South Africa welcomed the recent historic adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) by 196 countries as part of the United Nations Conventions on Biological Diversity (CBD).
The adoption of the framework and other related agreements took place at the second session of the COP15 under the presidency of the People’s Republic of China and it was hosted by the government of Canada in Montreal. The framework aims to mobilise and commit the world’s countries to reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.
Resetting relationship with mother nature
Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, Inger Andersen said “the adoption of this framework and the associated package of ambitious targets, goals and financing represents but a first step in resetting our relationship with the natural world.” She said the success of the framework will be “measured by our rapid and consistent progress in implementing, what we have agreed to. The entire United Nations System is geared to support its implementation so that we can truly make peace with nature”.
Observers stress the need to protect biodiversity because of it is indispensable to Earth and also provides basic necessities and resources to humanity. Over 4.3 billion people, majority of whom are poor and vulnerable and live in the rural areas, rely on biodiversity for their livelihood. However, the world’s fauna and flora ecosystems are fast depleting with the loss projected to accelerate through to 2050.
Halting the biodiversity loss
The network consists of four overarching global goals and 23 targets whose objectives are to halt the loss of biodiversity through the sustainable use and management of ecosystem services, prevention of the extinction of species, and protecting the rights of local and indigenous communities through fair access and benefit-sharing of genetic resources. According to the department of fisheries, forestry and environment (DFFE), South Africa played a central role in facilitating the negotiations that subsequently saw the adoption of key resolutions in Montreal.
This includes decisions on access and benefit sharing related to the use of digital sequence information from genetic resources. The GBF also encompasses concrete measures that will place 30% marine and terrestrial ecosystems under protection by 2030. This requires placing these areas under protection as well as restoring systems that have been degraded within the next eight years.
In a statement, the DFFE said one of the major decisions of the event was the approval of a proposal to increase finance to developing countries to enable them to drive sustainable investments in undoing the loss of biodiversity. This includes the prevention of future loss for the planet by implementing the framework.
Creation of the Global Environmental Fund
Although the developed countries showed resistance towards the creation of Global Biodiversity Fund, they ultimately compromised and endorsed the formation of the Global Environmental Fund. This is aimed to further reform the fund’s operations to ensure adequacy, predictability and timely flow of funds. South Africa was also instrumental in facilitating the ‘Strategy on Resource Mobilisation’ adopted to complement implementation of the fund, said the department. However, the DFFE feels the Kunming-Montreal declaration falls short in expressing specific steps in relation to how it will implement and mobilise resources to close the financing gap of USD 700 billion and capacity building, technology and technology transfer.
Aligning the framework with national priorities
The department committed South Africa to supporting the framework and ensuring it aligns with national priorities on biodiversity. “These would be in line with the soon-to-be adopted ‘White Paper on ‘Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biological Diversity’ and the revised ‘National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan’. The next COP15 conference will be hosted by the presidency of Türkiye in 2024.
