Saving 30 percent of land and ocean by 2030 not an easy goal

Nature loss is accelerating at an unprecedented rate with 1 million species facing extinction

Analysts said the commitment by China and some 50 other countries to protect 30 percent of the earth's land and oceans by 2030 was a much-needed step to halt biodiversity loss and prevent species extinction.

Realizing the mission, though, will not be easy as the new goal would mean a huge scale-up in protected land and ocean area compared to current levels.

The new commitment by 50-odd countries is "very positive and very much needed to address the linked global crisis we are facing on climate change and biodiversity loss", said Bruce Dunn, director of environment and safeguards at the Manila based Asian Development Bank's sustainable development and climate change department.

"Realizing this ambition will be challenging, however, because it means doubling the existing land area protected, and more than tripling the area of protected oceans," Dunn said.

"Protection also implies sustainable management and sustainable financing, which has been a big challenge with the existing estate of protected areas."

China was among a group of more than 50 countries that pledged to protect the planet's land and sea area by 2030 as part of efforts to stop plants and animals from becoming extinct and address climate change issues.

The commitment was made at the UN backed One Planet Summit, which was hosted by France and took place virtually for the most part on Jan 11, when political leaders vowed to reverse the accelerating destruction of the natural world.

China has drawn red lines for ecological protection that cannot be crossed, set up a national park system and implemented major projects for biodiversity protection. It will continue to improve environmental quality and build a beautiful China in accordance with the requirements of high-quality development, said Vice-Premier Han Zheng in his summit address via video link.

The "30-30" initiative could become the cornerstone of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, or COP 15, meeting in Kunming later this year when a Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework will be formulated for action over the next decade.

COP is the decision-making body responsible for monitoring and reviewing the implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Dunn said COP 15 will "provide a significant opportunity to build momentum to value nature and drive investments that will have a positive impact on restoring and conserving the natural systems on which our societies rely".

Global action

The One Planet Summit was initiated by the United Nations, the World Bank and France in 2017. It focused on global climate and environmental governance, with three editions held so far. Absent from the event were Australia and the United States.

Translating the commitment of the more than 50 nations into action, the ADB's Dunn said, would require a number of steps including linking initial commitments with global strategies and agendas aligned with the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Other steps include reconciling competing development priorities and land use pressures that drive deforestation.

This would include reforming subsidies and incentives, recognizing community and indigenous peoples' rights and involvement in protected areas management, and scaling-up financing for nature-positive investments.

"These are areas where ADB can contribute, linking with our existing commitments and targets for climate change, along with support through our $5 billion Action Plan for Healthy Oceans and Sustainable Blue Economy," Dunn said.

Also attracting attention is investment for Africa's Great Green Wall project, which involves massive efforts to stop the Sahara Desert from spreading further south. Initiated in 2007, the project aims to plant an arc of trees running 7,000 kilometers across Africa.

Vinod Thomas, visiting professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, said the COP 15 conference will be important if only to ensure countries carry out their stated goals going forward.

"If one thinks of the gap between the degree of the crisis and what is being done, biodiversity loss would rank highest among planetary crises," Thomas said.

He noted the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services has just warned that nature loss is accelerating at an unprecedented rate, with grave impact for human well-being, and that a million species face extinction.

Thomas said countries must match their rhetoric with financing in the midst of pandemics and growing natural disasters. "One avenue is to put nature and biodiversity at the center of climate actions," he said.

That calls for close coordination and integration between the COP 26 on global climate change next year and this year's China-led biodiversity discussions and agreements, he added.

"Nature based climate solutions, for example, action on deforestation and investment in reforestation, can comprise the source for one-third of the reductions in greenhouse gases," Thomas said.

karlwilson@chinadailyapac.com