101 countries adopt new national commitments on biodiversity

One hundred and one Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)  have  now  submitted new  national  biodiversity  strategies  and  action  plans  (NBSAPs), setting  out  their  national contributions to  the  achievement  of the Aichi  Biodiversity  Targets,  a  set  of  20 global  targets  to  be  achieved by 2020.

The Aichi Biodiversity Targets are part of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, an overarching framework to protect biodiversity and enhance its benefits for people, approved by governments in 2010 and since recognised by the United Nations as setting the global framework for action on biodiversity.

“Reaching this milestone is an important achievement, but we still have a lot of work ahead of us,” said Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, CBD Executive Secretary. “In the lead up to the thirteenth meeting of the  Conference  of  the  Parties (COP  13), being  held  this  December  in  Cancun,  Mexico,  I  encourage  all  countries that have yet to develop, revise or update their NBSAPs, to  do so as soon as possible.”

In adopting the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity invited Parties to establish their own national targets, using the Strategic Plan as flexible framework, taking into account national needs and priorities, while also bearing in mind national  contributions to the achievement of the global Aichi Biodiversity Targets.

The majority of NBSAPs  include targets  that reflect specific Aichi Biodiversity Targets, and many relate to  targets  on  public  awareness, pollution  reduction, invasive  alien  species, protected  areas, preventing extinction, access to and sharing benefits from genetic resources and sharing information and knowledge.

Several Parties have set targets surpassing the level of ambition set out in the Strategic Plan. For example:

Dominica: Aichi Biodiversity Target 11 –“By 2020, at least 20% of terrestrial, inland water and 15%  of  coastal and  marine  areas,  especially  areas  of  particular  importance  for  biodiversity  and ecosystem  service,  are  conserved  through  comprehensive  ecologically  representative  and  well-connected  systems  of  effectively  managed,  protected  areas  and  other  means,  and  integrated  into the wider land and seascape.”

Finland: Aichi Biodiversity Target 5 –“By 2020, the loss of all natural habitats has been halted, and the degradation and fragmentation of natural habitats have been significantly reduced.”

The Gambia: Aichi Biodiversity Target 15 –“By 2020, ecosystem resilience and the contribution of  biodiversity  to  carbon  stocks  has  been  enhanced,  through  conservation  and  restoration,  including restoration of at least 50 per cent of degraded ecosystems.

”However, most of the  national targets and/or commitments contained in the NBSAPs set  lower levels of  ambition than the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, or did not address all elements of the  Target. For some Aichi Biodiversity Targets, such as those related to incentives, or the sustainable management of aquatic living resources, or reducing the pressures on ecosystems vulnerable to climate change and ecosystem services, many NBSAPs lacked associated national targets or commitments.

Analysis of national reports submitted by countries indicates that the majority of Parties have made progress towards the Aichi Biodiversity Targets but at an insufficient rate to allow the targets to be met by the deadline unless additional actions are taken.

The  information in the national reports suggests that, for some  Aichi  Biodiversity  Targets, about  a  third  of  Parties  are on  track  to  reach or  exceed the  level  of  ambition agreed globally. However, the progress is much lower for other targets. Overall, while progress is being  made,  it  is  at an  insufficient  rate,  and  additional  efforts  are  required  to  achieve  the  ambition  that Parties collectively agreed in the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020.

Issues related to the implementation of the Convention, and the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and its Aichi Biodiversity Targets will be the subject of discussion at the upcoming thirteenth meeting of   the CBD Conference of the Parties, to be held in Cancun, Mexico, from 4 –17 December, 2016