a new The preservation agreement adopted this week at the United Nations summit in Montreal places world on Strong track for a rapid stop decline in nature – but only if rich countries provide enough financing and all countries Prioritize conservation.
Objectives set out in The agreement, known as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, includes halting species extinction, preserving 30% of the world’s land and sea by 2030, mobilizing $200 billion each year for maintain.
Conservationists hailed the deal’s ambition, saying it lived up to the Paris Agreement for nature in Adjust out 23 specific targets against Any countries can measure progress.
This is equivalent to 1.5 degrees Celsius global goal for Marco Lambertini said: director-general of International Wildlife Fund.
Just setting goals took four years of Negotiations, culminated in COP15 summit this month in Montreal, through countries weighing nature considerations against other stress like economic development and industry competition.
At stake is nothing short of Deliverance of hundreds of thousands of Species, with The United Nations says there are now about a million people threatened with extinction.
But delivery on Conservationists told Reuters the 23 targets would be much more difficult and would require strong political will and a willingness to sacrifice some of the world’s most prime real property for nature.
“What really matters is that how These goals and objectives are translated into national plans, said Nick Isaacs, a total ecologist at the UK Centre for Ecology and hydrology.
to develop countriesWill also Depends on Get much-needed financing to incentivize saving and paying for its costs.
“the key will be on developed countries Early delivery on A negotiator from a Latin American country said.
Possible roadblocks
While the deal includes an ambitious goal of 30% protection of land and seas by 2030, the results will depend on areas to be selected for Conservation – and what exactly is considered protection.
It is not precisely defined in agreement and leave it up to me countries to decide how They will be ambitious.
Scientists and conservation groups urged countries To protect species-rich terrestrial and marine areas. The problem is that these are the same areas that most of them are people please enter live And the work – with Moderate weather And a lot of Water and green spaces available.
“the choice of Which areas are to be protected… They must be in place on the best available Data and methodology,” Alexandre Antonelli said, director of science In Britain’s Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Otherwise, there is a file big risk That the cheapest areas are protected and not the most important ones for Biodiversity “.
what countries considered protected also Experts say.
During the talks, delegates discussed whether protected areas should entirely off- the limits of human settlement f developmentor if some resource extraction should Tolerable if managed sustainably. Deal left The question is unresolved.
some countries You have already He started sculpting out protection areas.
China has made Almost a third of her land off-border development. Canada, one of The world, the world’s largest, is expanding protected lands and marine areas in North Pole.
Later this month, the US Congress is expected to do so pass Legislation to provide $1.4 billion in US annual funding for maintain.
show us the money
During the two-week COP15 summit, ministers repeatedly insisted that any conservation ambition must be matched. cash.
funding from developed countries Finally came in Significantly below $100 billion each year asked for. Instead, the deal included a promise of $200 billion each year By 2030 from public And the private – Including $30 billion from rich countries.
without moneywarned poor countries that they would not be able to guarantee protection for nature within their borders.
Protecting the Amazon, Congo Basin forests, peatlands, mangroves and coral reefs globally will require some major increases. in said Brian O’Donnell, CEO director of Non-profit campaign for nature.
They are political leaders just I started to get acquainted how big a Priority for biodiversity should He is on their agendas, and in their budgets.”
At COP15, the three largest rainforest nations – Brazil, Congo and Indonesia – worked together in the final hours to reach a consensus on Deal. The three just last month was announced a new Partnership for cooperation on Preserving forests.
Such an alliance exists great Anders Hugh Larsen said of Rainforest Foundation Norway. “With the agreement prioritizing areas richest in biodiversity, implicitly rainforests protection He will be at the core of implement it.”
