A global plan to set nature on a path to recovery - the global biodiversity framework

1. Nature is in crisis - agreed.
2. The world must work together to halt and reverse nature loss for the benefit of people and nature - this will also help avoid future pandemics, help avert run-away climate change, and help ensure the UN Sustainable Development Goals can be met - agreed. 

So why is there so little progress? 

Global targets to reverse nature loss 🌿

There’s a lot of movement going on behind the scenes to try to set things straight. Before the pandemic began, 193 governments commenced work under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (or CBD, more on that here) to develop a global set of targets for the next 10 years that would effectively halt and reverse the catastrophic loss of nature.

Unfortunately COVID-19 got in the way. This disease, which is linked to the proximity of people to nature, is yet another indicator that we cannot continue to use and abuse our world as we have before.

Government negotiators have been working early morning and late night hours virtually to help progress the plan, but the lack of physical meetings has slowed the pace of negotiations considerably.

What is the Global Biodiversity Framework?

Is it all doom and gloom? 😭

You may have seen the shocking news that previous targets were missed, and not enough progress to halt nature loss was made. Do not lose hope. Already in this next stage of negotiations there has been some progress.

It’s still possible to set nature on the road to recovery by 2030, so that there is more nature in 2030 than there is now.

BUT these meetings, despite the set-backs, must be more ambitious if we are to realise these global goals, and it’s the responsibility of all countries to ensure targets are set that will help achieve a #NaturePositive world.

What does a nature-positive world look like to you? 

The essentials

To be successful in reversing nature loss, this framework should include:

🌿An overall mission so we know where we are are going! A nature-positive world by 2030 for people and the planet

👣A target to halve the footprint of production and consumption - so every human activity that negatively affects the environment can and must be addressed

💰Realignment of finance that is detrimental to nature. This includes removing subsidies which harm, not restore, our environment. Plus ramping up efforts to support a nature-positive economy 

🧍A rights-based approach to conservation, which includes free, prior and informed consent of indigenous people and local communities 

Read WWF’s full recommendations here.

What can I do? 💪

This all sounds quite lofty but there’s still something everyone can do. 

Raising awareness of the issues plays a bigger part that you think - with hundreds of thousands of people calling on governments to take the steps needed to set nature on the path to recovery, we can make sure this document, due to be agreed in the coming months, does what it set out to do.

WWF will be working directly with negotiators to voice concerns that greater action and ambition is needed. You can read a more detailed guide of what exactly WWF suggests here.

There’s many individual things you can do too - from tweeting about the #NaturePositive world you want to see and signing a petition to #StopPlasticPollution, to urging world leaders to prevent future pandemics by protecting nature and simply staying updated - it all adds up to make a larger difference!