Two years ago in Montreal, nearly 200 countries signed a landmark agreement to reverse environmental loss by the end of the decade and raise $700 billion a year to reach that goal.
In the next two weeks in Cali, Colombia, delegates will gather at the COP16 United Nations conference on biodiversity to assess their progress – and advocates hope to see them deliver on their promises.
The rally, which begins on Monday and continues until November 1, is considered an important test of efforts to save the world’s animals and plants. Here’s a breakdown of how that happened and what’s next.
What is at stake
The threat to the world’s flora and fauna is well documented and growing rapidly.
Up to a million species are at risk of extinction, many within decades, according to a 2019 landmark report of the United Nations.
More than half a million species in the world “do not have adequate habitat for their long-term survival” and are likely to become extinct unless their habitats are protected and restored. The seas are not fair either.
Migratory species, including many birds and fish, are at high risk of habitat loss, it said another UN report released this year.
A new report by the United Nations says that almost half of the world’s migratory species are in decline and many birds and fish are at risk of extinction.
Under the agreement, known as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, countries have agreed to protect 30 percent of land and water by 2030, known as “30 by 30.”
When the agreement was signed, 17 percent of land and 10 percent of marine areas were protected — and those levels haven’t changed much.
Many countries are lagging behind
In Montreal, almost every country in the world is committed to it frame that would “halt and reverse” biodiversity loss by 2030. As part of the agreement, countries have committed to issuing new national plans on how they will achieve a range of goals and objectives.
But as of last week, only 15 percent of countries, including Canada, have submitted those plans, according to the report background analysis of climate news Carbon Brief.
Justina Ray, president and chief scientist of the Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, said that given the complexity of the 2022 agreement, the resistance is “not at all surprising,” and she hopes more countries will introduce their plans soon.
“It discourages us in a way, but mainly because we are already behind in this,” he said in an interview.
Where is the money?
As part of the Montreal agreement, rich countries have committed to providing developing countries with $20 billion starting next year and gradually increasing those amounts to $30 billion by 2030.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development reported in Mpandula that the income of developing countries has increased significantly, but the world has remained twenty-three percent of the goal of twenty billion dollars.
Ray said funding will be essential so that developing countries can protect their land and water.
“In all these meetings – about climate, biodiversity – finance always comes first,” he said.
What Canada does
Canada announced its strategy this past summeronce bill that would put you outlawed.
That legislation has yet to be passed into law, and some advocates argue that the bill does not go far enough in establishing national policies to protect land and seas.
“While Canada’s 2030 environmental strategy is a welcome step, it is unclear whether it will be enough to stop, let alone reverse, environmental loss,” Anna Johnston, a staff attorney at West Coast Environmental Law in Vancouver, wrote in an upcoming blog post. of the meeting.
“Also, we still don’t have a plan to use it.”
Canada is home to 20 percent of the world’s fresh water, 25 percent of its wetlands and nearly 25 percent of its forests, according to the plan.
With the longest coastline in the world, it is also home to one of the largest marine areas in the world.
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