The Convention on Biological Diversity commences its 11th Conference of the Parties today to tackle some of the most pressing issues confronting biodiversity today. The press release from the Convention paid particular attention to the issue of financing the actions needed in order to reach some of the biodiversity targets established during the last conference:
“In his opening remarks, Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, the Executive Secretary to the Convention on Biological Diversity said: “I urge you, in Hyderabad, to mobilize the financial resources needed to enable developing countries to achieve the Aichi Targets at national level. In so doing, we will need to be creative and involve all partners.”
“We need to … adopt new approaches and mechanisms, emphasizing the leveraging of resources from existing sources through mainstreaming, incorporating sustainability criteria in government procurement, reviewing and adjusting of economic instruments, and further engaging the business sector,” adding, “We will be judged by our acts, not our words.””
The press release went on to highlight other opening speeches, which noted high costs of inaction (as revealed by some of the recent valuation initiatives) in terms of unsustainable natural resource use. Private sector entities were also implicated as holding a certain amount of responsibility in ensuring equitable benefits among sectors in society. Finally, over the next two weeks of the meeting, mobilization of resources will continue to be a primary topic of discussions, especially in relation to marine biodiversity conservation, ecosystem restoration, and the climate change and biodiversity nexus.
India’s Minister of Environment and Forests, Ms. Jayanthi Natarajan, quoted Mahatma Gandhi in her opening: ‘The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problems’. She set the stage for the rest of the meeting, calling for the high level of commitment. Follow more of the CBD activities through the online webcast, the COP11 website, and here on the Landscapes Blog.
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