Fiji has expressed significant concerns regarding the goals and effectiveness of the revised National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plan (NBSAP) that is currently being developed. This was emphasized by the Permanent Secretary for Environment, Dr. Sivendra Michael, during the Opening Plenary of COP16 for the Convention on Biological Diversity. He noted the urgent threat of ecosystem collapse and the necessity of taking action through the CBD, while recalling the pledge to allocate US$20 billion annually by 2025. Fiji is apprehensive about the substantial gap in financing that has reached developing nations for conservation and restoration initiatives.
Dr. Michael emphasized that unlocking finance is crucial for implementing collective efforts and urged all parties to work towards overcoming obstacles in Cali, warning that inaction may lead to irreversible losses. He pointed out that new financial commitments for biodiversity protection have been lacking in the past 18 months, complicating the pursuit of global biodiversity goals.
He further warned that the insufficient mobilization of funds, alongside inadequate national efforts, jeopardizes the ability to achieve necessary progress in halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030. Dr. Michael stressed the importance of COP 16 in creating outcomes that can prompt urgent global actions to address the ongoing destruction of nature and its limits.
Fiji remains dedicated to achieving this global goal, having submitted its revised national biodiversity targets and is currently aligning its NBSAP with the global biodiversity framework. Dr. Michael asserted, “It is vital that we take decisive actions to not only halt but reverse the crisis of biodiversity loss by 2030, a commitment made in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.”
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