The UN conference in Colombia is expected to propose the use of biodiversity credits
Biodiversity — or the diversity of all living things on Earth — is collapsing.
Vertebrate populations have declined by 73% over the past 50 years, according to a recent report by the conservation organization WWF, while scientists estimate that around a million animal and plant species are now at risk of extinction, some within the next decades.
But a diversity of interconnected living organisms is the foundation of healthy ecosystems, and the loss of even one species can upset the complex balance.
To address these challenges, two years ago nearly 200 nations signed what was called at the time a “landmark” UN biodiversity agreement to protect nature.
Now, over the next two weeks, thousands of politicians, business leaders and civil society groups will gather in the Colombian city of Cali to monitor the progress of the deal and tackle tough issues like financing.
“If we don’t protect our nature, we’re actually undermining our economies, undermining our agriculture, and we won’t be able to feed a population of 10 billion people on this planet in the future,” Astrid Schomaker, executive secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, told Deutsche Welle (DW).
The leaders of The United Nations Conference on Biodiversity in 2022 set out ambitious targets to protect 30% of land and marine areas by the end of the decade — an increase from 17% of land and nearly 8% of oceans. The agreement, which is the same on biodiversity as the Paris Climate Agreement, also aims to restore 30% of degraded areas.
To help track progress and ensure that countries meet agreed targets, governments were required to submit updated National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) before the Cali Biodiversity Summit. To date, only 34 out of 196 countries have done so.
Finding financial solutions
Funding solutions that balance nature conservation with economic needs are on the agenda, Schomaker said.
The credits for biodiversity are one tool being discussed. These schemes would in theory allow companies to offset environmental damage by purchasing credits from organizations or projects that protect or restore nature.
Also on the table is a debt-for-nature swap that results in a country’s debt relief in exchange for conservation investments.
Another big discussion will center around the use of nature’s genetic data and the profits that flow from that use – such as in the pharmaceutical sector, where sequencing the DNA of plants to make drugs could lead to multibillion-dollar profits.
Delegates will discuss fairly compensating biodiverse countries — which are also often low-income — for the use of their genetic resources, as well as local communities who often conserve these species. This money can be directed to habitat protection.
While financial incentives can help, experts warn that they must be matched with concrete action and political will to effect lasting change.
“If we lose ecosystems and tolerate climate, then human life as we know it will no longer be possible on this planet,” conservationists say.
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