Fiji has expressed significant concerns regarding the ambition and quality of the revised National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plan (NBSAP) that is currently being developed. Speaking at the Opening Plenary of COP16 for the Convention on Biological Diversity, Permanent Secretary for Environment, Dr. Sivendra Michael, pointed out the urgent danger of ecosystem collapse and emphasized the need for action through the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). He also referenced the commitment to mobilize $20 billion annually by 2025 but expressed worry over the considerable shortfall in financing directed to developing countries for supporting conservation and restoration efforts.
Dr. Michael highlighted that access to finance is crucial for implementing initiatives effectively, urging all parties to make progress at the meeting in Cali to tackle the barriers hindering action, noting that failure to address these issues could lead to irreversible loss. He remarked on the scarcity of new financial commitments for biodiversity protection in the past 18 months, which complicates global efforts to meet biodiversity targets.
He warned that insufficient financial mobilization, coupled with a lack of national actions, threatens the progress needed to stop and reverse biodiversity loss by the year 2030. Dr. Michael stressed that COP16 must produce outcomes that drive the immediate action necessary worldwide to counteract humankind’s detrimental impact on nature and the trends that threaten the planet’s ability to endure.
He assured that Fiji is dedicated to achieving this global target, having submitted revised national biodiversity goals and aligning their NBSAP with the global biodiversity framework. “Taking decisive actions is essential to not only halt but also reverse the biodiversity loss crisis by 2030, a shared commitment outlined in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework,” he stated.
Leave a comment