We are facing the ongoing catastrophic loss of biodiversity, as the global commitments have not turned into action or have not been enough. All UN member states except the US have ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) that was conceived in the Earth Summit in 1992. Will the 2022 UN Biodiversity Conference in April 2022 in Kunming, China, be able to change the situation and make a global commitment and ambitious targets for 2030 as well as a sufficient action plan?
The new strategy and draft goals and actions for 2030 were discussed in the webinar organised by the Siemenpuu Foundation on 2 November 2021. Analysis from the perspectives of the environmental justice movements in the Global South were given by Gadir Lavadenz (CBD Alliance) and Simone Lovera (Global Forest Coalition). Marina von Weissenberg (CDB Chief Negotiator, Ministry of Environment, Finland) gave commentary remarks.
The discussion focussed on the following questions:
- New targets must be legally binding, but how?
- Why CBD fails to touch the root causes of biodiversity loss – overconsumption and production?
- Are the rights of the people, esp. indigenous peoples’ and local communities to manage their land and waters in focus, or is it just the conservation?
- What is the power balance in the decision-making in biodiversity conservation and sustainable use – private-sector profits versus rights of affected people?
- How CBD recognises the gender aspects of biodiversity and its sustainable use and equitable sharing of the biodiversity benefits?
- What does the target to protect 30% of the planet mean? Does it safeguard biodiversity?
- What do nature-based solutions and habitat restoration mean? What kind of biodiversity they will bring to whom?
The webinar recording is available from this link on Siemenpuu’s Facebook page. The pdf presentations for download are available on the webinar event page.
The discussion will continue in the second part of the Siemenpuu Webinar series on Biodiversity and the Global South in December (date TBC) with views from local communities in India, Kenya, and Nepal.