covid, the meeting was relocated from China and postponed.
Despite last-minute opposition from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, China, who presided over the conference, ratified the agreement with the gavel.
The United Nations Development Programme stated that the “historic accord” meant that people around the world may anticipate meaningful progress in their efforts to reverse biodiversity loss.
The primary points are:
- Maintaining, improving, and restoring ecosystems, especially preventing the extinction of species and preserving genetic diversity
- “Sustainable use” of biodiversity is essentially ensuring that species and habitats can continue to supply the services, such as food and clean water, they provide for humanity.
- Ensuring that the advantages of natural resources, such as plant-based medicines, are shared fairly and indigenous peoples’ rights are safeguarded.
- Paying for and investing in biodiversity: Ensuring that money and conservation efforts reach the appropriate locations.
The Montreal summit was viewed as the “final chance” to put nature on the road to recovery. Throughout the discussions, there was disagreement on the level of ambition and how to finance the objectives.
One of the most contentious issues was how to fund conservation efforts in regions that are home to some of the world’s most exceptional biodiversity.
Biodiversity refers to all of Earth’s living organisms and their intricate interdependence that supports the planet.
China released an updated draught of the deal on Sunday.
After hours of delays, delegates gathered a full session of the summit early on Monday morning but soon agreed to the wording.
The president of COP 15, Minister Huang Runqui, endorsed the agreement over protests from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which stated that it could not support the agreement.
Georgina Chandler, senior international policy advisor for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, stated that the Montreal agreement should benefit both humans and wildlife.
Governments, businesses, and communities must now choose how they can assist make these commitments a reality.
Sue Lieberman of the Wildlife Conservation Society stated that the deal was a compromise, and despite containing numerous good and hard-fought provisions, it might have gone farther “to fundamentally revolutionize our connection with nature and end our destruction of ecosystems, habitats, and species.”
The accord was reached after days of intensive negotiations. On Saturday, ministers delivered impassioned statements about the need to establish concrete targets by the end of the decade to put nature on the road to recovery.
“Nature serves as our vessel. We must ensure it stays afloat, “Virginijus Sinkevicius, EU Commissioner for Environment, Oceans, and Fisheries, stated.
Susana Muhamed, the environment minister of Colombia, earned cheers as she spoke about safeguarding the earth for the sake of everybody. “Nature has no borders,” she declared.
Scientists have cautioned that by destroying forests and grasslands at record rates and polluting the oceans, people are pushing the Earth past its acceptable limits.
This includes increasing the likelihood that infectious diseases such as SARS-CoV-2, Ebola, and HIV may spread from wild animals to human populations.
Finances have been a major sticking point. In echoes of the COP 27 climate summit in Egypt, some countries have called for the establishment of a new fund to safeguard biodiversity, but this has been rejected by others.
