it is now evident that most of the 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets — to address some of the biggest environmental challenges and due in 2020 — will not be achieved.
The first United Nations Biodiversity Convention held in the Middle East will take place November 17-29,2018, in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, for the 14th Conference of the Parties.
Originally launched in 1992 as part of the Rio Earth Summit, the Convention on Biological Diversity is a global agreement among 196 nations that represent the “global community’s growing commitment to the conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of its components and fair use of benefits arising from genetic resources.”
While several important success stories have emerged over the years in sustaining biodiversity and the communities that rely on ecosystems for their livelihoods, World Wildlife Fund International’s recent Living Planet report shows that biodiversity continues to decline worldwide, with devastating consequences for people and the planet.
There is a strong indication that the planet has entered into its sixth mass extinction — triggered by human activities impacting forests, wetlands, rivers, oceans and other critical ecosystems.
In addition, it is now also evident that most of the 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets — set in 2010 to address some of the biggest environmental challenges we face and due in 2020 — will not be achieved.
“Global efforts to reverse nature loss have lacked urgency, political commitment and effective delivery so far,” said Marco Lambertini, director general of WWF International in a statement made at the Convention.
“Protecting and restoring nature and biodiversity is fundamental to our health, well-being, economies, and continued and growing prosperity around the world,” Lambertini continued.
As the first biodiversity conference to be hosted in the region, this year’s Conferences of the Parties (COP) provides a unique opportunity for discussion on conserving nature in the Middle East, the current gap in efforts to prevent further environmental degradation and how this directly impacts human lives in the region.
“COP14 focuses on issues critical to the Middle East,” says Kishan Khoday, the team leader in the Arab region of Climate Change, Disaster Risk Reduction, Energy and the Environment with the United Nations Development Programme:
These include the role of biodiversity and ecosystems in countries affected by conflict and displacement and how nature-based solutions can help prevent crisis and speed recovery by reducing social vulnerability.
