Kunming Declaration

Context:

The Kunming Declaration was adopted by over 100 countries at the first part of the ongoing virtual 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.

About Kunming Declaration:

• It was adopted at the first part of the ongoing virtual 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. 
• It calls upon the parties to “mainstream” biodiversity protection in decision-making and recognise the importance of conservation in protecting human health.
• By adopting this, the nations have committed themselves to support the development, adoption and implementation of an effective post-2020 implementation plan, capacity building action plan for the Cartagena Protocol on biosafety.
• The theme of the declaration is “Ecological Civilization: Building a Shared Future for All Life on Earth”.
• Signatory nations will ensure that the post-pandemic recovery policies, programmes and plans contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, promoting sustainable and inclusive development.
• It is a document of political will, not a binding international agreement.
• The signed declaration will be submitted to the General Assembly of the United Nations, the 2022 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, and the United Nations Environment Assembly at the second part of the ongoing session in Kunming, China from 25 April-8 May 2022.
• 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.
• One of the measures suggested by the declaration is increased funding for conservation in poorer countries, as well as vowing to create more sustainable and environmentally friendly supply chains.

30 by 30 Target

• The proclamation makes a reference to the target ’30 by 30 ‘which is the main proposal discussed in COP15, which will be able to pay for 30% of land and sea land protected by 2030.
• Apart from this, there is also a plan to halve the use of chemicals by agriculture and to stop creating waste in plastic waste.

Kunming Biodiversity Fund

• China has also promised to invest USD 233 million in a new biodiversity conservation fund for developing countries. The fund is called China’s Kunming Biodiversity Fund.
• It is a step in the right direction. However, some countries are skeptical about the fund.
• Some countries have called the fund a “bucket drop” as China is the world’s largest polluter.
• In addition, some wealthy country donors say a new conservation fund is not needed because the United Nations’ Global Environment Facility is already helping developing countries finance green projects.

Conclusion

The adoption of the declaration will create momentum for a new global biodiversity pact. Putting biodiversity on a path to recovery is a defining challenge of this decade, in the context of the UN Decade of Action for Sustainable Development, the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and the UN Decade for Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. It requires strong political momentum to develop, adopt and implement an ambitious and transformative post-2020 global biodiversity framework that promotes the three objectives of the Convention in a balanced manner.

Convention on Biological Diversity, 1992

• The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) came into force on 29 December 1993. It has three main objectives:
• Biodiversity conservation.
• Sustainable use of biodiversity components.
• Equitable and equitable distribution of benefits from the use of genetic resources.
• The Convention was unveiled on June 5, 1992 at the Rio “Earth Summit”.
• This agreement is a legally binding agreement approved by 180 countries.
• The CBD Secretariat is based in Montreal, Canada and operates under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Program.
• Areas of legal responsibility are biodiversity conservation, sustainable use of natural resources and equal sharing of benefits from their sustainable use.
• The conference came into effect in 1993. Many biological problems are being addressed, including the conservation of habitats, intellectual property rights, environmental safety and the rights of indigenous peoples.
• It has two supplementary agreements, the Cartagena Protocol and Nagoya Protocol.
  • Cartagena Protocol:It is an international treaty governing the movements of living modified organisms (LMOs) resulting from modern biotechnology from one country to another.
  • Nagoya Protocol:It deals with Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (ABS).

Source: Down To Earth

You can find many articles on ENVIRONMENT (part of GS III) in our website. Go through these articles share with your friends and post your views in comment section.