CARIBBEAN-ENVIRONMENT-Regional delegations traveling to Canada for COP 15

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GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Caribbean Community (CARICOM) delegations are heading off to Canada for the 15th Conference of the Parties United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD) (COP15) intended to create targets on biodiversity for the next decade.

The Conference, from December 7-19, will be held under the Presidency of China. Importantly, the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) is expected to be adopted during this second phase of the Conference.

The Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat said that over the last six months, it has under the Capacity Building Related to Multilateral Environmental Agreements (ACP MEAs) Phase III Project worked with the Caribbean Biodiversity Focal Points and other partners to prepare for effective participation in the negotiations and other priorities under the Convention.

It said the ACP MEAs Project is an initiative of the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OAPCS) funded by the European Union.

Biodiversity is the foundation of the global economy. More than half of global gross domestic product (GDP), equal to US$41.7trillion, is dependent on the healthy functioning of the natural world, the Secretariat said, noting that 95 percent of the food eaten is produced in the soil, yet up to 40 percent of the world’s land is severely degraded by unsustainable agricultural practices.

“Eighteen percent of total GDP for most CARICOM countries comes from agriculture. Our current reality sets a challenge before us that are well known as we continue to grapple with our economic, social, and environmental vulnerabilities.

“It is timely as a Community that we re-examine our relationship with nature, recognizing that, despite all our advances, we will always remain dependent on healthy and vibrant ecosystems for our water, food, medicines, clothes, fuel, shelter and energy.”

The Secretariat notes that international conflict continues to exacerbate the existing food, energy, climate, and financial crisis, adding, “here in the Caribbean, we are feeling the consequences of this conflict, deriving even more urgency in our actions to be more food and energy security in a way that is in harmony with the Caribbean’s unique biodiversity.”

The CARICOM Secretariat said it used this year as an optimal opportunity to promote an urgency of action at the highest levels in support of a post-2020 biodiversity framework that will contribute to the reshaping of the region’s vision for biodiversity.

The Antigua and Barbuda delegation, comprising Dr. Helena Jeffrey Brown, technical coordinator, Mrs. Kishma Primus-Osmond, biosafety specialist, and Nneka Nicolas, legal consultant, said the island in anticipation of the COP 15, has been emphasizing the importance of having a Global Biodiversity Framework that takes into account the vulnerabilities of the Small Island Developing States.

“We are seeing increasing destruction in our islands that can be directly linked to the loss of critical biodiversity and ecosystems. While we are hopeful that the GBF can be finalized, we also note that without adequate financing, resource mobilization, capacity building, and technology transfer, as well as a sufficient means of implementation, the GBF will not be effective in halting and reversing biodiversity loss.

“Access to these resources via the GBF will support our capacity to collect data consistently, which would inform which activities are effective to implement targets under the GBF. We also hope to see the finalization of the recognition of Digital Sequencing Information (DSI) as a genetic resource.

“We will, at this meeting, insist on the retention of the language related to DSI in applicable goals and targets or the GBF as well as the finalization of a Benefit Sharing Mechanism allowing developing countries to benefit from the utilization of their genetic resources, including DSI.”

For their part, the Bahamas, which will be represented by a senior environmental officer, Samantha Miller-Cartwright, said that, like most countries in the Caribbean region, it possesses some of the unique terrestrial and marine ecosystems in the world.

“We identify with many of the issues met by our regional counterparts in that we are most susceptible to biodiversity loss and other negative impacts that plague our natural environment and most sensitive ecosystems.

“The Bahamas seeks to demonstrate a sustained willingness for dialogue during these negotiations in order to reach consensus, which we hope is reached by the end of COP-15. It is our hope that we arrive at a GBF that guides us toward the 2050 vision.

“The Bahamas fully supports a Post 2020-GBF with goals and targets that are clear, concise, and achievable by all Parties. We also wish to see a GBF that fully incorporates the guiding principles of the Convention but also integrates and captures the regional and national priorities and circumstances of each party.”

The head of Grenada’s Environment Division, Aria R. St Louis, said, ‘we need a balanced outcome that reflects the progress done with the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework and work program under all three pillars of the Convention.

“The region remains concerned about implementation, and in this light, unpacking “means of implementation” and access to resources will be a key part of the discussions and draft decisions being tabled. Means of implementation raise discussions on the gap in biodiversity finance, which was identified as a stumbling block to achieving the Aichi targets.

“Climate is a driver of biodiversity loss, and so looking at targets and decision language that ramps up biodiversity conservation and restoration with the positive spin-off benefits for carbon capture and storage is another area where we anticipate and support action. Ensuring the fair and equitable sharing of benefits derived from genetic resources is a complex but important issue linked to biosafety opportunities,” St Louis added.

Trinidad and Tobago’s biodiversity specialist, Candace Amoroso, said parties would demonstrate political will and agree on some form of a Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).

She said they would also agree on further financial support to ensure that the new set of targets is both ambitious and achievable.

“The resultant Post 2020 GBF will lead to improved collaborations by all stakeholders. Only a whole government/society approach can ensure the effective implementation of the future GBF.

“Coming out of the approval of the Post-2020 GBF, I believe that there will be stronger collaborations between the global North and South. This will be as a result of the increased funds that will be available from the more developed countries to developing countries to ensure the necessary means to implement the global framework,” Amoroso added.

The Secretariat said that in addressing CARICOM negotiators during the region’s preparatory process, CARICOM Assistant Secretary-General Joseph Cox reiterated the significance of this COP as delegates take up the challenges of negotiating national and regional positions that will lay out the next ten years of biodiversity targets.

He said that there had been two sets of targets that we had not been able to meet; therefore, setting out the next set of very ambitious targets is critical.

“CARICOM’s input to the post-GBF is of paramount importance as there will be many distractions due to the end-of-year celebrations and competing events. It was noted that the official text is expected to be signed off by December 17, on the eve of the FIFA World Cup final in Qatar, and right after the Climate Change COP27 in Egypt.

“However, it is optimistic and encouraging to note that the message and awareness of the climate and biodiversity crisis cannot be ignored as we continue to live and see for ourselves how important these global agreements are,” the Secretari

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