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https://theconversation.com/cop15-three-visions-for-protecting-nature-on-the-table-at-the-un-biodiversity-conference-195946>
"With the dust still settling on the UN climate change summit in Egypt, another
round of international talks is beginning in Montreal, Canada. The UN
biodiversity conference, otherwise known as COP15, will assemble world leaders
to agree on new targets for protecting nature.
The loss of biodiversity – the dizzying variety of life forms from microscopic
viruses, bacteria and fungi to towering trees and enormous whales – is
accelerating. The last agreement in 2010 yielded the 20 Aichi targets which
included halving the rate at which species were being lost and expanding
protected habitats on land and in the sea by 2020. Governments failed to meet a
single one.
A global assessment in 2019 showed that nature was declining globally at rates
unprecedented in human history. The forces driving more and more species
towards extinction – climate change, habitat destruction and pollution – are
all trending in the wrong direction. Nothing less than a transformation of how
societies work and the relationship between people and the rest of nature will
get us on track.
After two years of delay due to the pandemic and difficulties negotiating a new
venue with the country that holds the conference presidency, China, many are
relieved that COP15 is happening at all. That relief may prove short-lived as
there is much to be done in these two short weeks. The grand objective is the
approval of a new global biodiversity framework, essentially a plan for how the
world’s nations expect to halt the loss of biodiversity and ensure that, by
2050, society is living in harmony with nature."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
