Fiji has expressed deep concerns regarding the ambition and quality of the revised National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plan (NBSAP) currently being developed. Speaking at the Opening Plenary of COP16 for the Convention on Biological Diversity, Dr. Sivendra Michael, Permanent Secretary for Environment, emphasized the urgent risks of ecosystem collapse alongside the necessity to take action through the CBD. He reiterated the commitment to mobilize US$20 billion per year by 2025 but noted significant shortfalls in the funding received by developing countries to aid in protection and restoration efforts.
Dr. Michael stressed that unlocking financial resources is crucial for implementing collective strategies and urged all Parties to make progress in Cali to overcome barriers that hinder action; failure to do so could lead to irreversible loss. He pointed out that new financial commitments for biodiversity protection have been limited in the past 18 months, which complicates efforts to achieve global biodiversity targets.
He warned that the lack of financial mobilization, along with inadequate national actions, jeopardizes the necessary progress needed to stop and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. Dr. Michael called for COP16 to produce outcomes that translate into the urgent global actions required to combat humanity’s ongoing destruction of nature and the overwhelming pressure placed on the natural world.
Fiji remains committed to the global goal and has submitted revised national biodiversity targets while aligning its NBSAP with the global biodiversity framework. He stressed, “It is vital that we take decisive actions to not only halt but reverse the crisis of biodiversity loss by 2030, a collective agreement committed in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.”
Leave a comment