The world has not yet been able to safeguard ecosystems that are key to the well-being of humanity, the United Nations biodiversity chief has said.
Countries are meeting to discuss a new biodiversity framework at the Yunnan-based COP15 summitImage: picture-alliance/Xinhua/Tang Yun
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The world has reached "a moment of truth" when it comes to protecting its vital ecosystems, United Nations biodiversity chief Elizabeth Maruma Mrema said on Monday.
She was speaking at the UN COP15 (15th conference of parties) biodiversity summit in Kunming, the provincial capital of Yunnan in southeastern China.
Representative parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) are meeting online for the first round of talks to discuss a post-2020 biodiversity framework.
This will build on the CBD's previous strategic plan for biodiversity, which ran from 2011 to 2020.
The new framework will set targets for protecting ecosystems by 2030. As it stands, the framework comprises 21 targets and 10 "milestones" proposed for 2030.
One target up for debate is the "30 by 30" plan to give 30% of lands and oceans protected status — a measure supported by a broad coalition of nations.
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Another goal is to stop producing plastic waste and reduce the use of harmful pesticides.
The pact is expected to be finalized during a second round, to be held in-person in April and May 2022.
There are currently 195 countries and the European Union that are party to the CBD. The United States, however, has not yet ratified the convention.
Due to delays amid the global coronavirus pandemic, the parties are debating a post-2020 framework a year late.
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WWF says current draft is 'weak,' lacks ambition
Lin Li, the director of global policy and advocacy at WWF International, told DW that the current draft biodiversity agreement was "low in ambition" and "weak in several key areas, including on finance and on the drivers of biodiversity loss."
"The Kunming Declaration, due to be adopted at the meeting, is a critical opportunity" for leaders to send a sign that they are committed to "securing a transformational outcome," said Lin.
She told DW that the new draft must "include a clear and measurable global goal for nature." While WWF supports the 30% land and oceans plan, she highlighted how "the lack of a milestone to halve the footprint of production and consumption by 2030 is very concerning."
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While China has faced criticism for putting economic development before environmental costs, Lin told DW that the summit was "a critical opportunity for China" as it takes on the CBD presidency for the conference of parties. She said the expectation from many countries for China to step into this role is very high, as the country "can and should play a key role in global governance processes linking action on climate and nature."
In a statement released online, international environment network Friends of the Earth has called for the framework to incorporate a rights-based approach.
Germany's Friends of the Earth association, known as BUND, on Monday called for Germany's next government to take the preservation of biodiversity seriously and make species preservation a key point in its coalition agreement.
Rewilding success stories
Over the past decade, rewilding has had a beneficial impact on landscapes and lives across the world. Here are some milestone moments that have helped rewild the Earth, stabilize the climate and halt mass extinction.
Image: PPI/ZUMA Wire/picture alliance
Harnessing people power to protect the planet
Rewilding, a social and ecological movement promoting more wilderness, has seen people across the world help restore, protect, heal and stabilize nature. Rewilding efforts have focused on repairing broken ecological systems and enhancing species survival by giving nature space to restore and manage itself. Ecologists in Europe have demanded that 20% of degenerated areas be renaturalized by 2030.
Image: Nature Picture Library/imago images
European bison back from the brink
At the start of the 20th century, European bison were nearly extinct. But thanks to reintroduction efforts and rewilding initiatives across Europe, the free-roaming European bison population has almost tripled. Not only are they enhancing local biodiversity, but they're also playing an increasingly important role in driving local socioeconomic development.
Image: A. Hartl/blickwinkel/picture alliance
Stabilizing vulture populations in the Balkans
The Rhodope Mountains in Bulgaria and Greece are one of Europe's last biodiversity hot spots and a vital breeding area for griffon, Egyptian and black vultures. Over the last five years, a rewilding initiative has helped stabilize and grow these populations by boosting the availability of natural prey and reducing mortality from poaching, poisoning and collision with power lines.
Image: Ben Birchall/empics/picture alliance
Bringing back beavers to prevent floods
Beavers were driven to extinction in England and Wales four centuries ago. But recently, the UK government reintroduced a family of beavers into its Forest of Dean to stop a village from flooding. Beavers are not only known to help improve the soil: Their dams are also a natural buffer to floods, as they store huge quantities of water and slow peak flows during flood events.
Image: Zoonar/picture alliance
Return of America's gray wolf as a natural predator
Yellowstone National Park in the US once suffered from rampant elk overpopulation, stripping the area of willow, aspen and cottonwood trees. But since America's gray wolf was reintroduced to the park, elk numbers have been kept in check, songbirds and beavers have returned and the structure of rivers has changed. Elks, now faced with a predator again, can no longer casually dawdle on riverbanks.
Image: Jacob W. Frank/National Park/AP Photo/picture alliance
Mapping highways for bugs
When insects travel long distances, they often struggle to find wildlife-rich habitats to feed on along the way as a result of modern farming methods. Last year, the charity Buglife mapped a series of interconnected insect pathways, also known as B-Lines, in the UK. Along these routes, conservationists have provided a network of feeding opportunities for bees, butterflies and other wildlife.
Image: Photoshot/picture alliance
Reintroducing red-and-green macaws
Red-and-green macaws were extinct in Argentina until a rewilding foundation reintroduced the birds to Ibera National Park in 2015. Since then, they have played a vital role in dispersing seeds and have created a valuable ecotourism attraction. The birds have even started to breed. Last year, the country’s first wild-born chicks in 150 years hatched.
Image: Rewilding Argentina/AFP
The problem with rewilding
Rewilding doesn't come without its controversies. The introduction of wild species can have huge unintended consequences, such as the propagation of invasive species or disease transmission. Some experts also fear rewilding can become an economic problem when decisions have to be made as to which area of land should be rewilded, given competing land uses like infrastructure and agriculture.
Image: Nature Picture Library/imago images
Choosing the right landscape
A key challenge of rewilding is deciding where to do it. Experts say it's vital to take the role of landscape into account, from the topography and river systems to the soil and underlying geology. This will determine where vegetation grows, herbivores graze, animals seek shelter and predators hunt. They found that more varied landscapes show greater conservation potential.
Some climate experts are hopeful that this strong position means the party can make a rejuvenated push for climate change issues on Germany's political agenda.
An analysis by insurance firm Swedish Re in 2020 found that a fifth of the world's countries are at risk of ecosystem collapse due to the destruction of wildlife and their habitats.
The conference comes ahead of the COP26 climate summit set to begin next month in Glasgow, Scotland.
