Statement prepared for delivery via video message at the Biodiversity Pre-Conference of Parties hosted by the Government of Colombia
My thanks to the government of Colombia for maintaining political momentum in this pre-Conference of Parties (COP) period. Thank you also to the co-chairs, the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Parties and other stakeholders for the progress you have made on the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.
You have heard from Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who eloquently laid out why the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework is so important. Why we must reach agreement on a strong and targeted Framework that works for everyone, so that nations can adopt it at COP15 next year.
Success on the Global Biodiversity Framework will require systemic changes in how we produce and consume. In our food systems. In how and where we build our infrastructure. In where we direct public and private finance. In how we value nature. In how we fairly access and share the benefits arising from nature. Negotiations over the coming months must fast-track delivery of the framework that urgently drives these systemic changes.
But progress on the Biodiversity Framework will require ambition beyond just goals and targets. It requires ambition in capacity, finance and other means of implementation. It requires political will from the highest level. It requires transparency on progress. And it will require action, from all levels of society.
While accountability rests with governments, we can’t conserve and sustainably use biodiversity without business, investors, academia and civil society; or without the leadership of indigenous people and local communities – those closest to nature.
We must also implement the new Global Biodiversity Framework in tandem with other commitments, including on climate change, pollution and desertification. Delivering on the Framework will contribute to the climate agenda, while full delivery of the Paris Agreement is needed to allow the Framework to succeed. We can’t work in isolation if we are to end the triple planetary crises.
Crucially, work on implementing the Framework must begin as soon as it is adopted, if we are to stand a chance of achieving the benefits we want for people and the planet in the next decade. Success also depends on rapid progress in agreeing the Global Biodiversity Framework and its full means of implementation.
So, I thank you for your commitment, and for your drive to keep up the political momentum as we seek to overcome the biodiversity crisis facing humanity.
Thank you.
Executive Director
