Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea, 15 October 2014
Your Excellency, Minister Yoon Seong-kyu,
President of COP 12,
Excellencies,
Executive Secretary of the CBD, Mr. Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias,
UNDP Administrator, Ms. Helen Clark,
Distinguished guests,
Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Beyond the provision of essential food, water, shelter and livelihoods, the natural environment underpins the spiritual, inspirational and aesthetic needs of humanity.
Across civilizations, life's diversity is intrinsically linked to cultural identity.
Nations and peoples associate themselves with the natural world, which sustains them and whose elements have come to define their moral and spiritual values.
Species - such as the kangaroo, elephant, lion, eagle, oryx, panda, as well as the cedar tree or the maple leaf - are often adopted as national icons to represent who we are and what we stand for.
In Korea, the mugunghwa (a hibiscus flower), whose blossoms grace the entire country, is known to survive harsh conditions. The symbolic significance stems from the word mugung, meaning immortality; a reflection of the enduring nature of Korean culture and the determination and perseverance of the Korean people.
I was once asked by the leader of a developing Nation why we should pay so much attention to Biodiversity, while he has so many other priorities, such as feeding his people, providing them with clean water and fighting poverty. This was a challenging question, especially from a leader who had just been elected with the promise of lifting his country out the list of The Least Developing Countries.
Ladies and gentelmen,
Make no mistake: Ministries in charge of the Natural Capital that feed the world. Not only ministries of Agriculture. Ministers in charge of ecosystems provide the fish we consume, not Ministries of Fisheries. The same is true water resources and a host of other services provided by Nature.
To conserve biodiversity is to sustain life. We need Nature. Nature does not need us.
As we embark on the Sustainable Development Goals, one wonders how any of the proposed 17 goals can be achieved without including elements of biodiversity conservation. Be it for the ambition of ending poverty, ensuring healthy life, building resilient cities or promoting peaceful societies.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
All societies aspire to peace and security. Unfortunately, in many developing countries, being endowed with natural resources is often associated with conflicts and illicit financial flows. Indeed, according to UNEP publications, over the last 40 years, developing countries without major natural resources have grown 2 or 3 times faster than those with high resource endowment. As a consequence, some 1.5 billion people live in conflict-affected areas and fragile states. That is over 20 per cent of all the people on the planet.
Of the 45 fragile states identified by OECD, 80 per cent contain extractive resources of strategic significance to the global economy. In addition, 95 per cent of these fragile states contain trans-boundary waters at risk, biodiversity hotspots of global significance, or both, and 67 per cent contain World Heritage Sites.
Over the last 60 years, at least 40 per cent of all intrastate conflicts have had a link to natural resources. In contrast, since 1946, fewer than a quarter of peace
agreements aiming to resolve conflicts linked to natural resources have included specific resource management mechanisms.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
This week, let us first of all celebrate the entry into force of the Nagoya Protocol! I extend my congratulations to the Parties, to all stakeholders and indeed to the CBD Secretariat for this success. For those who have not ratified, we encourage you to do so at the soonest possible time.
I would also like to call upon the Parties to accelerate the setting up of the required institutional, legislative and administrative structures for the implementation of the Protocol.
The Nagoya Protocol will create greater legal certainty and transparency for both providers and users of genetic resources.
Further to this, let us not neglect the need to accelerate efforts towards the ratification of the Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress under the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. So far this remains unfinished business that requires more attention.
Let me draw your attention to a few other notable successes towards achieving the Aichi Targets:
Certification schemes for forests and fisheries are becoming more widespread; more financial resources are made available to address biodiversity issues; and the terrestrial area of the planet protected for biodiversity is increasing steadily, and nearly a quarter of the countries have already achieved the target of protecting 17 per cent of their land area, ahead of the 2020 deadline.
With the progress achieved so far, it is clear that plausible pathways exist to reduce biodiversity loss and achieve global goals.
However, much remains to be done to achieve the ambitions we set to ourselves for the Biodiversity Strategic Plan and the Aichi targets.
Adequate resources need to be made available. All of us are, therefore, responsible within our national settings need to create and identify incentives to
mobilize and raise the needed resources for the actions taken and to be taken to meet these goals.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Pyeongchang roadmap will help us outline and align our actions to achieve the Aichi Targets. The task at hand is not an easy one, but it is not an impossible one either.
The Gongwon Declaration on biodiversity for sustainable development will highlight the ways biodiversity is essential for sustainable development and will define pathways to maintain it. I look forward to the adoption of the declaration as a major outcome of this event.
To conclude, please allow me to extend a special thanks to the Government of the Republic of Korea for generously hosting the Conference in this spectacular location, Pyeongchang province, venue of the 2018 Winter Olympics.
We commend the CBD Secretariat and the Executive Secretary for the excellent organization of the event.
But most of all, we must recognize the tireless efforts of the Parties - supported by contributions from indigenous groups, local communities and civil society.
As delegates almost reach the final leg of their mission in Pyeongchang, it is important to note that the decisions we reach here towards achieving the Aichi targets are only as effective as the actions we take to implement them at the national level. We are all accountable and we cannot afford but to keep the promise.
Thank you
