IUCN at CBD COP15

The Conference of the Parties (COP)  adopted a new strategic plan to transform society’s relationship with biodiversity and ensure that by 2050, we live in harmony with nature.

For IUCN, this means protect what we still have, restore degraded ecosystems, and address direct threats to biodiversity to avoid further damage. But also, there is a need to change the way we consume and the way we produce. Making this plan work will need everyone to be involved, not just Parties to the Convention, and we need to allocate sufficient resources – both financial and non-financial.

Specifically, IUCN called for the conservation of at least 30% of the world’s terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems, including all Key Biodiversity Areas, in effective, equitable, representative and connected networks of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs).  IUCN also put forward an ambitious restoration target of at least 2 billion hectares of degraded ecosystems, and management plans for the recovery of threatened wild species that are responsive to the realities of each country. More recommendations can be found in the IUCN position paper.

IUCN also highlighted that the adoption framework will need to be accompanied by other equally important COP decisions that set out support mechanisms for its implementation, such as a resource mobilization strategy, a capacity-building strategy, mechanisms for planning and reporting, and a strategic approach to mainstreaming.