The Road to Paris: A Matter of World Leaders, a Matter of Action for Biodiversity, and an Alternative Fund for Bio-Diversity
Ahead of the COP15 biodiversity meeting, few disagree that we must do more to protect nature — but money, underwritten by top-level support, is needed to make it happen.
The Paris climate agreement, signed in December 2015, ranks as one of the most momentous global treaties ever negotiated, setting a crucial goal to seek to limit warming to 1.5–2 °C above pre-industrial levels. The opening ceremony of the climate change conference, called COP21, held the record for the largest number of world leaders ever at a single UN event in a single day, with more than 150. The two things are probably more than coincidence.
Research shows that climate change is quickly becoming a large threat to biodiversity2. But still, the most-destructive forces are the conversion of land and seas for agricultural uses and people exploiting natural resources through fishing, logging, hunting and the wildlife trade. About 75% of land and 66% of ocean areas have been significantly altered, usually for producing food.
The support that world leaders gave to the road to Paris is lacking at the moment when it comes to negotiations.
About 25% of plant and animal species are at risk for extinction because of environmental factors. Starting this week, negotiators and ministers from more than 190 countries are meeting at a United Nations biodiversity summit called COP15 in Montreal, Canada, to address the emergency.
A second major sticking point is how to fairly and equitably share the benefits of digital sequence information — genetic data collected from plants, animals and other organisms. There isn’t a way for communities in biodiversity rich areas to make a profit from the commercialization of genetic material. A multipurpose fund for bio-diversity could provide a simple and effective way to share the benefits of these data and support other conservation needs of LMICs.
Biodiversity, extinction, and coral reefs in the most biodiffusive nation: predictions for Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Another reason to hope for a breakthrough is the forthcoming change in Brazil’s leadership. Conservation organizations such as the wildlife charity WWF have accused the world’s most biodiverse nation of deliberately obstructing previous negotiations, holding up agreement on targets such as protecting at least 30% of the world’s land and seas by 2030. But Brazil’s incoming president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has signalled that the environment is one of his top priorities. Although he does not take over until January 2023, he is thought to be sending an interim team of negotiators to Montreal.
Roughly a million animal and plant species currently face extinction, more than at any other time during human history, according to a 2019 UN assessment. By 2050, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework aims to reduce the extinction rate of all species tenfold.
There are a number of at-risk groups. A global assessment shows that more than 40% of amphibians are threatened with extinction1, including the critically endangered bleeding toad (Leptophryne cruentata), which lives in Mount Gede Pangrango National Park in Java, Indonesia.
These toads were thought to be extinct until the year 2000, when some were spotted by a team led by Mirza Kusrini, a herpetologist at Bogor Agricultural University in Indonesia. It was found that the salamanders were carriers of the chytrid fungus which has decimated global amphibian populations. Climate change may be making life hard for the toad, which gets its name from its splatter-like spots. Warm weather can stimulate fungal outbreaks and shift the timing of behaviours, such as the toads’ breeding season, making the amphibians vulnerable.
Global warming, which has been raising sea temperatures, is also responsible for harming coral reefs around the globe (see ‘Threat assessment’). Coral reefs support one-quarter of all marine species, which is a problem due to the fact that over a period of 9 years, up to the year 2018, 14% of world coral died out.
Conservation Laws in Tropical Environments: How Good is Biodiversity for Ecological Systems? The Case of Rainforest Stewardship
It will not be easy to predict which species are in a rainforest and how they contribute to its health, says an ecology professor. Much of that information is often unknown. Scientists have shown that it’s not as good for an ecosystems to have less biodiversity to capture and convert resources to fuel their growth.
Neither are less-diverse ecosystems as good at decomposing and recycling biological materials and nutrients. For example, studies show that dead organisms are broken down, and their nutrients recycled, more quickly when a high variety of plant litter covers the forest floor4. The resilience of systems with low biodiversity is not as good as systems with more diversity, according to Naeem.
“If we lose parts of our system, it simply won’t function very efficiently, and it won’t be very robust,” he adds. That is rock solid.
Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-04370-4
Quantifying the impact of invasive predators on biodiversity: a key role for the world to play in eradicating invasive species
Clean water can sometimes prevent diseases from spreading to humans. The services get worse when species are lost. Many insects, such as roaches, are considered pests for the purposes of determining how much a mammal will eat. Studies have shown a rise in cases of malaria — spread by mosquitoes — in areas in Central America where amphibian populations have collapsed5. “You know when they disappear”, Kusrini says, because insect numbers rise and people start using more pesticides to kill them.
Eradicating invasive species is another important conservation strategy, and the framework’s draft currently calls for cutting the introduction of such species in half. Some estimates suggest that invasive predators, such as cats and rats, are responsible for more than half of all extinctions of birds, mammals and reptiles7.
It’s important that nations agree on a framework with at least some quantifiable targets, so that progress can be measured, and so that countries can be held accountable if they fail to meet their targets, researchers say. Pimm is afraid that they will come up with a long list ofaffle. quantification is something we need.
Jane Alexander: The Impact of Avian Influenza on Seabirds, Birds and Insects on the Atmospheric Environment
Jane Alexander was the former chair of the National Endowment for the Arts. She has served on the boards of Audubon, Wildlife Conservation Society and the American Bird Conservancy. Alexander is author of “Wild Things, Wild Places: Adventurous Tales of Wildlife and Conservation on Planet Earth.” She is also a Tony and Emmy Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated actress. Her views are her own and expressed in this commentary. Read more opinion articles on CNN.
From my home in Nova Scotia, I can see the warming and rising Atlantic Ocean. This summer, the kelp forest, nursery to so many aquatic species, was bleaching out in its struggle to cope with temperature. This has been happening for years in this precious aquatic environment.
The beach by my home was a graveyard for eiders, guillemots, gulls, curlews and other birds, many of which succumbed to their own pandemic — avian flu — which has been devastating seabirds throughout Canada’s Atlantic provinces.
Meanwhile, my local spruce trees and other conifers are giving way to deciduous trees, ending much of the seed cone production that rodents, birds and insects depend on.
I am a board member of the National Audubon Society and attend the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity in Montreal because of the urgent situation and because of my affiliation with the organization.
The fabric of life on Earth is being torn apart. We depend on Earth’s diverse and varied forms of life for everything from food, medicine, clean air and water, to mental health, inspiration and materials for great feats of art and engineering.
Yet there is hope. The mid-20th century crash of the bald eagles, peregrine falcons and other birds caused eggshells to thin and break, and this has led to a rapid rebound of the birds in my lifetime. Banning the pesticide led to their recovery.
The UN/CAF 30 by 30 Initiative: Conserving Biodiversity and Protecting the Planet’s Lands, Oceans and Oceans
Because of this, there must be a strong agreement to protect global biodiversity in Canada. And there are three steps we can take to achieve that goal.
But indigenous environmental activists are often at risk of threats, harm and even death at the hands of criminals profiting from illegal logging, mining, land seizures and other activities. An investigation by the Monga Bay found that in theAmazon basin, dozens of indigenous environmentalists were killed from 2016 to 2021 and that many of the probes into their deaths have been delayed or tampered with.
Third, world governments must commit to extraordinary action in the face of extraordinary circumstances. Apathetic half-measures simply will not do — too much is at stake. We need robust, meaningful commitments coming out of Montreal.
One example of ambitious thinking is the 30 by 30 initiative, which encourages world governments to protect at least 30% of the planet’s lands and oceans. The United States and Canada are among more than 100 countries that support this global goal.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/09/opinions/cop15-world-biodiversity-alexander/index.html
A UN Framework for Proserving the World’s Lands and Occupies for Biodiversity: Towards a Sustainable Future
At my Nova Scotia home, I’ve found a partner in restoration and rejuvenation: a beaver, who took up residence in my pond. Small fish, frog, turtles and insects are thriving because of the dam. The national emblem of Canada is the raven, which was once threatened with extinction due to overhunting. Life finds a way if we give it a chance.
MONTREAL — Negotiators reached a historic deal at a U.N. biodiversity conference early Monday that would represent the most significant effort to protect the world’s lands and oceans and provide critical financing to save biodiversity in the developing world.
The draft also calls for raising $200 billion by 2030 for biodiversity from a range of sources and working to phase out or reform subsidies that could provide another $500 billion for nature. As part of the financing package, the framework calls for increasing to at least $20 billion annually by 2025 the money that goes to poor countries — or about double what is currently provided. It would increase to $30 billion a year by the year 2030.
Food and fuel are cheap in many parts of the world because of subsidies. Identifying subsidies that can be reformed or phased out is the only thing the document calls for.
Nevertheless, large conservation groups celebrated the adoption of the new framework. The eyes of the world might have been focused on Montreal rather than Qatar if more people were aware of the long-term ramifications of biodiversity loss, says a director at the nonprofit. The Nature Conservancy said in a statement that there was a World Cup that took place at the same time as a UN conference.
The ministers and government officials from 190 countries all agree that protecting the environment is a priority.
The FIFA 30×30 Framework: Where are we coming from? Rejoinders from Latin America and Asia after the Brazil-South African delegation
70 delegates from African, South American and Asian countries walked out of negotiations on Wednesday because of the financing issue. They returned several hours later.
A new funding mechanism for biodiversity needs to be established in order to get a lot of money from developed countries, according to a statement from Brazil during the week.
“All the elements are in there for a balance of unhappiness which is the secret to achieving agreement in U.N. bodies,” Pierre du Plessis, a negotiator from Namibia who is helping coordinate the African group, told The Associated Press. Everyone got a bit of what they wanted. Let’s check if there is a spirit of unity.
The framework says protected areas should be created to honor the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities.
The Wildlife Conservancy and other environmental groups worry that the draft puts off a goal of preventing the extinction of species, preserving the integrity of ecosystems and maintaining the genetic diversity within populations. They fear that more is not enough.
One of the main points of the deal is the provision to protect at least thirty percent of land, inland water, and coastal and marine areas by 2030. Some governments and businesses have pushed to achieve a 30×30 goal in recent years, without an international agreement. The US and Vatican have not joined the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, but the Biden administration is still going to conserve 30 percent of US lands and waters by 2030. The Bezos Earth Fund has pledged $1 billion to 30×30 initiatives.
Still, some human rights advocates are skeptical, calling the 30×30 target a “big green lie” on social media. “It’s a huge land grab that’ll force millions of #Indigenous peoples off their ancestral lands,” nongovernmental organization Survival International posted on Facebook over the weekend.
The task of making progress on the ground is even harder now that the framework is a starting point, due to the harms caused by the past.
It really did feel like a championship game heading into extra time, according to Deutz. “The big difference is … for the global biodiversity community, the next phase of hard work already beckons.”