MEDIA STATEMENT
First Draft of UN Biodiversity Treaty Features Call to Protect at Least 30% of the Earth’s Lands and Waters by 2030
WASHINGTON, DC (12 July 2021)—Officials released today “Draft 1” of a global biodiversity framework--known as the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF)--that includes three elements critical to addressing catastrophic biodiversity loss and the extinction crisis: a target to protect at least 30% of the world’s land and ocean by 2030, a target to retain intact natural areas, and a commitment to respect Indigenous Peoples’ and Local Communities’ rights over their lands, territories and resources.
Nature is in a state of crisis, which poses a threat as serious as climate change to the future of humanity. Evidence shows that the ongoing and rapid loss of natural areas across the world poses a grave threat to the health and security of all living things.
30x30
The new draft marks an important milestone in urgently-needed global efforts to protect nature, which must continue to gain momentum. A coalition of more than 60 countries led by Costa Rica, France and the United Kingdom--the High Ambition Coalition of Nature and People is championing the science-based proposal to protect and conserve at least 30% of the world’s lands and seas by 2030.
The ”30x30” target, which is included in the new draft as Target Three, directly addresses the leading causes of biodiversity decline: habitat loss and overexploitation of resources. The new 30x30 target goes beyond calling for 30% protection to importantly emphasize that the areas must be effectively and equitably managed. The new draft also includes as Target One a call for retaining existing intact areas and as well as targets to tackle the biodiversity and climate crises in an integrated manner, restore degraded areas, reduce pollution, recover and conserve species, safeguard nature’s benefits to people, and increase finance for biodiversity conservation.
Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities
The draft includes improved language on safeguarding the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, including language requiring the 30x30 protected and conserved areas to be “equitably managed,” and two targets to ensure “traditional knowledge, innovations and practices of Indigenous Peoples and local communities with their free, prior and informed consent guides decision-making for the effective management of biodiversity,” and “ensure equitable and effective participation in decision-making related to biodiversity by Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and respect their rights over lands, territories and resource.”
The 2019 IPBES global assessment stressed the important role of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in biodiversity conservation, noting that 35% of the areas formally protected and 35% of all remaining terrestrial areas with very low human intervention are traditionally owned, managed, used, or occupied by Indigenous Peoples. Indigenous peoples and local communities will provide their views on the new draft and propose changes or improvements during an Convention on Biological Diversity Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Thematic Dialogue in early August.
Finance
The draft seeks to close the $700 billion per year biodiversity finance gap by 2030 through a reduction in harmful subsidies and an increase in financial resources from all sources. However, the draft only commits to an increase of $10 billion per year in funding from wealthy nations to developing nations, an amount far short of what conservationists and economists say is needed.
Global Momentum on Nature
While the Convention on Biological Diversity’s (CBD) Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework is being negotiated, nations have begun to make positive progress in other arenas.
Last month, the G7 issued a historic Nature Compact, which included a commitment to protect 30% of land and ocean by 2030 (“30x30”).
At the same time, the United Kingdom issued an endorsement of the landmark Dasgupta Review, which committed “to delivering a ‘nature positive’ future, in which we leave the environment in a better state than we found it, and ensure economic and financial decision-making is geared towards delivering that”. Earlier this year, the government announced an additional £3 billion to protect nature, and pledged to ensure that “bilateral aid spending does no harm to nature.”
At the G7, Canada announced a doubling of its climate finance, from $2.65 billion in 2015 to $5.3 billion over five years, including increased support for adaptation, as well as nature and nature-based solutions that are in line with the G7 Nature Compact.
Also at the G7, Germany announced that it is increasing its climate finance from 4 billion to 6 billion by 2025, with the aim of advancing synergies between climate and nature.
Brian O’Donnell, the Director of Campaign for Nature, said:
The first draft of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework is a welcome step to confront the crisis facing nature. We are encouraged to see the commitment to protect at least 30 percent of the world's lands and oceans. Safeguarding habitat is the most important action that global and local leaders can take to halt nature's decline. The draft makes important progress in recognizing the central role Indigenous peoples and local communities must play in conservation decision-making and management. Now it’s time for wealthy nations to commit the additional funding necessary to meet the targets laid out in this framework.
Enric Sala, National Geographic Explorer in Residence, said:
The Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework draft follows the overwhelming scientific consensus: if we are to prevent a global disaster that will threaten human society as we know it, we need to preserve the intact ecosystems we have left, protect 30% of our lands and ocean, and restore much of our degraded lands - involving Indigenous Peoples and local communities. This is the smart thing to do, and it is a moral imperative.”
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The Campaign for Nature works with scientists, Indigenous Peoples, and a growing coalition of over 100 conservation organizations around the world who are calling on policymakers to commit to clear and ambitious targets to be agreed upon at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Kunming, China in 2021 to protect at least 30% of the planet by 2030 and working with Indigenous leaders to ensure full respect for Indigenous rights.
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