GFC Demands Stronger Action in the Convention on Biological Diversity

 

GFC Demands Stronger Action in the Convention on Biological Diversity

 

Global Forest Coalition (GFC) Policy Director Mary Louise Malig spoke to Sveriges Natur on the sidelines of the UN Biodiversity Conference COP 16 in Cali, Colombia.

She warned of a lack of political commitment, widespread corruption and bureaucratic obstacles, and called for binding targets and increased transparency for money to protect biodiversity – warning that civil society cannot sit by and must act separately to government inaction.

The comments below have been translated and taken from the original article published in Swedish by Sveriges Natur, a Swedish environmental and nature magazine, published by the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation since 1910. 

“Things are already bad with the climate goals. They were supposed to be mandatory, measured and followed up to be achieved, but then they have been watered down with voluntary commitments and what are now called grants. It’s so watered down. What contribution then? To the transition? As if it were something you could opt out of? With biodiversity, it’s even worse.”

A Call for Binding Targets and Accountability

Malig criticized the absence of mechanisms to hold countries accountable for failing to meet biodiversity goals, contrasting this with economic and trade agreements where violations result in sanctions:

“A minister can travel to this meeting and talk broadly about a general plan, but without having to present anything concrete to stop logging, limit species loss or reduce the extraction of minerals or the cultivation of monocultures. Instead, they say more money is needed and that the business community should join in, but if no goals or promises are binding, then how can countries and companies be held accountable?”

“Voters in the countries where the ministers are appointed must be able to hold them accountable. Therefore, the ministers must also present concrete solutions that can then be measured against how well biological diversity is protected.”

Civil Society’s Role: “We Cannot Wait”

Highlighting the urgency of the situation, Malig stressed that civil society must act independently of government inaction:

“We cannot wait and depend on them, but need to work and try to influence both from within the meeting as well as from outside. Here [at CBD COP] they spend hours on whether a text should have a comma or whether a word should come before or after a particular phrase. Sometimes you wonder if the negotiators know how urgent it is. Politics and agreements are important, but the forests are burning and with them biodiversity and all hope of stopping climate change.”

Read the full article here: https://www.sverigesnatur.org/aktuellt/civilsamhallet-vill-se-tuffare-krav-pa-cop16/

1 Dec, 2024
Posted in GFC in the news, Forests and Climate Change