140 Participating Nations Of COP15 Adopt UNDP Nature Pledge

Montreal: The Fifteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 15) held at Montreal Canada concluded on a positive note today (December 19). The 140 participating nations of the COP 15 adopted the ‘UNDP Nature Pledge’, according to an official statement of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). During the event, a historic agreement was reached at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. All the participants agreed to preserve and protect nature with the help of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), according to the statement by UNDP.

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The UNDP statement also mentioned that the GBF is intended to stop biodiversity loss. This is to conserve and restore the land and sea for the protection of our planet. The Nature Pledge also intends to protect the rights of indigenous people and local communities.

The entire plan includes various targets that need to be achieved for stopping the ongoing biodiversity loss of the earth. Although how the nations fund and proceed towards achieving the expected biodiversity goals will be monitored and reported, according to the statement.

Previously, Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav had said that the goals and targets set in the Global Biodiversity Framework should be ambitious, yet realistic and practical.

Mr Yadav was addressing the Stocktaking Plenary at UN Biodiversity Conference, COP15 at Montreal, Canada, said a statement by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

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Addressing the Plenary, Mr Yadav said,

I acknowledge the contribution of the parties for their valuable contribution and hope that this conference reaches a consensus on putting in place the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.

“Reversing ecosystem degradation and halting global biodiversity loss is essential for socio-economic development, human well-being, and for advancing global sustainability,” he added.

The goals and targets set in the Global Biodiversity Framework should be ambitious; yet realistic and practical. Conservation of biodiversity must also be based on Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective capabilities as the climate change processes affect biodiversity, he stated.

For developing nations, agriculture is a paramount economic driver for rural communities, and the critical support provided to these sectors cannot be redirected. When food security is of paramount importance for developing countries, prescribing numerical targets for pesticide reductions is unnecessary and must be left to countries to decide, based on national circumstances, priorities and capabilities.

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Biodiversity conservation requires ecosystems to be conserved and restored holistically and in an integrated manner. It is in this context that Ecosystem Approaches for the conservation of biodiversity need to be adopted rather than nature-based solutions.

The successful implementation of the framework will squarely depend on the ways and means we put in place for an equally ambitious Resource Mobilization Mechanism. Hence there is a need to create a new and dedicated mechanism for the provision of financial resources to developing-country Parties.

India is fully committed to working closely with all parties so that we are all able to bring out an ambitious and realistic GBF in COP 15.

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(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.