Researchers are increasingly concerned that the earth will be left two years later in the process of finalizing a new global framework for biodiversity conservation. They say the delay in the agreement, which aims to end the alarming rate of extinction of species and endanger endangered species, has the effect of countries’ ability to achieve desirable goals for the protection of biodiversity over the next decade.
Representatives of about 200 member states of the United Nations ’Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) would meet in Kunming, China, in October 2020, to finalize a draft agreement. It includes 21 targeted conservation initiatives, such as protecting 30 percent of the world’s land and oceans. But the conference, called the 15th Conference of the Parties, was canceled due to the COVID-19 epidemic and has been postponed several times since then.
Researchers & 2019 report says
The conference has been postponed to late August or early September, but China – as the conference’s president and host – has not yet confirmed a date. And now the strong national closure of COVID-19 in Shanghai and the rise in Beijing virus cases have put that meeting in no doubt, too.Researchers say that delays in the conclusion of the treaty halt conservation efforts, especially in countries that rely on richer countries’ money to meet targets. The two-year suspension means countries will have less time to meet the 2030 agreement deadline.
The 2019 report estimates that nearly one million species of plants and animals are on the brink of extinction, many within decades. In the last 2 years or so, the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List has classified more than 100 species as extinct, including the giant sloth lemur (Palaeopropithecusingens), the Guam flying fox (Pteropustokudae) and the Yunnan lake newt (Cynops). wolterstorffi). Less caution means that the exact extent of biodiversity and habitat loss is unknown, Hughes said.
In addition, tropical forests, especially in Brazil, are rapidly disappearing, environmental protection has been weakened in some regions, and researchers have documented an increase in crop losses caused by unemployment during the epidemic.
Withdrawal of funds
The importance of a global agreement on biodiversity cannot be overemphasized, says Aban Marker Kabraji, a United Nations adviser on biodiversity and climate change. These agreements encourage action – for example, governments may stop renewing or developing their national strategies until they are finalized. “It is very important that these meetings take place in the order that they are scheduled,” said Kabraji.
International agreements also lead to the release of funds set aside to help countries meet their biodiversity goals, such as the Global Environment Facility, Hughes said. At a preparatory meeting in October 2021, Chinese President Xi Jinping donated 1.5 billion yuan ($ 223 million) to the Kunming Biodiversity Fund to support developing countries in protecting their biodiversity, but details of those funds have not been released.The delay in funding will be felt especially in “countries with high levels of biodiversity and limited resources to truly conserve it,” Kabraji said.
Conference in the third quarter of 2022
The secretary of the CBD in Montreal, Canada, said the Kunming conference would take place in the third quarter of 2022, but was waiting for China to confirm dates. David Ainsworth, chief information officer at the secretariat, said preparations for the meeting were underway, including plans to separate the participants from local residents, such as the Winter Olympics in Beijing in February. There are proposals that the event be held elsewhere if the presenter backs down, but Ainsworth says there are no official plans to do so yet. Conference officials, including Chinese delegates, were due to meet on May 19 to discuss the date and venue of the conference, he said.
The decision to cancel the meeting will need to be approved by China, which it is likely to approve, say researchers. But sticking to having a conference in Kunming could delay it, due to the closure of Chinese territories that have established cities. Many of the major sporting events planned later this year, including the Asian Games in Hangzhou, have already been postponed.Some analysts say the world should wait for China to host the summit – whenever that is – and that its leadership is essential for successful negotiations. “The Chinese government has worked hard to prepare for such a conference,” she said. “It has to happen in China.”
Some think it is very important that the conference takes place this year – whether in China or not. Equipment for hosting such conventions is available in Rome, Nairobi, and Montreal. “Any of these areas could be better than the ongoing delays,” Hughes said.”Some of the delays are sending a troubling signal that habitat loss and extinction may be somehow waiting,” said Li Shuo, a policy adviser at Greenpeace China in Beijing.
No matter when and where a meeting takes place, researchers say that the most important thing is for the earth to be in tune with the biodiversity and ecological goals. “There is still considerable contradiction in all aspects of everything,” said Anne Larigauderie, executive secretary of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in Bonn, Germany. The nations will meet once again – in Nairobi, Kenya, in June – before the treaty is expected to be finalized at the Kunming conference.
Source Journal Reference:SmritiMallapaty, COVID delays are frustrating the world’s plans to save biodiversity, Nature News (2022) doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-01384-w https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01384-w
READ ALSO : World’s first pig’s kidney transplanted into humans: what scientists think?
