Earth Today | Clock ticks on 2030 nature targets

THE SLOW rate of progress to hit the 23 targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) by 2030, in order to put nature on a path to recovery, is setting off alarm bells, while the 2050 vision of “living in harmony with nature” seems to blur.

“Two distinct gaps in progress are evident. First, the collective scope and planned actions associated with the national targets set by Parties do not yet fully reflect the scope and level of ambition of the global targets of the Framework. Specifically, not all of the elements of the 23 targets are adequately addressed, while the levels of quantitative commitments are below those of the global targets,” reveals the just published State of Biodiversity Action report of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

“Second, the pace of advances in implementation of actions to achieve the 2030 targets is not sufficient across the Framework. In particular, progress is uneven among the targets, with those addressing drivers of biodiversity loss lagging behind significantly; uneven across different ecosystems, with marine, coastal and inland water ecosystems consistently showing gaps in coverage; and weak on the cross-cutting issues and considerations for the implementation of the Framework,” added the report, which was launched at the COP17 Leaders’ Summit on Biodiversity, which took place on October 16 in Yerevan, Armenia.

Some 196 Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted the Framework in 2022. The targets include to restore 30 per cent of all degraded ecosystems, including degraded terrestrial, inland water and marine and coastal ecosystems; conserve 30 per cent of land, waters and seas; and to halt species extinction, protect genetic diversity and manage human wildlife conflicts.

Also among the targets is to reduce pollution to levels that are not harmful for biodiversity, including by preventing, reducing and working towards eliminating plastic pollution; and minimise the impacts of climate change on biodiversity and build resilience.

Among the barriers to progress highlighted in the report are “gaps in the scale and timely provision of the means of implementation of the Framework, including financial resources, capacity-building and development, technical and scientific cooperation, access to and transfer of technology, and knowledge-sharing”.

Countries have also reported challenges related to “policy coherence and coordination across sectors and levels of government; participation and engagement of rights holders and actors other than national Governments, including sectors and actors that have significant biodiversity impacts; and data and knowledge gaps”.

Developing countries, notably least developed countries and small island developing states, the report said, may be especially challenged, though their experiences are under-represented in the report, given that some did not submit their national reports in time to have them form a part of the global report.

Head of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Inger Andersen, while acknowledging that some progress has been made, said countries need to pick up the pace.

“To accelerate action, we must ensure that all Multilateral Environmental Agreements – on climate, biodiversity, land or pollution – are working together, towards our common and interwoven goals, as also reflected in the Sustainable Development Goals.  As the host of many agreements, this has been a UNEP focus for years. And we are making progress.,” she said, speaking at the launch of the report.

“But we can only succeed if we reach for genuine policy coherence and synergies, pursue integrated and systems approaches, enhance domestic coordination and cooperation, take a whole-of society approach and optimise available financing.      

Attention to mobilising finance is, Andersen said, especially important.

“The GBF calls for US$200 billion per year from all sources – public and private – alongside a reduction in harmful incentives and subsidies. But, today, every dollar invested in protecting nature, US$30 are still spent destroying it,” she noted.

“Redirecting subsidies from activities that harm nature towards those that are nature-positive is essential to meet the GBF goals and bring benefits across sectors and societies,” the UNEP boss added.

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