A study from Oxford University says only a few Asian countries have met their 2020 targets. The continent is unlikely to meet the commitments made in Montreal. The international conference, chaired by China, concluded with an agreement to protect 30% of the resources and the commitment to restore -before 2030- the degraded areas. In a showdown with African countries, Beijing opposed the creation of a special fund.
Milan () – Cop15, the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), concluded yesterday in Montreal (Canada). The event closed with the signing of a global agreement (non-binding) to protect ecosystems. The more than 190 signatory countries pledged to safeguard 30% of the planet’s resources, and to restore 30% of the degraded marine and terrestrial areas, setting the year 2030 as the deadline and working on the establishment of protected areas. Numerous additional measures are planned, such as halving the risks derived from pesticides, reducing the use of plastics and converting agriculture, fishing and forestry into sustainable activities. Large companies are encouraged to disseminate information about their impact on ecosystems. The targets are ambitious, especially if one takes into account the previous biodiversity plan for the decade 2011-2020, whose targets were not achieved.
It should be noted that the rights of indigenous peoples linked to the environment were officially recognized. However, the proposal to create a special fund for the defense of biodiversity was not approved. The agreement provides for an annual aid of 20,000 million dollars for developing countries, which will be delivered by developed countries before 2025, and which will increase to 30,000 million dollars before 2030. For financing, the Northern Hemisphere will use a mechanism already existing: the Green Climate Fund, whose biggest beneficiary is China. It is worth mentioning that Beijing opposed the creation of a special fund for biodiversity – a request expressed by African countries. This, despite the fact that Beijing is the second largest economy in the world, nevertheless tends to adopt a developing country position when you participate in international climate conferences.
The conference was to be held in Kunming, Yunnan Province, but was moved to Canada due to the Covid-19 outbreak in China. President Xi Jinping presided over the opening of the second part of the summit. As reported by the Chinese Embassy in Italy via Twitter, “China has made active efforts to promote ecological progress and biodiversity protection, and the stability and sustainability of its ecosystem have continued to improve by finding a path for the protection of biodiversity.” biodiversity with Chinese characteristics”. China is among the Asian countries that have met the goal of protecting 17% of the territory by 2020 through the creation of more than 2,600 nature reserves, but some studies indicate that biodiversity remains threatened at the provincial level, especially in the southwestern regions. .
Really, some studies conclude that, of all the areas of the world, Asia is the one that shows the worst performance in terms of biodiversity protection, with particularly negative results in the countries of West and South Asia. Research from the University of Oxford published late last month clearly states that the Asian continent has been the worst performer in meeting the international community’s 2020 goal of protecting 17% of the world’s land. British academics say: “Based on current trends, the prospects of reaching the global biodiversity framework target by 2030 – of protecting at least 30% of the world’s land – are bleak. And Asia’s margin of default promises be much older.”
Indeed, the Asian continent is home to an immense variety of living beings, but also more than 60% of the world’s population, which continues to grow at a faster rate than the rest of the world. This will cause increased food production and land conversion to agricultural land. Therefore, according to experts, Asia will experience the highest rates of habitat loss in the world, between now and 2050. A situation, the Oxford researchers emphasize, that could be further aggravated by the pressures on biodiversity caused by the development of the Belt and Road Initiativethe Chinese infrastructure megaproject aimed at improving trade relations with the rest of Asia and part of Europe.
Between 2010 and 2020, only Myanmar and Thailand reduced the areas of protected areas, while Indonesia, Cambodia, South Korea and Japan increased them by more than 10%.
