Earth Today | UNEP boss urges comprehensive approach to nature loss
Published:Thursday | November 7, 2024 | 12:10 AM
HEAD OF the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Inger Andersen, has cautioned against what she described as being “seduced by bare numbers” in the effort to meet more than a single target of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
Speaking at the recent launch of the 2024 Planet Protect Report in Cali, Colombia, Andersen noted that while the progress made towards protecting 30 per cent of terrestrial, inland water and marine areas by 2030 is to be celebrated, still more is required.
“The headline figures show glimmers of promise. The rise in coverage since 2020 is over twice the size of Colombia; 17.6 per cent of land and inland waters and 8.4 per cent of the ocean and coastal areas are now within protected and conserved areas,” she said.
“But we must not celebrate hard, because there is a great deal more work to be done to meet the 30 per cent target over the next six years, particularly on oceans,” she added.
Nonetheless, the UNEP executive director said the quality of protected areas also matters.
“Quality means ensuring real conservation outcomes in areas of real importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services. After all, designating marginal areas might gain a percentage point here or there, but it does very little for biodiversity,” she explained.
“Quality also means effective management and equitable governance that respects the rights and leadership of local communities, particularly Indigenous Peoples. People who have deep roots in areas of importance for biodiversity should not be moved or sidelined, not least because they know local biodiversity better than anyone and can help, or indeed lead, in efforts to conserve it,” Andersen added.
It is also to take stock of all 23 targets reflected in the global biodiversity framework (GBF).
“Progress on targets covering funding, stakeholder engagement, spatial planning, pollution and more will be needed to ensure effective protected areas that are connected, integrated into the landscape and seascape, and provide long-term benefits. And of course, progressing solely on Target 3 would not fulfil the vision of the GBF. We are seeking to live in harmony with the nature all around us, not separate from nature that is tucked away in protected enclaves,” she said.
The Kunming-Montreal GBF, labelled the ‘Paris Agreement for Nature’, was agreed at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, held in Canada in 2022. With its targeting including the mobilisation of up to $200 billion per year by 2030, it is said to have provided answer to the loss of nature, one of the triple planetary crisis facing humanity.