Context - The Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO) is the flagship publication of the international Convention on Biological Diversity, summarizing the status and trends of biodiversity and drawing conclusions relevant to the further implementation of the Convention.
Given the importance of the subject and the amount of facts on the subjects these Highlights of the GBO5 report are divided into three separate parts:
Part 2: Highlights the results of past & present action plans, objectives, actions and means at the horizon 2030
Part 3: Highlights of the pathways to the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity
This is a faithful summary of the leading report produced in 2020 by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD): "
While there has been significant progress towards most of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets that had been set for 2020, none has been fully achieved. Overall, biodiversity loss is continuing, despite substantial ongoing efforts for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use. While current conservation and management actions are having positive impacts, their effects are overwhelmed by the growing pressures on biodiversity, which, in turn, are related to increased levels of consumption of food, energy and materials and to the development of infrastructure.
Consequently, the world is not on track to achieve most of the current globally agreed targets for biodiversity, or for land degradation or climate change, nor the other Sustainable Development Goals.
In this context, three key points emerge from this Global Outlook:
The overall assessment at global level for each Aichi Biodiversity Target shows that none of the 20 targets have been fully achieved, though six targets have been partially achieved (see table below).
2020 : Progress towards the Aichi Biodiversity Targets | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Level of achievement | Confidence of the result | Level of achievement | Confidence of the result | ||
1. Awareness of biodiversity increased | Not achieved | Low | 11. Protected areas | Partially achieved | High |
2. Biodiversity values integrated | Not achieved | Medium | 12. Reducing risk of extinction | Not achieved | High |
3. Incentives reformed | Not achieved | Medium | 13. Safeguarding genetic diversity | Not achieved | Medium |
4. Sustainable production & consumption | Not achieved | High | 14. Ecosystems services | Not achieved | Medium |
5. Habitat loss halved or reduced | Not achieved | High | 15. Ecosystem restoration & resilience | Not achieved | Medium |
6. Sustainable management of aquatic living resources | Not achieved | High | 16. Benefits from genetic rsources | Partially achived | High |
7. Sustainable agriculture, aquaculture and forestry | Not achieved | High | 17. Biodiversity strategies & action plans | Partially achieved | High |
8. Pollution reduced | Not achieved | Medium | 18. Traditional knowledge | Not achieved | Low |
9. Invasive alien species prevented & controlled | Partially achieved | Medium | 19. Sharing information and knowledge | Partially achieved | Medium |
10. Ecosystems vulnerable to climate change | Not achieved | High | 20. mobilizing resources from all sources | Partially achieved | High |
Species continue to move, on average, closer to extinction. However, the slower rate of extinction suggests that some progress has been made. Recent conservation actions have indeed reduced the number of extinctions through a range of measures, including protected areas, hunting restrictions, the control of invasive alien species, ex-situ conservation and re-introduction. Without such actions, extinctions of birds and mammals in the past decade would likely have been two to four times higher.
There has been also a substantial increase in the data and information on biodiversity available to citizens, researchers and policy makers, including through the efforts of citizen science and financial resources available for biodiversity through international flows have doubled.
Many countries have introduced biodiversity-relevant taxes, fees and charges, and tradeable permits. The number of businesses taking biodiversity into account in their supply chains, reporting processes and activities appears to be increasing, though information is limited.
The proportion of the planet’s land and oceans designated as protected areas is likely to reach the targets for 2020 and may be exceeded. However, progress has been more modest towards making protected areas more ecologically representative and encompassing areas of importance for biodiversity.
These lessons suggest that there is no single solution to improving the design and implementation of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, and that a range of changes may be required:
There are important signs of progress across the fisheries that were subject to scientific assessment, despite the overall negative trends. Such fisheries have been increasing in number and now account for about half of global marine catches. There have also been some notable successes recently in reducing overfishing by addressing illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
On identifying and prioritizing invasive alien species, good progress has also been made during the past decade. Successful programmes to eradicate invasive alien species, have benefited native species. Preventing introductions in the first place is likely to be far more cost-effective than attempting to eradicate alien species once they become established and start to impact native species.
There has been a substantial expansion of efforts over recent years to promote sustainable agriculture, forestry and aquaculture, including through farmer-led agroecological approaches. An analysis also suggests that developing countries, especially in Africa, show a greater awareness of the importance of biodiversity to key productive sectors including agriculture, forestry and fisheries, than developed countries.
Meanwhile, although natural resources are being used more efficiently, the aggregated demand for resources continues to increase, and therefore the impacts of their use remain well above safe ecological limits.
Regarding development and poverty reduction, there is less evidence however that biodiversity has been truly integrated into planning as required by the target.
The results to actions can be considered relative to their 5 main Goals:
1. Actions on the underlying causes of biodiversity loss (Goal A):
2. Actions on the direct pressures on biodiversity (Goal B):
3. Actions related to the status of biodiversity (Goal C):
4. Actions to maintain the capacity of ecosystems to provide the essential services on which societies depend (Goal D):
5. Actions to enable implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 (Goal E):
The pathways to a sustainable future rely on recognizing that bold and systemic interdependent actions are particularly needed across a number of fronts, each of which is necessary and none of which is sufficient on its own.
Solutions need to seek an integrated approach that simultaneously address the conservation of genetic diversity, species and ecosystems, the capacity of nature to deliver material benefits to human societies, and the connections with nature that help to define our identities, cultures and beliefs.
Unless tackled together with the other areas, even the most intensive efforts in each of these areas will not succeed in ‘bending the curve’ of biodiversity loss.
Greatly stepping up efforts is mandatory to conserve and restore biodiversity and each of the measures necessary to achieve the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity requires a significant shift away from ‘business as usual’ across a broad range of human activities.
Specific efforts needed to reduce biodiversity loss include:
There has been an increase in the recognition of the value of traditional knowledge and customary sustainable use, both in global policy forums and in the scientific community. Numerous examples have demonstrated the ways in which bringing traditional knowledge together with science can lead to constructive solutions to various challenges, band lead to the development of policies which are more tailored to on-the-ground realities.
However, despite progress in some countries, there is limited information indicating that traditional knowledge and customary sustainable use have been widely respected and/or reflected in national legislation related to the implementation of the Convention or on the extent to which indigenous peoples and local communities are effectively participating in associated processes.
There is often a lack of communication between indigenous peoples and local communities and the scientific community and assessments of biodiversity often do not take local and traditional knowledge into account.
Progress on identifying funding needs, gaps and priorities and the development of national financial plans and assessments of biodiversity values has been limited to relatively few countries.
Nevertheless, Financial resources available for biodiversity through international flows and official development assistance has roughly doubled.
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is the financial mechanism of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Between 2006-2010 and 2018-2022, funding directly relevant to biodiversity provided through the GEF increased by more than 30%, reaching about $1.3 billion.
International public biodiversity finance was estimated to be about $ 3.9 billion per year between 2015 and 2017 for finance that has biodiversity as a principal focus, and $ 9.3 billion per year if other finance with significant elements related to biodiversity is included, reflecting roughly a doubling over the decade. Funding to support other international objectives, such as combatting climate change, often directly or indirectly also supports biodiversity objectives.
However, when all sources of biodiversity finance are taken into account, the increase in biodiversity financing would not appear to be sufficient in relation to needs. Moreover, these resources are swamped by support for activities harmful to biodiversity. (Aichi Target 3).
1 National mainstreamed into the planning and activities of all those sectors whose activities can have an impact, whether positive or negative, on biodiversity biodiversity strategies and action plans(NBSAPs) are the principal instruments for implementing the Convention at the national level.
mainstreamed into the planning and activities of all those sectors whose activities can have an impact, whether positive or negative, on biodiversity
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