Allow me first to congratulate and thank Colombia for hosting this magnificent CBD COP16 in beautiful Cali and for making this event a true people’s gathering. We are very grateful.
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, or GBF, is the boldest plan to make peace with nature. A plan that, as we implement and interweave it with the Climate Convention, the Desertification Convention, and the Pollution conventions, can truly address that which we refer to as the triple planetary crisis – the crisis of climate change, the crisis of nature, biodiversity and land loss, and the crisis of pollution and waste.
The GBF’s sweeping vision is reflected in 23 clear targets; many of which are quantifiable and measurable. As of October 29th, today, 115 Parties have submitted over 2,645 national targets and 36 have presented GBF-aligned National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans, while many others are working very hard to make this happen. This is good news. And we need to support countries to ensure that these plans are ambitious, achievable, and approved at a high political level to secure a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach.
Of course, strong funding will be essential for implementation at national and regional level. The GBF calls for a significant step up in both public and private funding alongside a dramatic dialling down of harmful incentives and subsidies. The Global Biodiversity Framework Fund is already supporting investments, but it remains under-capitalized. We need urgent contributions from public resources. And we need to see a dramatic increase in private and innovative sources.
Justice, equity and inclusion will be foundational to the GBF’s success. So, it is long past time for the leadership and knowledge of Indigenous Peoples to take front and centre. In the same vein, COP16 must operationalize the mechanism and fund for fair and equitable benefit-sharing from Digital Sequencing Information of genetic resources. That is how the GBF can ensure that those who profit from biodiversity give back to nature, to countries and to communities that steward our natural heritage.
UNEP is fully behind the GBF. UNEP is proud to support 70 countries in the preparations of their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans. UNEP is also supporting the Development of the GBF monitoring framework. And UNEP is honoured to co-chair, with China, the new Kunming Biodiversity Fund following a generous Chinese contribution. Through the generous support from donors to the GEF, UNEP is proud to act as implementing agency supporting countries with the implementation of just under $600 million in GEF biodiversity resources.
Healthy biodiversity is a prerequisite for truly equitable and sustainable development. So, I urge all stakeholders to make this COP the moment the GBF takes wing and sets humanity on course of making peace with nature.
