Still no major progress toward 'peace pact with nature' at COP15

Protestors with the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB) enter the room as negotiators meet to discuss Target 3 (30x30 target) at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on December 10, 2022. Indigenous leaders hope to send a clear message to governments that the intentions of Target 3 cannot not be realized without respecting the full rights indigenous communities. Target 3 would need to include "Indigenous peoples' territories and customary lands and waters" as an alternate to “protected areas and OECMs.” “The International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB) underscores the importance of ensuring a rights-based approach in the implementation of Target 3 of the global biodiversity framework, specifically including “protecting and respecting” our rights,” said the IIFB in a statement sent to the press.

AFP / Andrej Ivanov

MONTREAL, Canada — The world had just eight days to seal a historic deal to stem the destruction of nature. 

But half way into the COP15 biodiversity talks, there has been no major progress either on increased funding for conservation in developing nations, or towards a pledge to protect 30 percent of the world's land and seas.

The general view is that negotiations will get tough on Thursday, when the environment ministers of the 196 members of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) will take over from their delegates in Montreal. 

Full Story: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/climate-and-environment/2022/12/13/2230567/still-no-major-progress-toward-peace-pact-nature-cop15