The Fort Worth Press - Crunch UN biodiversity meeting seeks to save 'planet in crisis'

USD -
AED 3.673037
AFN 69.382248
ALL 89.087918
AMD 387.74983
ANG 1.804889
AOA 926.842968
ARS 962.762992
AUD 1.470686
AWG 1.80125
AZN 1.701482
BAM 1.753412
BBD 2.022028
BDT 119.677429
BGN 1.76065
BHD 0.376834
BIF 2902.514455
BMD 1
BND 1.293151
BOB 6.920294
BRL 5.415977
BSD 1.001511
BTN 83.756981
BWP 13.175564
BYN 3.277435
BYR 19600
BZD 2.018612
CAD 1.35814
CDF 2870.000027
CHF 0.84791
CLF 0.033747
CLP 931.169811
CNY 7.068699
CNH 7.074965
COP 4177.88
CRC 518.757564
CUC 1
CUP 26.5
CVE 98.854697
CZK 22.553029
DJF 178.315629
DKK 6.70311
DOP 60.121121
DZD 132.549161
EGP 48.527095
ERN 15
ETB 115.255129
EUR 0.898699
FJD 2.201249
FKP 0.761559
GBP 0.754585
GEL 2.682499
GGP 0.761559
GHS 15.773501
GIP 0.761559
GMD 69.000314
GNF 8653.281514
GTQ 7.741513
GYD 209.457218
HKD 7.79473
HNL 24.842772
HRK 6.799011
HTG 131.977784
HUF 354.168009
IDR 15199.35
ILS 3.768145
IMP 0.761559
INR 83.63905
IQD 1311.8884
IRR 42105.000093
ISK 137.040021
JEP 0.761559
JMD 157.339131
JOD 0.708697
JPY 142.913502
KES 129.189463
KGS 84.27502
KHR 4064.964116
KMF 442.502368
KPW 899.999433
KRW 1330.884964
KWD 0.30503
KYD 0.834476
KZT 479.593026
LAK 22113.742419
LBP 89681.239718
LKR 304.846178
LRD 200.268926
LSL 17.448842
LTL 2.95274
LVL 0.60489
LYD 4.770379
MAD 9.711993
MDL 17.473892
MGA 4512.201682
MKD 55.240768
MMK 3247.960992
MNT 3397.999955
MOP 8.038636
MRU 39.642644
MUR 45.869908
MVR 15.350156
MWK 1736.363229
MXN 19.342215
MYR 4.20954
MZN 63.898241
NAD 17.448842
NGN 1640.320281
NIO 36.851777
NOK 10.509397
NPR 134.027245
NZD 1.604711
OMR 0.38497
PAB 1.001511
PEN 3.759767
PGK 3.976063
PHP 55.690995
PKR 278.532654
PLN 3.83969
PYG 7817.718069
QAR 3.651075
RON 4.469802
RSD 105.201998
RUB 92.827918
RWF 1348.572453
SAR 3.752625
SBD 8.320763
SCR 13.626575
SDG 601.523004
SEK 10.182245
SGD 1.293565
SHP 0.761559
SLE 22.847303
SLL 20969.494858
SOS 572.343029
SRD 29.852974
STD 20697.981008
SVC 8.762579
SYP 2512.529936
SZL 17.433553
THB 33.195964
TJS 10.644256
TMT 3.51
TND 3.033283
TOP 2.349799
TRY 34.035525
TTD 6.806508
TWD 31.981979
TZS 2724.439905
UAH 41.500415
UGX 3718.795247
UYU 41.141269
UZS 12758.480028
VEF 3622552.534434
VES 36.732281
VND 24580
VUV 118.722009
WST 2.797463
XAF 588.099177
XAG 0.032399
XAU 0.000387
XCD 2.70255
XDR 0.742235
XOF 588.078087
XPF 106.919846
YER 250.350183
ZAR 17.478315
ZMK 9001.205037
ZMW 26.062595
ZWL 321.999592
  • RIO

    2.1400

    65.05

    +3.29%

  • CMSC

    -0.0250

    25.03

    -0.1%

  • CMSD

    0.1000

    25.08

    +0.4%

  • SCS

    -0.7400

    13.37

    -5.53%

  • RBGPF

    3.5000

    60.5

    +5.79%

  • GSK

    -0.5600

    41.87

    -1.34%

  • BTI

    -0.3210

    37.559

    -0.85%

  • RYCEF

    0.4000

    6.95

    +5.76%

  • NGG

    -1.1910

    68.859

    -1.73%

  • BP

    0.5250

    32.955

    +1.59%

  • RELX

    0.6200

    47.99

    +1.29%

  • BCE

    -0.3100

    35.3

    -0.88%

  • AZN

    0.5500

    79.13

    +0.7%

  • VOD

    -0.1650

    10.065

    -1.64%

  • BCC

    6.5900

    143.65

    +4.59%

  • JRI

    -0.0350

    13.405

    -0.26%

Crunch UN biodiversity meeting seeks to save 'planet in crisis'
Crunch UN biodiversity meeting seeks to save 'planet in crisis' / Photo: © AFP

Crunch UN biodiversity meeting seeks to save 'planet in crisis'

Delegates from nearly 200 countries meet in Montreal next week to hammer out a new global biodiversity deal to protect ecosystems and species from further human destruction.

Text size:

The meeting follows crucial climate change talks in Egypt in November, where leaders failed to forge any breakthroughs on scaling down fossil fuels and slashing planet-warming emissions.

Observers are hoping the COP15 biodiversity talks in Montreal will deliver a landmark deal to protect nature and reverse the damage humans have done to forests, wetlands, waterways and the millions of species that live in them.

Around 50 percent of the global economy is dependent on nature, but scientists warn that humanity needs to drastically -- and urgently -- rethink its relationship with the natural world as fears of a sixth era of mass extinction grow.

"Our planet is in crisis," said Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, the head of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), at a briefing ahead of the talks, adding that a global agreement on biodiversity was "crucial to ensure that the future of humankind on planet Earth is sustained".

So far, humanity has proven woeful at this.

The so-called post-2020 biodiversity framework, delayed by two years because of the pandemic, will map out an official plan for nature until mid-century for most countries, with the exception of the United States, which has not signed up.

It will include key targets to be met by 2030.

But it comes after countries failed to meet a single one of the targets set for the previous decade.

With new rules affecting key economic sectors -- including agriculture, forestry and fishing -- and covering everything from intellectual property to pollution and pesticides, delegates are grappling with an array of sticking points.

So far, only two out of the 22 targets in the new deal have been agreed upon.

"We have to admit that success is not guaranteed," an EU source close to the talks said. "We have a very difficult situation ahead of us."

- Finance fight -

While China currently chairs COP15, it is not hosting this year's meeting because of the ongoing pandemic.

Instead, it will be held from December 7 to 19 in Montreal, home of the CBD, which oversees the negotiations.

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is the only world leader attending. Chinese President Xi Jinping has not said he will join, and neither side has invited other leaders to come, with time quickly running out.

Observers fear the leaders' absence sucks the momentum out of the negotiations and could scupper an ambitious final deal.

Divisions have already emerged on the key issue of financing, with wealthy countries under pressure to funnel more money to developing nations for conservation.

A group of developing nations, including Brazil, South Africa and Indonesia, this year called for rich countries to provide at least $100 billion annually –- rising to $700 billion a year by 2030 -- for biodiversity.

But many Western nations are reluctant to create a distinct fund for nature.

Currently, most biodiversity funds for the developing world come from existing funding mechanisms, which often also include climate finance.

Another fight is brewing over the issue of "biopiracy", with many mainly African countries accusing wealthy nations of pillaging the natural world for ingredients and formulas used in cosmetics and medicines, without sharing the benefits with the communities from which they came.

- Indigenous rights -

One cornerstone target that has received broad support is the 30 by 30 target -- a pledge to protect 30 percent of land and seas by 2030. Only 17 percent of land and about seven percent of oceans were protected in 2020.

So far, more than 100 countries formally support the goal, according to the EU-backed High Ambition Coalition which tracks the target.

The new goal will rely heavily on the involvement of indigenous peoples, who steward land that is home to around 80 percent of Earth's remaining biodiversity, according to a landmark UN report on climate change impacts this year.

"It's not going to work if indigenous peoples are not fully included," Jennifer Tauli Corpuz of the non-profit Nia Tero told AFP.

"We completely lose the integrity of the document", added Corpuz, who is part of the indigenous caucus to the talks.

Other items in the framework: elimination or redirection of hundreds of millions of dollars in harmful government subsidies; promoting sustainable farming and fishing, reducing pesticides; tackling invasive species and reforestation.

But implementation is perhaps the most crucial agenda item to ensure the pledges made are actually carried out by governments.

"We need goals and targets that are measurable and they need to be related to clear indicators," the EU source said, calling for "robust monitoring, planning, reporting and review".

F.Garcia--TFWP