Fiji has expressed significant concern regarding the ambition and quality of the revised National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plan (NBSAP) that is currently being developed. During the Opening Plenary of the COP16 for the Convention on Biological Diversity, Dr. Sivendra Michael, Permanent Secretary for Environment, emphasized the urgency of addressing the dangers posed by ecosystem collapse. He pointed out the commitment to mobilize $20 billion annually by 2025 and cautioned about the considerable shortfall in financial resources directed toward developing countries for their conservation and restoration initiatives.
Dr. Michael noted that unlocking adequate funding is crucial for implementing collective environmental efforts, urging all Parties to make progress in overcoming financial barriers at the conference in Cali. He highlighted that in the last 18 months, new financial commitments for biodiversity protection have been limited, hindering the achievement of global biodiversity targets.
He warned that the lack of financial mobilization, alongside inadequate national actions, jeopardizes the progress needed to stop and reverse the loss of nature by 2030. Dr. Michael insisted that COP 16 must yield concrete results that encourage immediate global action to mitigate humanity’s detrimental impact on the environment and address the unsustainable pressures faced by the natural world.
Fiji reaffirms its commitment to the global biodiversity target and has submitted its revised national biodiversity goals, taking steps to align its NBSAP with the global biodiversity framework. He stressed the importance of making determined efforts to not only halt but also reverse the ongoing biodiversity loss crisis by 2030, as agreed upon in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
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