Indigenous Peoples’ and civil society organizations called on governments gathered at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference to recognize the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLC) to lands, territories and waters, and to support their conservation and sustainable use initiatives.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Fifteenth meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has been delayed by over a year and is being held in two parts: A hybrid virtual and in-person meeting from 11 to 15 October; and a second part to be held in person in Kunming, China, in April, 2022. Governments are expected to negotiate and endorse an important set of biodiversity targets (under a ‘Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework’) at the meeting next year in China.
The International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB), represented by its co-chair, Lucy Mulenkei, said that Indigenous Peoples and local communities have historically been – and continue to be – the best stewards of nature. While it welcomed some elements in the first draft of the biodiversity targets, IIFB said that rights-based approaches need to be further integrated into the Convention and its implementation.
The CBD Alliance of civil society organizations engaged in the process echoed the demands of IPLCs, that the biodiversity targets should support gender-just and equitable governance rights of these communities.”
Helena Paul, from the NGO EcoNexus said that governments should address the underlying reasons driving biodiversity loss, including extractive industries, international financial markets, inequalities in wealth, high debt and pervasive austerity. In particular, it stressed on the need to regulate business activities that destroy biodiversity and violate human rights. In the context of conservation of marine biodiversity and the rights of “small fisherfolk”, the CBD Alliance called for a moratorium on seabed mining. It recommended that Parties employ the precautionary principle, free, prior and informed consent, and human rights-based approaches that ensure the effective participation of IPLCs, women and youth in the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity worldwide.
The opening plenary of the Conference on Friday saw statements by several Parties and regional groups: Egypt (the COP Presidency), Slovenia (on behalf of the European Union), Argentina (on behalf of the Group of Latin America and Caribbean Countries), Georgia (on behalf of the Central and Eastern European Region), the Democratic Republic of Congo (on behalf of the African group), Kuwait (for the Asia Pacific region) and the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela).
Several Parties noted the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on human health and the global economy, and recognized the links between such pandemics and biodiversity loss. They also urged for concerted action on climate change mitigation to protect biodiversity.
The African group pointed out that according to current commitments, several countries in the region had already protected 30 per cent of their land and sea areas (a key element in the draft targets), totally covering about 6 mn sq km on and 2 mn sq km terrestrial and marine areas, respectively.
The European Union called for the mainstreaming of biodiversity within and across government, business and society with the full and effective participation of indigenous peoples and local communities. The EU supported the target to conserve at least 30% of global land and sea areas by 2030, calling for “strong actions” to reduce the negative impact of human activities on the ocean, and protect marine and coastal biodiversity, including the deep-sea.
There were also statements by representatives of women’s and youth organizations, advocating for inclusive and human-rights-based approaches to conserve nature.
The first part of the Conference will not include any negotiations on the draft targets; instead, Parties will discuss several organizational matters and examine reports by its subsidiary bodies and working groups, as it builds momentum towards the in-person meeting next year.
For more information, visit https://www.cbd.int/conferences/2021-2022/cop-15/documentsv