COP 15: India pushes for new and dedicated funds for developing nations to do away with biodiversity loss

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 18

Calling for an urgent need to create a new and dedicated fund to help developing countries successfully implement a post-2020 global framework in order to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, India once again reminded the World the principle of ‘Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities’ at COP 15 in Montreal.

Addressing the Stocktaking Plenary at the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in Canada, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said goals and targets set in the Global Biodiversity Framework should be ambitious and yet realistic and practical.

While stressing on the importance of agriculture for the developing nations, Yadav told the World that  agriculture was a “paramount economic driver” for developing countries and setting numerical global target for pesticide reduction in the agriculture sector was “unnecessary and must be left for countries to decide”.

“For developing nations, agriculture is a paramount economic driver for rural communities, and the critical support provided to these sectors cannot be redirected.

“When food security is of paramount importance for developing countries, prescribing numerical targets in pesticide reductions is unnecessary and must be left to countries to decide, based on national circumstances, priorities and capabilities,” he said

Yadav said biodiversity conservation requires ecosystems to be conserved and restored holistically and in an integrated manner. “It is in this context that Ecosystem approaches for conservation of biodiversity need to be adopted rather than nature based solutions,” he added

Yadav said successful implementation of a post-2020 GBF will depend on the “ways and means we put in place for an equally ambitious ‘Resource Mobilisation Mechanism’.”

“The successful implementation of the framework will squarely depend on the ways and means we put in place for an equally ambitious Resource Mobilisation Mechanism. Hence there is a need to create a new and dedicated mechanism for the provision of financial resources to developing-country Parties. India is fully committed to working closely with all parties so that we are all able to bring out an ambitious and realistic Global Biodiversity Framework in COP 15,” he said

As the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) negotiate the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), there have been repeated calls for the inclusion of the CBDR principle in finance-related targets.

Demanding a new and dedicated biodiversity fund, developing countries say the existing multilateral sources are not up to the task of meeting the requirements of the GBF. Differences with rich countries on the issue prompted representatives of developing nations to walk out of crucial financing talks last week.