UN Says World Has Failed On All Targets Set To Save The PlanetPA Images/JennyHuang/Flickr
The United Nations has said the world has failed to fully meet all of its 20 Earth-saving targets set out by it 10 years ago.
One hundred and ninety-six countries agreed to the Aichi Biodiversity Targets which laid out a 10-year plan to conserve the world’s biodiversity, promote sustainability, and protect ecosystems.
The targets were broken down into five strategies from A–E:
A to address the underlying causes of biodiversity loss by mainstreaming biodiversity across government and society B to reduce the direct pressures on biodiversity and promote sustainable use C to improve the status of biodiversity by safeguarding ecosystems, species and genetic diversity D to enhance the benefits to all from biodiversity and ecosystem services E to enhance implementation through participatory planning, knowledge management and capacity building
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However, a decade on from when the targets were set, little improvement has been made with only six of the 20 targets being ‘partially met’. Each target had the goal of being achieved by 2020. The six targets partially met are: preventing invasive species, conserving protected areas, access to and sharing benefits from genetic resources, biodiversity strategies and action plans, sharing information, and mobilising resources, CNN reports.
Upon reaching the deadline this year, the UN created the Global Biodiversity Outlook report which was published yesterday, September 15.
While it’s promising we have made some – be it little – progress, apparently some of the targets were not only failed to be met but have seen things get worse. One particular concern stated in the report is the ‘critical threat to freshwater diversity’.
Security General of the UN António Guterres said in the report:
During the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity 2011-2020, countries have worked to address many of the causes of biodiversity loss. However, those efforts have not been sufficient to meet most of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets established in 2010. Much greater ambition is needed.
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He continued that in the report, they would outline a new plan called the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity in the hope of achieving the plan’s goals in the next 40 years.
Guterres continued:
As we emerge from the immediate impacts of the pandemic, we have an unprecedented opportunity to incorporate the transitions outlined in this Outlook to put the world on track to achieve the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity.
Part of this new agenda must be to tackle the twin global challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss in a more coordinated manner, with the understanding that climate change threatens to undermine all efforts to conserve and sustainably manage biodiversity and that nature itself offers some of the most effective solutions to avert the worst impacts of a warming planet.
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Inger Andersen United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme added, ‘We know what needs to be done, what works and how we can achieve good results. If we build on what has already been achieved, and place biodiversity at the heart of all our policies and decisions – including in COVID-19 recovery packages – we can ensure a better future for our societies and the planet.’
We won’t keep getting chances to try save the world – it’s now or never.
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Link nguồn : https://www.unilad.co.uk/news/un-says-world-has-failed-on-all-targets-set-to-save-the-planet
