OPEN LETTER:
TO THE U.N SECRETARY GENERAL AND HEADS OF STATE
OF PARTIES TO THE U.N. CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
27 June 2022
Three years ago, scientists released the most comprehensive global assessment of the state of biodiversity ever. They found that, “Nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history — and the rate of species extinctions is accelerating, with grave impacts on people around the world now likely.” They warned that up to one million species face extinction, many within decades and said that the current global response was insufficient. The scientists called for “transformative changes” to restore and protect nature.
Shortly after this dire assessment and warning, 196 countries began working on a strategy under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity to update and revise global biodiversity targets. They have now met four times in person and held numerous regional consultations and online meetings with a mandate to adopt a Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework at COP15, which is finally now set for December 2022.
We participated in good faith in all of the meetings and discussions. We offered ambitious solutions. We have worked with countries to encourage coalitions around key elements of the agreement to ensure momentum. People across the world have been calling on their governments to deliver an ambitious deal that is required to literally save life on Earth.
However, several years into this process and at the conclusion of the 4th Open-Ended Working Group, we must sound the alarm that this process has reached a crisis point. Progress is not being made. Negotiations have become stagnant, and the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework is in peril. Countries had once pointed to COP15 as an opportunity to deliver a global deal for nature and people similar in significance to the Paris Climate Agreement, but there is a notable absence of the high level political engagement, will and leadership to drive through compromise and to guide and inspire the commitments that are required.
The UN Secretary General, Heads of State and ministers from every continent have publicly declared their determination to address this crisis. Canada has generously accepted hosting the COP15 in Montreal and China holds the Presidency. We now call on the UNSG to work with both countries to urgently convene high level leaders to step in and help get it done. The ideas of how to solve this crisis and the communities on the frontlines who can deliver change are there. There are adequate resources to confront this global challenge if saving our life support system is truly made the priority it needs to be. What we now need is urgent concerted leadership from all parties to drive through the rights-based transformative change that scientists say is required and fully reflects the contributions of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities.
Today we all have a choice - let this process run its course and endorse business as usual - which will take our planet to the brink - or provide the leadership that the moment requires.
Signed By:
Statements
UN Biodiversity Negotiations on the Brink
Urgent Call for Political Leadership to Ensure a Global Deal for Nature
Nairobi (26 June 2022)—Countries from around the world gathered this week in Nairobi for the final preparatory session before the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity which will be held in Montreal 5 - 17 December 2022. While countries have repeatedly pointed to COP15 as an opportunity to deliver a global deal for nature and similar in significance to the Paris Climate Agreement, the lack of progress in this penultimate meeting has now threatened the outcome of the entire process.
With over 20 action targets in the draft agreement, known as the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, the goal for the Nairobi meetings was to resolve issues for up to 80% of the negotiating text that had been put in brackets, which signals a disagreement amongst parties. Not only did countries fail to progress, but in some cases, new disagreements threatened to move the process in the opposite direction. The most fundamental issues, including how much funding would be committed to conserve biodiversity, and what percentage figures the world should strive to protect, conserve, and restore to address the extinction crisis, were not even addressed this week.
With time running out, civil society leaders and others are calling for urgent and increased political engagement and leadership at the highest level to deliver the ambitious, science-based agreement that is needed to safeguard nature around the world.
Statement from Brian O’Donnell, Director of the Campaign for Nature:
“With the negotiations now faltering and with some key issues at a stalemate, it is up to heads of state and other political and United Nations leaders to act with the leadership and urgency required to bring countries together around an ambitious global biodiversity strategy. The elements of an ambitious agreement are there. Nearly 100 countries have come together to support the proposal to protect at least 30 percent of the planet’s land and ocean by 2030, one of the cornerstones of the draft agreement, and the crucial issue of protecting indigenous rights has widespread support. But time is now running out and countries need to step up, show the leadership that this moment requires, and act urgently to find compromise and solutions.”
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Media Contact:
Kirsten Weymouth
+1 703.928.4995, kweymouth@ngs.org
On the announcement of new dates for COP15
Brian O’Donnell, Director Campaign for Nature
“This is welcome news and an encouraging sign of international cooperation. Now, it is critical that the whole world comes together behind Canada and China to deliver an ambitious and adequately funded agreement in Montreal to protect at least 30% of the planet, respect Indigenous rights and urgently curb the accelerating biodiversity crisis.”
Campaign for Nature condemns recent violence and evictions in Tanzania
Tanzania — The Campaign for Nature condemns the horrific reports of Tanzanian security forces violently evicting peoples from their ancestral lands and territories in the Ngorongoro District. The reported shootings, arrests of community leaders, and hundreds of people being forcibly driven from their homes is abhorrent.
We call for the immediate cessation of the violence, intimidation and evictions; for the perpetrators of violence to be held accountable; and for the rights of the Maasai to their lands and to their internationally recognized Indigenous rights to be respected.
As the international community meets next week in Nairobi to discuss a new United Nations Global Biodiversity Framework, it is critical that the agreement advance a new paradigm for conservation which recognizes the extraordinary contribution and role of IPLCs as protectors of biodiversity; explicitly requires free prior and informed consent of IPLCs in the development and designation and management of protected or conservation areas; and ensures the rights of Indigenous Peoples are fully respected and secured.
More on Campaign for Nature and IPLCs in the GBF.
Press Briefing
Press Briefing at the Nairobi Biodiversity Negotiations
22 June 2022
11:00 a.m. East Africa Time
Experts to Discuss Three Top Priorities for Nairobi Biodiversity Negotiations: 30x30, Finance & Indigenous Peoples
Experts from the Campaign for Nature, scientists and indigenous leaders will lay out the state of play of critical negotiations around the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), a global agreement seeking to curtail the accelerating nature crisis, which will be finalized at the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Delayed four times, the COP15 is now expected to take place in Montreal, Canada, from 5 to 17 December 2022.
The briefing will focus on three core aspects of the negotiations:
a science-backed proposal to protect at least 30% of the planet by 2030 (Target 3 in the GBF), which nearly 100 countries have endorsed;
the significant gap in finance needed to address the nature crisis – particularly for developing countries and indigenous peoples; and,
the urgent need for the full recognition of rights and contributions, and the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, who are the best stewards and guardians of nature.
Some 196 countries are working through the CBD to develop the GBF so they can help stem the tide of catastrophic biodiversity loss, which threatens up to one million species with extinction within the decade. Countries have touted COP15 as an opportunity to deliver a deal for nature similar in ambition and significance to the Paris Climate Agreement, but repeated delays and a lack of urgency or high-level political attention could undermine that outcome if not addressed immediately.
WHO:
Brian O’Donnell, Director, Campaign for Nature
Dr Stephen Woodley, Vice Chair for Science and Biodiversity, World Commission on Protected Areas, The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
Mrs Jennifer Corpuz, Lead for Targets 1-8 for the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity, and Senior Global Policy and Advocacy Lead, Nia Tero
Mr. Stanislas Stephen Mouba, Director General for Environment and Nature Protection and Head of Delegation for CBD Negotiations, Gabon
WHEN: 22 June 2022 at 11:00 a.m. Nairobi; Experts will be available throughout the negotiations for one-on-one interviews.
WHERE: United Nations Environment Programme, UN Campus, United Nations Avenue, Nairobi
MORE INFO: To RSVP for the press briefing, request interviews or ask questions, please contact Nancy Moss (nmoss@burness.com) or Anne-Marie Schryer-Roy (aschryer-roy@burness.com). The briefing is open to all reporters attending the Nairobi negotiations.
Please write to CBD communications (Franca D’Amico - franca.damico@un.org) if you are a journalist who would like to attend the negotiations.
>> Click to view the recording of the event <<
30x30 and Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities
Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs) have been among the most effective stewards of biodiversity since time immemorial. The IPBES global assessment clearly documents the critical role that IPLCs play 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.
IPLCs must be full partners in developing and implementing the entire post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, the global strategy that countries around the world are developing through the Convention on Biological Diversity.
The same is true for specific targets, including the proposal to protect or conserve at least 30% of the planet’s land and ocean by 2030. Achieving this global target will only be possible with the leadership of Indigenous Peoples and local communities and with full recognition of their rights.
There is growing support from countries, philanthropists, and civil society in advancing a rights-based approach to biodiversity conservation that can benefit the natural world and support human rights. The following highlights some of this progress, while also underscoring where more support and action is needed.
Governments are Recognizing the Key Role of IPLCs in 30x30
The High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People (HAC for Nature and People), a group of over 85 countries championing the 30x30 global target, has consistently highlighted the importance of recognizing Indigenous rights and engaging Indigenous Peoples and local communities as full partners. As just one example, the countries included the following as a core principle when first announcing their intergovernmental coalition in January 2021:
“Indigenous Peoples and local communities are protectors of the most biodiverse sites in the world. To effectively and equitably meet this increased target, they should be engaged as partners in the design and management of these conserved areas, ensuring free, prior and informed consent and alignment with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The HAC for Nature and People has created a task force to address Indigenous people and local communities' concerns and promote Indigenous wisdom in the CBD negotiations. This task force has initiated a dialogue with the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity.”
There is Still a Need to Explicitly Protect IPLC Rights in 30x30 Target
Increasingly, parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity are proposing to strengthen the 30x30 target and the overall global biodiversity framework to more explicitly protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
This movement is in response to calls from the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB) and other Indigenous leaders to explicitly ensure free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) in the 30x30 target. Some countries have supported this recommendation, as have organizations leading the push for 30x30 like Campaign for Nature (see the Campaign for Nature intervention from the last CBD negotiation).
Historically, and in some cases still today, some protected areas have created conflict with Indigenous Peoples and local communities and led to rights violations, including forced evictions. Adding explicit safeguards for IPLC rights to Target 3 would be the single most effective way to show that 30x30 will diverge from past mistakes and align with human rights in its implementation, which is important from both a biodiversity and a moral perspective.
The CBD negotiations in Geneva in March 2022 present a critical opportunity for more countries to embrace these recommendations.
Increasing Funding to IPLCs to Advance Rights and Support 30x30 Implementation
Governments, philanthropists, and the private sector have committed to increase their financing for biodiversity. At the UN General Assembly in 2021, in an unprecedented announcement, nine philanthropic organizations launched the “Protecting Our Planet Challenge” and pledged $5 billion to protect and conserve 30% of the planet by 2030 by supporting protected areas and Indigenous stewardship of their territories.
This marks the largest-ever philanthropic commitment to nature conservation and serves as an important example of how the 30% target could be aligned with human rights.
Separately, environmental and Indigneous rights organizations are working together to develop new financial mechanisms and raise funding to support advancing IPLC rights as a key way to help achieve 30x30.
As one example, in January 2022, Campaign for Nature and Rights and Resources Initiative launched the Community Land Rights and Conservation Finance Initiative (CLARIFI), which has been designed to help deploy government and philanthropic funding to scale up the legal recognition of Indigenous Peoples’, Afro-descendant Peoples’, and local communities’ rights. The initiative aims to raise USD $10 billion between now and 2030 to achieve three goals: 1) help protect at least 30% of the planet by 2030 by adding 400 million hectares to Indigenous Peoples’, Afro-descendant Peoples’, and local communities’ legally recognized territories; 2) reduce deforestation to help reach the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement; and 3) increase these communities’ legal land ownership to at least 50% of all tropical forests.
How Conservation Can Benefit Biodiversity and IPLCs
There are numerous examples of how advancing conservation can help advance Indigenous rights. Likewise, there are many examples of Indigenous stewardship that show how promoting Indigenous governance can help achieve biodiversity outcomes. The following are just a few examples:
According to the Rapa Nui community leader Ludovic Burns Tuki, the creation of a large marine protected area around Easter Island helped the Rapa Nui progress toward the recognition of their ancestral rights and vision for the environment. Mr. Burns Tuki leads the community group Te Mau or Te Vaikava, which has officially endorsed the global 30% ocean target.
British Columbia First Nations have expressed their desire to help lead efforts to achieve Canada’s commitment to 30x30. They are asking for action from the provincial government to support them in advancing Indigneous Protected Areas, noting that Indigenous groups are working hard to develop solutions to the global climate crisis, biodiversity crisis and to advance equity for Indigenous peoples.
In 2011, a new national law in Guyana made it possible for the Wai-wai peoples to apply to add their territory to the National Protected Areas System. Their goal was to protect their lands from intruders--such as loggers or miners--and receive funds from the Protected Areas Trust Fund to sustainably manage their lands. In 2017, the Kanashen Amerindian Protected Area (KAPA) was established--home to the source of one of the largest rivers in South America, the Essequibo River. Managed by a village council and a team of rangers, KAPA ensures that the Wai-wais can protect this river and the surrounding lands. They are now working on a new eco-tourism project to attract visitors to the area.
Another example is in Colombia where Afro-Colombian local communities have secured the Isla Ají marine protected area (24,600 hectares of coastal, terrestrial and marine ecosystems on Colombia’s Pacific coast) contributing to Colombia’s 30x30 goal.
Quotes from Indigenous Leaders on 30x30 and the Need for a Rights Based Approach
There is a growing number of Indigenous leaders who are supportive of 30x30 so long as it fully safeguards Indigenous Peoples rights and promotes a rights based approach to conservation. The following are just a few quotes from leaders on the topic.
Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Coordinator of the Association of Peul Women and Autochthonous Peoples of Chad, and member of the Campaign for Nature’s Global Steering Committee:
“There must be recognition of the 80% of biodiversity that Indigenous peoples are conserving already and the 30x30 initiative is a good complementary idea as long as it is done with the free prior and informed consent and in partnership with indigenous peoples, respecting them and their rights and traditional knowledge that we know are essential to effectively protect nature and provide for people.”
(Her statement was made during a high-level event on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2021.)
Deb Haaland, US Secretary of the Interior:
“The goal of protecting 30 percent of the world’s land and ocean should also apply to the United States. Protecting more land and water across our country will create new jobs, increase access to the outdoors for underserved communities, protect Indigenous lands, and preserve the spectacular landscapes that reflect America’s character and diverse cultures.”
(Her statement was made prior to her appointment as Secretary, when she was an honorary member of Campaign for Nature’s Global Steering Committee.)
Vicky Tauli-Corpuz, Nia Tero Board Chair & Former UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples:
“Investing in the rights of Indigenous peoples and their guardianship of territory is one of the most important, and most overlooked, strategies for addressing the existential threats of climate change and biodiversity loss. As an organization committed to securing Indigenous guardianship of thriving ecosystems, we applaud these leading-edge funders for dramatically expanding support of this essential pathway to achieve the 30x30 targets.”
(Her statement was made in response to the nine philanthropic organizations that launched the "Protecting Our Planet Challenge.”)
Ramiro Batzin, Co-coordinator of the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB):
“Global experts have made it clear that advancing rights is the best opportunity for the future of a healthy and sustainable planet. Although much more needs to be done, there are some encouraging signs that governments, philanthropists, and others are getting the message.”
(His statement was made in an October 2021 op-ed.)
Valérie Courtois, Director, Indigenous Leadership Initiative:
“Canada has vowed to protect 30% of lands and oceans by 2030 and slash carbon emissions. It has also pledged to foster equity and sustainable development. Indigenous Nations stand ready to partner on these goals. We are honouring our responsibility for the land in ways that are good for people and the economy. With added investment, Indigenous Nations can help Canada emerge from the pandemic as a leader in economic recovery, conservation, and climate action.”
(Her statement was made in an April 2021 op-ed.)
Steven Nitah, lead negotiator for Lutsël K'é Dene First Nation and senior leader of the Indigenous Leadership Initiative:
“Instead of old approaches, where a national government engineers and delivers a program “on behalf of” Indigenous peoples, Indigenous-led conservation is built from the ground up, with Indigenous nations in the lead, including those long responsible for the land and accountable to youth, elders and future generations. Through this new model of ethical, equitable conservation and by building lasting partnerships with Indigenous peoples, the U.S. and Canada can leverage the knowledge and understanding of local people to fight the existential threats facing climate and nature.”
(He made his statement in a March 2021 op-ed.)
Support for 30x30
The majority of countries back the goals of Target 3 in the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF): 89 countries are committed to protecting 30% of land and ocean as members of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People; 72 countries are advocating for the protection of 30% of the world’s ocean by 2030 as members of the Global Ocean Alliance (GOA); and 93 countries have now signed the Leaders Pledge for Nature, committing to significantly increase the protection of the world’s land and ocean areas. .
Target 3: Ensure that at least 30% globally of land areas and of sea areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and its contributions to people, are conserved through effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative and well-connected systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, and integrated into the wider landscapes and seascapes.
In August 2021, the three intergovernmental coalitions (the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People, the Global Ocean Alliance and the Leaders Pledge for Nature) issued a joint declaration expressing strong support for a significant increase in terrestrial and marine protection, with 30x30 highlighted as the specific measure for ambition. Collectively, these efforts represent a majority of the world’s countries.
In February 2022, The Central American Commission for Environment and Development signed a resolution establishing regional support for the 30x30 global target. [Document available on request.]
Also in February 2022, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a report stating, “maintaining the resilience of biodiversity and ecosystem services at a global scale depends on effective and equitable conservation of approximately 30-50% of the Earth’s land, freshwater and ocean areas.
In October 2021, the Kunming Declaration was adopted at COP15. The pact noted the growing support from countries for 30x30 and committed to increasing area based conservation, improving the effectiveness of protected and conserved areas, and recognizing the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
The 2021 G7 issued a communiqué expressing its support for the 30x30 target.
The 2021 G20 released an environment communiqué highlighting commitments made by G20 members on biodiversity conservation, including those to support the 30x30 target.
In September 2021, the IUCN World Conservation Congress:
Passed Motion 101, which highlighted the robust scientific support for increasing protected area coverage to 50% of the planet, supported 30x30 as a key target in the CBD Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, and called for greater support and rights for Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLC). The motion passed with nearly 90% of the government members’ votes and with unanimous support from Indigenous organizations that voted.
Passed Motion 40, which put forward IUCN’s official position and priorities for the CBD’s Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, including strong and explicit support for 30x30. The motion passed with over 98% of the government members’ votes and with unanimous support from the Indigenous organizations’ votes.
Included support for 30x30 in the Marseille Manifesto, which was intended to capture priorities emerging from the Congress.
At the UN General Assembly in 2021, in an unprecedented announcement, nine philanthropic organizations launched the "Protecting Our Planet Challenge" and pledged $5 billion to protect and conserve 30% of the planet by 2030 by supporting protected areas and Indigenous stewardship of their territories. This marks the largest-ever philanthropic commitment to nature conservation, and Indigenous leaders welcomed the announcement as a sign of how the 30% target could be aligned with human rights.
In 2019, the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, led by 14 countries, issued an ocean action agenda that called for a global target to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030.
The 30x30 proposal is currently Target 3 in the United Nations First Draft of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.
The 30x30 proposal is supported by the best available science, which clearly demonstrates that 30% is the absolute minimum extent of protections needed to help address global biodiversity loss, mitigate and adapt to climate change, provide essential ecosystem services and other economic benefits and reduce the risk of future zoonotic disease like Covid-19.
UNEP/WCMC found that conserving 30% of land could safeguard around half the world’s vulnerable terrestrial carbon stocks – and reduce the extinction risk of nearly 9 out of 10 threatened terrestrial species.
A Cambridge Report found that the economic benefits of protecting 30% of the planet outweigh the costs by a ratio of at least 5-to-1.
A McKinsey report found that 30 percent protected globally would support 30 million jobs in ecotourism and sustainable fisheries.