scholarly journals Kunming Summit on the Convention on Biological Diversity and China’s Environmental Diplomacy

Author(s):  
Yu Hongyuan ◽  
Zhu Yunjie

Beijing’s environmental diplomacy has gained growing momentum in recent years, reflecting China’s activism in a shifting global political and economic landscape. The upcoming 15th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Kunming in southwestern China will be the first biodiversity-themed event Beijing will host since it signed up for global biodiversity governance in the early 1990s, offering another opportunity for Beijing to contribute its proposals and perspective to the global response to another slow-moving but deepening crisis. Despite the raised international expectations about the conference and the strategic action plan it is expected to produce, the focus of global biodiversity governance should be on delivering real results on existing pledges by addressing the major institutional shortcomings and building up national capabilities.

Author(s):  
Marcel T. J. Kok ◽  
Kathrin Ludwig

AbstractWhile multilateral approaches and national policies have been unable to halt the unprecedented loss of biodiversity, responses from non-state and subnational initiatives are increasing. The successful implementation of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework (GBF), to be agreed upon under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), ultimately depends on commitments and action by state and non-state actors, including subnational actors. However, non-state and subnational actors have so far received little attention in academic analysis of global biodiversity governance. In order to better understand and harness the potential of non-state and subnational involvement, this paper addresses the ways in which non-state initiatives contribute to global biodiversity governance and how productive linkages can be built between state and non-state actors in the post-2020 GBF. This paper applies an explorative case study approach and analyses six international cooperative initiatives (ICIs) that highlight novel approaches in international biodiversity governance. We analyse the qualities of ICIs for biodiversity governance in terms of strengths and potential, the governance functions that they fulfil, and how they are engaging with the CBD and the post-2020 GBF. Based on this analysis, we discuss challenges and opportunities related to non-state and subnational actors involvement in global biodiversity governance and identify possible steps forward. We emphasise the importance of a collaborative framework for non-state action within the CBD that builds on existing and emerging activities of non-state actors, organises monitoring and review as part of an accountability framework of state and non-state actors, and provides for learning, capacity building and follow-up action.


2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-104
Author(s):  
Md. Rahimullah Miah ◽  
Alexander K. Sayok ◽  
Ahi Sarok ◽  
Mohammad Belal Uddin

The study investigates a framework for Integrated Biological Diversity Information Systems (BDIS) with relevant rules and regulations that emphasize the need for interdisciplinary research collaborations at national, regional and global scales on nature conservation mechanisms at Lawachara National Park (LNP) in Bangladesh. To date, Bangladesh has no Integrated National Biodiversity Database with Clearing House Mechanisms. So, there is a lot of nature conserving problems faced on biodiversity management systems. The study integrates technological information from stakeholders like park manager, biological diversity specialists, network officers, ecological specialists, policy-makers, wildlife managers, academicians and relevant bodies. The study represents the uniqueness of the tools used to enhance conservation professionals on the national biodiversity strategic action plan through existing policies and technology, literature reviews, observations, interviews and reconnaissance findings. Approximately 64% of the respondents agreed for the development of Biological Diversity Information Systems (BDIS) for conserving nature at LNP. The study describes the essential information needed for comprehensive data exchange, data indexing, web-publication and reports on Convention on Biological Diversity with the help of Resources Information Management System. Finally, the study suggests future research trajectories using a new collaborative approach to drive the methodological agenda and recommends ways to further incorporate the information systems integrating next generations’ biodiversity conservation perspectives.  


10.5852/hc45 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Aubertin ◽  
Anne Nivart

The Nagoya Protocol is a major international agreement for global biodiversity governance and was meant to put an end to the uncompensated exploitation of natural resources and knowledge in the Global South. Its objectives were to ensure greater justice and equity between providers and users of genetic resources, raise the profile of the contributions and knowledge of indigenous and local communities, and decolonise research, while promoting the conservation of biodiversity. Thirty years after the Convention on Biological Diversity from which it originated, the authors examine the legal and practical manifestations of this virtuous framework, which entered into force in 2014. While it has fostered recognition of the plural nature of knowledge and helped to establish traceability of resources, it has also contributed to imposing a commercial vision of nature and knowledge, exacerbating identity politics, and making access to biodiversity more complex in an era of globalised research. This book presents an interdisciplinary dialogue based on feedback from researchers and conservation stakeholders (local communities, managers of collections and natural parks). Looking beyond the Nagoya Protocol, it invites us to question the relationships between societies and nature in light of the ecological emergency. It is intended for anyone with an interest in the economics of biodiversity and environmental justice.


2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 249-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Buck

AbstractThe Ninth Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP9) in May 2008 in Bonn was one of the major international environmental meetings in 2008. Its decisions significantly advance global biodiversity politics on a range of critical issues and thereby help achieving the global target of substantially reducing current rates of biodiversity loss by 2010. This article describes the main decision adopted by COP9 on biofuels, marine biodiversity, biodiversity and climate change, access and benefit-sharing and the science-policy interface of international biodiversity politics.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Rae Pierce ◽  
Sabrina Drill ◽  
Michael D. Halder ◽  
Mika Mei Jia Tan ◽  
Anushri Tiwari ◽  
...  

Cities have a critical role to play in meeting global-scale biodiversity targets. Urban socio-ecological systems connect human and ecological well-being. The outsized impact of cities reaches well-beyond their geographic borders through cultural, ecological, and economic interactions. Although cities account for just 2% of the earth's surface, they host over half of the human population and are responsible for 75% of consumption. The Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and others have acknowledged the important role cities can play in achieving global targets. In response, at least 110 cities have produced plans focused on biodiversity, but we do not know the extent to which these city plans align with global targets or what role they play in achieving these targets. Here, we explore the relationship between global biodiversity conservation targets and local biodiversity plans to identify how elements at the two scales align or diverge. We compared the CBD Strategic Plan 2011–2020 (Aichi Targets) with 44 local biodiversity plans (often called LBSAPs) from cities around the world. We analyzed more than 2,800 actions from the local plans to measure the relationship with these global targets. Our results show how local approaches to biodiversity conservation can inform post-2020 global frameworks to improve coordination between global and local scale processes. We identify actions particular to the local scale that are critical to conserve global biodiversity and suggest a framework for improved coordination between actors at different scales that address their respective roles and spheres of influence.


NeoBiota ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 62 ◽  
pp. 99-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franz Essl ◽  
Guillaume Latombe ◽  
Bernd Lenzner ◽  
Shyama Pagad ◽  
Hanno Seebens ◽  
...  

The year 2020 and the next few years are critical for the development of the global biodiversity policy agenda until the mid-21st century, with countries agreeing to a Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Reducing the substantial and still rising impacts of invasive alien species (IAS) on biodiversity will be essential if we are to meet the 2050 Vision where biodiversity is valued, conserved, and restored. A tentative target has been developed by the IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG), and formally submitted to the CBD for consideration in the discussion on the Post-2020 targets. Here, we present properties of this proposal that we regard as essential for an effective Post-2020 Framework. The target should explicitly consider the three main components of biological invasions, i.e. (i) pathways, (ii) species, and (iii) sites; the target should also be (iv) quantitative, (v) supplemented by a set of indicators that can be applied to track progress, and (vi) evaluated at medium- (2030) and long-term (2050) time horizons. We also present a proposed set of indicators to track progress. These properties and indicators are based on the increasing scientific understanding of biological invasions and effectiveness of responses. Achieving an ambitious action-oriented target so that the 2050 Vision can be achieved will require substantial effort and resources, and the cooperation of a wide range of stakeholders.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.J. Milner-Gulland ◽  
Prue Addison ◽  
William Arlidge ◽  
Julia Baker ◽  
Hollie Booth ◽  
...  

The upcoming meeting of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, and future adoption of the new Global Biodiversity Framework, represent an opportunity to transform humanity's relationship with nature. Restoring nature while meeting human needs requires a bold vision, but this will only succeed if biodiversity conservation can be mainstreamed in society. Here, we present an overarching framework that could support this mainstreaming: the Mitigation and Conservation Hierarchy. This novel framework places the well-established four-step Mitigation Hierarchy for mitigating and compensating the impacts of developments on biodiversity (1: Avoid, 2: Minimise, 3: Restore, 4: Offset, towards a target such as No Net Loss of biodiversity) within a broader framing that encompasses all conservation actions. We illustrate the potential application of the framework in four cases; national governments, sub-national levels (specifically the City of London, a fishery, and indigenous groups), companies, and the general public. The Mitigation and Conservation Hierarchy supports decisions about both the choice of actions to conserve and restore nature, and evaluation of the effectiveness of those actions, across sectors and scales. As such it can guide actions towards a sustainable future for people and nature in support of the CBD's vision.


Author(s):  
Charles B. van Rees ◽  
Kerry A. Waylen ◽  
Astrid Schmidt-Kloiber ◽  
Stephen J. Thackeray ◽  
Gregor Kalinkat ◽  
...  

The drafting of a new Global Biodiversity Framework for the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and Biodiversity Strategy for the European Union (EU) render 2020 a critical crossroad for biodiversity conservation. Freshwater biodiversity is disproportionately threatened and poorly studied relative to marine and terrestrial biota, despite providing numerous essential ecosystem services. The urgency of the mounting freshwater biodiversity crisis necessitates approaches catered to the unique ecology and threats of freshwater life, which are not adequately addressed by current strategies. We present a set of 15 special recommendations for freshwater biodiversity to guide the CBD’s post-2020 framework and the 2020 EU strategy based on European case studies, both challenges and successes. Our recommendations cover key outcomes and guiding concepts, enabling conditions and methods of implementation, planning and accountability modalities, and cross-cutting issues. They address topics including invasive species, integrated water resources management, strategic conservation planning, data management, and emerging technologies for freshwater monitoring, among others. These recommendations will enhance the ability of global and European post-2020 biodiversity agreements to halt and reverse the rapid global decline of freshwater biodiversity.


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