Regional cooperation crucial for implementing Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework

Global efforts are under way for preparation of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework that will be adopted next year, and the Biodiversity Task Force (BD TF), which is representing the South-East Europe (SEE) regional perspective, has submitted the joint position that regional cooperation is a key prerequisite to implement the new post-2020 framework.

The BD TF, the regional technical and advisory body working under the auspices of the Regional Cooperation Council – Regional Working Group on Environment, contributed to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) first Open-ended Working Group (OEWG) meeting, held in Nairobi, Kenya at the end of August and to post-2020 framework process with a paper reflecting the SEE stakeholders’ joint position that draws on the region’s experience.

The GIZ Open Regional Fund for South-East Europe – Implementation of Biodiversity Agreements (ORF-BDU) supports the efforts of the BD TF and its Secretariat – International Union for Conservation of Nature – Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (IUCN ECARO) aiming at formally integrating transboundary and regional cooperation into the post-2020 framework, explains Kristina Kujundžić, Senior Project Manager at GIZ ORF-BDU.

The SEE experience gained through the BD TF’s work – which has also been reflected in other regions in the world – is that regional cooperation is greater than the simple sum of its constituting parts. Regional cooperation can scale up good practices and/or have positive impact on national processes, thereby adding value to global ones and vice versa by translating global and regional approach to enhance the national ones.

Global call for ambitious post-2020 framework

BD TF member Jelena Dučić, Serbia’s National Focal Point to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), who participated at this meeting notes that a clear structure of the post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework is still not firmly set, but the global community has advanced with discussions held via regional consultations, thematic workshops and during the first OEWG meeting. A good basis for the future structure and possible elements of the new global strategic plan is certainly on the way.

A global general view is that the post-2020 framework should be ambitious and support the transformational changes needed to realize the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity.

Participants in the meeting, including the CBD Parties and other Governments and Observers, laid out key messages from the consultations, including that:

• The framework should be easy to communicate, with a clear link to the 2050 Vision of “Living in harmony with nature”;
• The targets and indicators should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound (SMART);
• Synergies with other conventions should be used for integration;
• An explicit linkage should be made between biodiversity and climate change; and
• Means of implementation should be in place.

Participants noted that the post-2020 framework should be explicitly linked to the three objectives of the Convention and to the four elements of the 2050 Vision, namely valuing, conserving, restoring, and wisely using biodiversity.

The potential framework elements were discussed within four clusters: Cluster 1 – The outcome-oriented elements (vision, mission, goals and targets) of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework; Cluster 2 – Enabling conditions and means of implementation for the post-2020 framework; Cluster 3 – Planning and accountability modalities, mechanism and tools (monitoring, reporting, review); and Cluster 4 – Cross-cutting approaches and issues.

The ongoing processes provide a unique opportunity to formally integrate regional cooperation in the post-2020 framework, and the BD TF made recommendations on how to bridge the gap between implementation of national and global strategies through the regional perspective based on the SEE experiences and mechanisms for regional cooperation in place, such as the BD TF.

Enhance information on ecosystem services, strengthen synergies with climate change

Topics highlighted by the BD TF also include:

• The need to enhance information on biodiversity and ecosystem services (effective monitoring and reporting of trends and integration of ecosystem services into the national economic planning);
• The importance of identifying and promoting synergies among biodiversity, climate change, and sustainable development at all levels, with Parties invited to strive proposing national commitments to CBD taking into consideration its contribution to other multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) and vice-versa; and
• The importance of diversifying sources of funding for biodiversity conservation, including fiscal incentives, market-based mechanisms and payments for ecosystem services, as well as private sector funding for protection and conservation of biodiversity.