It Is Urgent to Protect Global Biodiversity
When Silent Spring was published in 1962, it set off a global craze for environmental protection. In 1972, the United Nations held the Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, which was the first global discussion on environmental issues, with the purpose of exploring strategies to protect environment. In 1987, the United Nations Commission on Environment and Development issued the Report Our Common Future, which put forward the concept of sustainable development for the first time. Subsequently, the international community gradually recognized the significance for international agreements to achieve biodiversity conservation. In 1988, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) set up an AD hoc Expert Group on Biodiversity and an AD hoc Working Group on Technology and Law in 1989. Finally, in 1992, at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, the text of the Convention on Biological Diversity was adopted.
Contrary to our general understanding, the Convention on Biological Diversity includes not only biodiversity protection, but also two other objectives: the sustainable use of the components of biodiversity, and the sharing of commercial use of genetic resources in a fair and reasonable manner. The balance among these three objectives is fundamental to the development of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Why Should We Protect Biodiversity?
Biodiversity is the foundation of life on earth and provides the necessary ecological support for human survival and development, including supply services (food, fresh water, fiber, genetic resources, etc.), regulatory services (climate regulation, hydrology regulation, pollination, etc.), cultural services (cultural heritage, recreation and ecotourism, etc.) and supporting services (soil formation, oxygen production, habitat provision, etc.). Specifically, fish provides 20 percent of animal protein for nearly 3 billion people, and more than 80 percent of the human diet comes from plants. In rural areas of developing countries, up to 80 percent of the population relies on traditional herbal medicines made from plants for basic health services.
Stable ecosystem ensures the realization of healthy and sustainable ecosystem services and play an important supporting role in the benign development of human production. However, since the Industrial Revolution, while creating huge material wealth, mankind has also accelerated the grab of natural resources and broken the balance of the earth’s ecological system. Therefore, the deep-seated contradiction between man and nature has been increasingly apparent. According to the Global Assessment of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, published by the Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), human activities have altered 75% of the land surface and affected 66% of the marine environment. Besides, over 85% of wetlands were lost and 25% of species were threatened. In recent years, there have been frequent natural disasters around the world, such as bushfires in Australia, the worst locust plague in decades in East African countries and the spread of COVID-19 across the globe. All these changes constantly remind us that humanity must profoundly rethink the relationship with nature and come up with transformative measures to reverse the global challenge of deteriorating biodiversity.
Consensus And Cooperation Experience of The International Community
The international community has also recognized the importance of biodiversity conservation. In 2010, the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity was held in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. The conference adopted the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity for 2011-2020, reporting the five strategic goals and the related 20 outline goals, which were collectively known as the ‘Aichi Biodiversity Goals’. In September 2010, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution designating the period from 2011 to 2020 as the ‘UN Decade for Biodiversity’, urging member states to take actions to achieve the global biodiversity conservation goal by 2020.
However, a decade later, the fifth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook, released in September 2020, showed that from the global perspective, none of the ‘Aichi Biodiversity Goals’ were fully met. In detailed, six goals were partially met and fourteen goals were not met. Therefore, the strategic plan named ‘Aichi Biodiversity Goals’ was almost a failure, which has been attributed to insufficient investment and the lack of relevant knowledge resources, progress indicators and accountability. Governments have not only failed to mainstream biodiversity into national policies, as the Convention on Biological Diversity intended, but have also increased the damage to ecosystems by excessively subsidizing agriculture, fossil fuels and fisheries in pursuit of economic benefits.
Some scholars analyzed the reasons for the failure of the ‘Aichi Biodiversity Goals’ in 2010. They indicated that the majority of participants had not developed effective national targets in line with the Aichi Biodiversity Goals agenda, which was hampered by inadequate funding, knowledge and accountability. The authors advocated for a significant increase in funding for biodiversity conservation and improved monitoring systems for compliance and accountability. Other academics also mentioned the importance of funding and reported on the results of the Biodiversity Financing Initiative (BIOFIN) project, which tracked national investments in biodiversity. They found that while public spending on biodiversity rose overall, richer countries spent a lower proportion of fiscal expenditure on their biodiversity than countries with lower GDP, according to the traditional measure of wealth used by gross domestic product.
From an optimistic perspective, we cannot ignore some of the progress made during this decade. As the executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) points out, we are making good progress on invasive species, with a 30 per cent decrease on deforestation rates. Thus, there is a high probability of fewer extinctions of forest-dwelling species and the expansion of land, freshwater and marine protected areas. The progress and failures of the past decade have helped us learn from the experiences and apply them to future conservation activities.
Ecological Diversity Management in The Post-Epidemic Era
On one hand, we should promote a revolution in the concepts of economy, wealth and achievement. On the other hand, we should pragmatically recognize that rich countries around the world should immediately pay more to protect environment and preserve nature. Implementing change and investing in biodiversity may seem difficult at a time of widespread personal economic hardship in many rich countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Only governments with strong political conviction could prevent from being trapped in economic solutions and face up to the long-term interests of the world’s citizens.
In order to solve problems, new biodiversity targets need to be set on a global scale. The 15th Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was held in Kunming, adopting the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, setting the global biodiversity goals for 2021-2030. The Kunming Declaration is the main outcome of the conference, which commits to ensure the development, adoption and implementation of an effective Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework to reverse the current trend of biodiversity loss and ensure that biodiversity is on the path to recovery by 2030, hoping to fully realize the 2050 vision of harmony between man and nature.
In addition, the Kunming Declaration commits to accelerate and strengthen the formulation and updating of national biodiversity conservation strategies and action plans; optimize and establish an effective protected area system; actively improve the global environmental legal framework; increase financial, technological and capacity building support for developing countries to implement the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. What’s more, the declaration promise to further strengthen cooperation and coordinated actions with existing multilateral environmental agreements, such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to enhance the conservation and restoration of terrestrial, freshwater and marine biodiversity.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed our activities, it has raised our awareness and concerning about the damages to social systems caused by biodiversity loss, particularly in its role as a key driver of emerging infectious diseases. The emergence of the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda, the ratification of the Paris Agreement, the global race to Net Zero Emissions and the establishment of the Intellectual Property Forum provide a global framework in which knowledge is integrated systemically, therefore the actions on these closely related challenges would be implemented effectively and efficiently.
By Xin Wang
