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The Convention on
Biological Diversity (COP11) that concluded on Friday October 19,
at the Indian city of Hyderabad had agreements made on all main
topics under negotiation.
COP11 addressed a wide range of topics on biodiversity
preservation, including resource mobilization and protected areas.
Among the agreements announced in the closing session at COP11
were:
There was agreement to incorporate the outcome document of Rio +20
(UN Conference on Sustainable Development) in the text of the
decisions of the COP of the Convention on Biological Diversity
(COP11).
This would include that poverty eradication, changes in
consumption patterns, and production, protection and management of
natural resources are the basic requirements for sustainable
development.
International flows of resources devoted to biodiversity will
double by 2015 and will at least maintain this level until 2020.
By 2015, at least 75 percent of participating countries will have
included biodiversity in their national development plans and
priorities, and will have adopted measures to improve financing
for the conservation and restoration of biodiversity.
The final document encourages countries to continue funding
activities that promote equality between men and women in
initiatives to protect and restore biodiversity.
The conference recognized the importance of protected areas in
order to achieve several of the Aichi Targets, including target
11, which provides minimum limits of protected areas - land and
sea - to each country by 2020. The creation of protected areas
will help further goals such as the recovery of fish stocks,
endangered species and restoration of degraded areas.
An important agreement that may have bearing on India’s Maoist
problem is the land inhabited by indigenous and local communities
can be recognized as areas that contribute to the conservation of
biological diversity. Working within the limits of their national
legislation, countries will engage their indigenous and local
communities in this process, seeking their participation and prior
informed consent. Progress was also made regarding
capacity-building for indigenous and local communities.
The Convention’s final documents invited companies to enhance
their considerations of biodiversity and ecosystem services in
their business activities. These considerations are based, among
others initiatives, on the recommendations of the study The
Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB). Countries were
also encouraged to incorporate the methodology and results of the
TEEB nationally.
The Conference will send information on Ecologically or
Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs) to competent
national authorities and the United Nations. The information is
intended to support the adoption of adequate conservation measures
by the competent authorities. Each country has sovereignty over
the EBSAS located in national waters and the right to decide on
implementation of conservation initiatives in those areas.
The Convention drew attention to countries that implement measures
to minimize the impacts of fishing activities on marine
biodiversity. Guides were adopted to recommend activities that can
minimize the impacts on marine biodiversity and marine spatial
planning.
The Conference kept a moratorium on geo-engineering experiments
related to climate change, particularly fertilization of oceans.
Decisions at the Convention require that these experiments be
restricted to territorial waters and should be done on a small
scale.
The Conference agreed on technical advice on the application of
biodiversity related aspects of the safeguards adopted in the
Cancún Agreements under the Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC).
The Decision recognizes the contribution of REDD+ activities to
biodiversity, while maintaining coherence between both
conventions.
It was decided that the Convention on Biological Diversity will
continue to be held every two years. This framework will be
maintained until 2020, when there will be new analysis on the
frequency of meetings.
The final agreements made at COP11 could have been more ambitious,
but the fact that this conference has facilitated significant
progress toward long-term commitments on biodiversity preservation
is a significant achievement towards biodiversity preservation.
Syed Ali Mujtaba is a journalist based in Chennai. He can be
contacted at syedalmujtaba@yahoo.com
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