Search By Topic

SEARCH BY TOPIC



Achieving Ambitious Global Conservation Requires Expanded and Diverse Efforts

An analysis of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) agreement by more than 50 leading scientists has found that while expanding well-managed protected areas can help slow the destruction of the natural world, a stronger focus on the drivers of decline is needed.

This week, more than 50 scientists from 23 countries delivered to governments a synthesis of the science informing the 21 targets proposed in the draft ‘post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework’. The analysis was coordinated by two renowned international science bodies: bioDISCOVERY, a project of Future Earth, and the Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON). A broad range of experts from global research projects in the Future Earth community and the Earth Commission additionally contributed to the analysis.

The global biodiversity framework – currently under negotiation – is scheduled for adoption later this year at a world biodiversity summit in China. Authors emphasized that the current draft must be implemented in full and with high ambition, otherwise international biodiversity objectives could again fail to be met. Authors additionally cautioned that a current focus of many countries and actors on protected areas may come at the expense of other urgent actions needed to address underlying threats to biodiversity.

According to Paul Leadley, an assessment leader and past chair of bioDISCOVERY, and Professor at Paris-Saclay University, “The target of protecting 30% of all land and seas is important and attracting a lot of attention…, but far short of what’s needed to halt and reverse biodiversity loss — called ‘bending the curve’ for biodiversity’.

The essential point, says bioDISCOVERY co-Chair Lynne Shannon, a Professor at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, is that “there is no one-to-one linkage from any action target to a specific milestone or goal; instead, ‘many-to-many’ relationships exist among them. We need to recognize, therefore, the complex relationships among targets, milestones and goals and undertake our planning and actions in an integrated manner.”

Co-author David Obura, a distinguished scientist at the Coastal Oceans Research and Development (CORDIO), Kenya and Earth Commissioner, underlines that conventional conservation efforts are insufficient for meeting the high levels of ambition for halting and reversing biodiversity loss, adding: “We show that the 21 Targets of the Global Biodiversity Framework essentially cover this broad gamut of indirect and direct drivers, but that no one Target can be implemented as a priority over the others to achieve success (other than providing the financial and other means necessary to implement all targets).”

Cornelia Krug, Director of bioDISCOVERY explains “The need for transformative change and urgent action to address biodiversity loss and halt climate change has already been stated in the IPBES global assessment and latest IPCC reports. Our study re-emphasizes this, and entry points for action.

Paul Leadley adds; “Governments are clearly struggling with the breadth and depth of the ‘transformative changes’ needed to bend the curve for biodiversity, and sometimes seem unwilling to face up to it. But deep changes are necessary and will greatly benefit people in the long run.”

The group’s key conclusions and recommendations are:

  • Success requires transformative change
  • Action must be coordinated at every scale, with progress assessed frequently
  • Investing in actions in both natural and managed ecosystems is essential
  • All dimensions of biodiversity are interconnected in their responses to human drivers and this should guide action
  • Act now, and sustain it to ensure recovery
  • Coordinate actions across locations
  • Invest in monitoring to guide effective action

Further information and detailed recommendations can be found in the full report and press release.