Countries call for urgent action on biodiversity with 'Kunming
Declaration'
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[October 13, 2021]
By David Stanway
KUNMING, China (Reuters) -More than 100
countries pledged on Wednesday to put the protection of habitats at the
heart of their government decision-making but they stopped short of
committing to specific targets to curb mass extinctions.
Chinese Environment Minister Huang Runqiu told delegates to a U.N.
Biodiversity Conference in the city of Kunming that the declaration they
adopted was a document of political will not a binding international
agreement.
The Kunming Declaration calls for "urgent and integrated action" to
reflect biodiversity considerations in all sectors of the global economy
but crucial issues - like funding conservation in poorer countries and
committing to biodiversity-friendly supply chains - have been left to
discuss later.
With plant and animal species loss now at the fastest rate in 10 million
years, politicians, scientists and experts have been trying to lay the
groundwork for a new pact on saving biodiversity.
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In a previous agreement signed in Aichi, Japan, in 2010, governments
agreed on 20 targets to try to slow biodiversity loss and protect
habitats by 2020, but none of those targets was met.
At the heart of efforts to save nature is a call by the United Nations
for countries to protect and conserve 30% of their territory by 2030 - a
target known as '30 by 30,' which the conference acknowledged though it
was not clear to what extent host China backed it.
"The declaration made a reference to the '30 by 30' target, but did not
indicate if Beijing is on board with it or not," said Li Shuo, senior
climate adviser with environment group Greenpeace.
A 30% pledge could prove too much for land-stressed China, which has
nearly 10,000 nature reserves covering 18% of its territory.
"There are academics who say they think 24%, 25% might be reasonable,
but even getting to the 18% was challenging, so 30% might be difficult,"
said Alice Hughes, a conservation biologist attending the talks on
behalf of the Beijing-based China Biodiversity Conservation and Green
Development Foundation.
A one-size fits-all target would also be inappropriate for countries
like Indonesia and Brazil, where a 30% goal would actually allow more
deforestation, she added.
Elizabeth Mrema, executive secretary of the U.N. Convention on
Biological Diversity, played down the importance of the adoption of the
specific 30% target.
"We need to keep in mind that we must focus on biodiversity outcomes
rather than spatial area," she told Reuters.
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![](../images/101321pics/news_q33.jpg)
Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech addressing the COP15
biodiversity summit in Kunming, China October 12, 2021. SECRETARIAT
OF THE CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY/Handout via REUTERS
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'TOO SLOW'
Apart from the question of targets for conservation, some activists
have complained that disagreement over the wording of the
declaration had diverted delegates' attention when urgent action was
needed.
A first draft of the declaration, released in August, included
political slogans associated with Chinese President Xi Jinping,
which caused tension and underlined what some critics said was
China's inexperience in shepherding international agreements through
to conclusion.
After feedback from more than 40 countries, Xi's slogan "lucid
waters and lush mountains" was removed from the text, though the
Chinese concept of "ecological civilisation" was retained.
There were complaints, particularly from Japan, that China had
pushed the declaration through without sufficient discussion,
sources familiar with the situation told Reuters.
"Basically they felt that there had been insufficient time for
consultation on some of the declarations," said Hughes.
Huang told delegates that China had followed the same procedures
used to adopt previous biodiversity agreements.
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However, Li said it remained to be seen whether China had the
experience to drive through a new pact during a second phase of
talks next year.
"Our global biodiversity crisis is urgent but so far the Convention
on Biological Diversity's progress has been too slow," he said.
(Reporting by David Stanway; Editing by Edwina Gibbs, Robert Birsel)
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