21 December COP30 “30X15” AGREEMENT ON BIODIVERSITY
Preserve the diversity of life is essential for all of humanity. When we talk about biodiversity we generally think of plants, animals, micro-organisms and their ecosystems. But biodiversity also responds to primary needs man by bringing him air, water, and food. She brings us raw materials and Energy and she participates in our good health. It is essential for agriculture.
According to an infographic published on the website ofEcology.gouv :
- + 70 % crops either 35% of the tonnage we consume depend on a pollination animal, especially insects
– Biodiversity provides goods and services 2X the value of what humans produce each year
– Biodiversity is our Pharmacy because several molecules from the animal and plant world make up our medicines.
Today international experts made an alarming statement about the decline of nature. A decline that has accelerated over the last decades due to human activity: according to the latest IPBES report, 75% of the earth's surface has been significantly altered, 66% of the oceans have been affected and 85% of wetlands have disappeared. Moreover, almost a million species animals and plants are threatened with extinction in the world. There are many causes: change in land and coastal use, human exploitation, climate change, pollution, invasive alien species (see the key points of the IPBES report).
It therefore seems urgent to act and to protect nature and by extension the human well being.
This Monday, December 19, 2022, at the end of lsa 15rd United Nations Convention on Biodiversity (C0P15) which was held in Montreal, 195 States adopted a new framework for biodiversity. They pledged to take action by 2030 for reverse the erosion of biodiversity.
This agreement dubbed “30X30” aims to:
- Protect 30% of the planet. To date only 17% of the land and 8% of the seas are protected. This new objective therefore represents an important step forward.
- Restore 30 % of degraded marine and land areas.
– Establish solidarity for developing countries with the mobilization of $30 billion by 2030 from developed countries and all public and private contributors. To this end, a new fund established by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) will be created in 2023 to contribute to the implementation of the framework and thus mobilize the resources necessary for this purpose (ecology. Gouv.fr)
This agreement is important for biodiversity and should be welcomed because it was concluded at the end of a COP which left little hope when it started and after several days of intense discussions between states. However, this agreement is not really binding for the signatories. The months to come will tell us if the stakeholders respect their commitments or not…