Saving biodiversity: COP10 CBD adopts historic decisions

Some 18,000 participants representing the 193 Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and their partners closed the 10th Meeting of the Conference of Parties to the Convention (COP10) on 29 October in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Though several concerns have been raised over the meeting’s failure to address the issues of some related stakeholders, mainly indigenous groups, the meeting has been regarded as being an important initiative since it adopted historic decisions to meet the unprecedented challenges of the continued loss of biodiversity compounded by climate change. SAWTEE participated in the conference.

According to the CBD Secretariat, the meeting achieved its three inter-linked goals: adoption of a new 10-year Strategic Plan to guide international and national efforts to save biodiversity through enhanced actions to meet the objectives of the Convention; a resource mobilization strategy that provides the way forward to a substantial increase to current levels of official development assistance in support of biodiversity; and a new international protocol on access to and sharing of the benefits from the use of the genetic resources of the planet.

The Strategic Plan of the Convention on Biological Diversity or the “Aichi Target” includes 20 headline targets, organized under five strategic goals that address the underlying causes of biodiversity loss, reduce the pressures on biodiversity, safeguard biodiversity at all levels, enhance the benefits provided by biodiversity, and provide for capacity building. Among the targets, it is important to note that the Parties agreed to:

• at least halve and where feasible bring close to zero the rate of loss of natural habitats, including forests;
• establish a target of 17 percent of terrestrial and inland water areas, and 10 percent of marine and coastal areas;
• through conservation and restoration, restore at least 15 percent of degraded areas; and
• make special efforts to reduce the pressures faced by coral reefs.

The Parties also agreed to a substantial increase in the level of financial resources in support of implementation of the Convention.  

The “Aichi Target” will be the overarching framework on biodiversity not only for biodiversity-related conventions, but for the entire United Nations system. The Parties agreed to translate this overarching international framework into national biodiversity strategies and action plans within two years.

Actions in support will also take place at sub-national and local levels. The Parties endorsed a plan of action on cities and biodiversity adopted by the Nagoya Biodiversity City summit attended by more 200 mayors. A total of 122 legislators from around the world attending the GLOBE meeting on parliamentarians and biodiversity agreed to support the implementation of the new Strategic Plan.

The importance of acting to conserve biodiversity also received support from the donor community. Representatives of 34 bilateral and multilateral donor agencies agreed to translate the plan into their respective development cooperation priorities.

The Multi-Year Plan of Action on South-South Cooperation on Biodiversity for Development adopted by the 131 members of the Group of 77 and China was welcomed as an important instrument. Financial support for the Strategic Plan will be provided under the framework of the resource mobilization strategy. The Parties will work to define in time for the COP11 in 2012 in India the targets and mechanisms through which financial resources can be identified, unleashed and channelled.

The Parties adopted the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from Their Utilization. The historic agreement creates a framework that balances access to genetic resources on the basis of prior informed consent (PIC) and mutually agreed terms with fair and equitable sharing of benefits while taking into account the important role of traditional knowledge. The Protocol, while trying to set a transparent mechanism for access and benefit sharing (ABS) and PIC, also proposes the creation of a global multilateral mechanism that will operate in transboundary areas or situations where PIC cannot be obtained.

The Nagoya Protocol is expected to enter into force by 2012, with support from the Global Environment Facility of US$1 million to support its early entry into force (Adapted from press releases of the CBD Secretariat; and Adhikari, Kamalesh. 2008. Protection of Farmers’ Rights over Plant Varieties in Southeast Asian Countries. Kuala Lumpur: SEACON).