At the 15th United Nations Conference on Biodiversity (COP15), which takes place from 7 to 19 December 2022 in Montreal, Canada, one of the key issues for developing countries will be to secure funding from rich countries to safeguard their natural heritage. As one of the 17 countries with the richest biodiversity, South Africa is keen to ensure that the agreement to be adopted at COP15 is not just on paper.
Toute l'actu sur la protection de l'environnement
At the 15th United Nations Conference on Biodiversity (COP15), which takes place from 7 to 19 December 2022 in Montreal, Canada, one of the key issues for developing countries will be to secure funding from rich countries to safeguard their natural heritage. As one of the 17 countries with the richest biodiversity, South Africa is keen to ensure that the agreement to be adopted at COP15 is not just on paper.
During the discussions at the 15th United Nations Conference on Biodiversity (COP15), which is being held in Canada until 19 December 2022, South Africa will focus on a real commitment by nations to halt the loss of biodiversity. For developing countries, the challenge is to secure financial resources to implement conservation targets. Aware that statements will be made in this sense in Montreal, South Africa’s Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, Barbara Creecy, nevertheless calls for the sincerity of the promises.
« What we don’t want to see is a situation where we get an agreement on paper but with no real possibility of implementation. This means that we believe that a global fund for biodiversity should be established, » says the minister, who attended COP15.
With biodiversity providing more than 400,000 jobs and generating an annual income of around €1.6 billion, South Africa ranks among the 17 countries with the richest natural heritage. The country therefore has a vested interest in seeing the negotiations result in international collaboration on ambitious targets to protect ecosystems, but these targets face the problem of funding.
According to the head of advocacy at the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), African countries « must be able to obtain some form of guarantee from rich countries that their actions to protect and conserve biodiversity will be rewarded. An economic value that can be stronger than the incentives to destroy biodiversity, » says Pierre Cannet.
At present, 154 billion dollars, or a little over 146 billion euros, are mobilised each year to preserve nature worldwide. This is not enough, according to the United Nations (UN), which believes that this amount should be doubled by 2025 and tripled by 2030 to combat the pressure on natural environments and the disappearance of species.
Fanta Mabo
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) Council has approved $65 million for the first work programme of its eighth funding cycle. Almost half of this funding is for biodiversity projects, including more than $18 million to support the development of biodiversity financing plans in 26 countries.
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) Council approved $65 million for the first work programme of its eighth funding cycle. The Council report states that more than half of this funding will go to biodiversity projects, including more than $18 million to support the development of biodiversity financing plans in 26 countries, particularly in Africa.
The Biodiversity Finance Plan Development Support Umbrella Programme will enable countries to mobilise large-scale resources to implement the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework by supporting the development of national biodiversity finance plans, including baseline diagnostics, capacity and institutional arrangements. The programme includes support to develop baseline analyses and strengthen institutions in countries that have not yet benefited from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Biodiversity Finance Initiative.
This is the second and final annual meeting of the GEF Council. It was held on the eve of the 15th United Nations Conference on Biodiversity (COP15), which takes place from 6 to 17 December 2022 in Montreal, Canada. Delegates from different countries must agree on the adoption of a text, which some hope will be as ambitious as the Paris Climate Agreement. The aim is to protect at least 30% of the land and oceans by 2030, to reduce plastic and agricultural pollution and to ensure that the adopted objectives are properly implemented.
According to data from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), about 1 million species are threatened with extinction in Africa, and many more will be in the coming decades. Unless action is taken to reduce the intensity of the drivers of biodiversity loss.
Fanta Mabo
COP15: GEF’s 8th funding cycle includes over $33 million for biodiversity
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) Council has approved $65 million for the first work programme of its eighth funding cycle. Almost half of this funding is for biodiversity projects, including more than $18 million to support the development of biodiversity financing plans in 26 countries.
A study provides new evidence for maintaining the planet’s ecological integrity. Published on 3 June 2022 by a team of scientists from different backgrounds, the new study indicates that at least 44% of the planet’s land area should be conserved to save biodiversity.
The study comes across as a conservation plan for the planet. The findings, published in the journal Science on 3 June 2022, reveal that 44% of the world’s land area, or some 64 million square kilometres, requires conservation action to halt the decline in biodiversity. « We need to act quickly, our models show that more than 1.3 million square kilometres of this land (an area larger than South Africa) is likely to have its habitat cleared for human activities by 2030, which would be devastating for wildlife, » explains Dr James R. Allan of the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, and leader of the research team.
To arrive at these estimates, the research team used geospatial algorithms to map optimal conservation areas for species and terrestrial ecosystems around the world. In addition, they used spatially explicit land-use scenarios to quantify how much of this land will be threatened by human activities by 2030.
In addition to the UN’s Aichi Target 11 to protect 17% of the planet by 2020, the study’s estimates are half those envisaged under the 30×30 target. A proposed global agreement for biodiversity, aiming to convert 30% of the planet into protected areas by 2030.
Sustainable land use
Billed by its authors as one of the most comprehensive studies on conservation, the new study could help decision-makers set effective conservation targets at the 15th United Nations Conference on Biodiversity (COP15 Biodiversity), which is scheduled to take place in late August/early September 2022 in Kunming, China.
However, the authors emphasised that not all the lands identified should necessarily be designated as protected areas, but rather managed through a wide range of species and ecosystem conservation strategies, including other effective area-based conservation measures. They also advocate effective sustainable land use policies.
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AFRICA: Conserving 44% of land to save biodiversity
A study provides new evidence for maintaining the planet’s ecological integrity. Published on 3 June 2022 by a team of scientists from different backgrounds, the new study indicates that at least 44% of the planet’s land area should be conserved to save biodiversity.