Delegates arrive at the convention centre at the COP15 UN conference on biodiversity during a snowfall in Montreal. AP
New Delhi: The UN biodiversity conference in Montreal, Canada, signed a historic deal for nature. The move is one of the most significant effort yet to save the world’s land and oceans and provide financial aid to prevent biodiversity loss in the developing world. The UN biodiversity conference is known as COP15.
Importance of COP15
The COP15 is being considered to be the last chance for nature’s recovery. While there were disagreements over it and despite last-minute objections from the Democratic Republic of Congo, a deal was signed by nearly 200 countries on 19 December.
Brian O’Donnell, director of the conservation group Campaign for Nature revealed that in 2019, scientists sounded the alarm that biodiversity is declining at unprecedented rates in human history, urging world leaders to act boldly. In Montreal, the international community has finally come together for a landmark global biodiversity agreement to give attention to the crisis nature is facing.
Strengths of COP15
30 by 30
30 by 30 is a pledge to protect 30 per cent of the world’s land and seas by 2030 — up from about 17 per cent of land and seven per cent of oceans currently.
Indigenous rights
COP15 assured the safeguarding of Indigenous peoples’ right to remain stewards of land they use and ensuring they are not subject to evictions in the name of conservation.
Pesticides
According to the accord, efforts will be made towards “reducing the overall risk from pesticides and highly hazardous chemicals by at least half.”
Genetic sequencing
COP15 asks parties to “ensure the fair and equitable sharing of benefits that arise from the utilization of genetic resources and from digital sequence information” and “traditional knowledge” associated with them.
Business
Eliot Whittington, director of policy at Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, said the accord should prompt a mandatory disclosure framework for larger businesses.
What was missing?
According to a report by Phys.org, a number of campaigners at the COP15 rued the fact that the final text did not enough address the key statistical measures that countries should achieve before 2050. They further felt that the mandate for businesses to assess and report on biodiversity impacts was diluted and was not stressful enough, but was rather a mere encouragement.
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