Delegates to the Convention on Biological Diversity 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) in Montreal adopted a sweeping and ambitious Global Biodiversity Framework committing, for the first time, to conserving or protecting at least 30 percent of global lands and waters by 2030. President Biden committed the United States to the same goal during his first days in office.
U.S. Special Envoy for Biodiversity and Water Resources Monica Medina celebrated the framework as a win for nature, biodiversity, and humanity, noting that by conserving at least 30 percent of global lands, fresh water, and ocean by 2030 we are acting on what the science demands to address the precipitous decline in biodiversity worldwide.
More than one million species are at risk of extinction – many within decades – and more than ever before in our history. This drop in biodiversity endangers all life on our planet. Scientists in both the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), concluded that biodiversity is declining at a catastrophic rate and that the effective conservation of 30-50 percent of global lands and waters could preserve nature’s ability to sustain people and the planet.
To further address the loss of species, parties at COP15 adopted ambitious targets on ecosystem restoration, sustainable use of biodiversity, reductions in harmful pollutants, and inclusion of Indigenous peoples and local communities in conservation efforts.
The framework also calls for a substantial increase in resources from all sources devoted to nature conservation. The United States has already been making progress towards supporting such efforts in the first two years of the Biden-Harris Administration, with for the U.S.’s largest pledge ever to the Global Environment Facility and a 20 percent increase in its spending on biodiversity foreign assistance.
With the adoption of the Global Biodiversity Framework, governments at all levels and all of society have a common set of goals to address the biodiversity crisis – for people and the planet.
