States Adopt the Kunming Declaration to Tackle Biodiversity Loss 

Sina Heckenberger

Environment and Human Rights Researcher

Global Human Rights Defence

From the 11th to the 15th of October, government representatives from around the world met in Kunming, China for the first part of the UN Biodiversity Conference - COP15. During the first part of the conference, over 100 parties adopted the Kunming Declaration which sets out a strategic plan for biodiversity conservation over the next decade. Key points of the framework are the conservation of 30% of land and sea by 2030, reducing the introduction of invasive alien species, increasing the use of ecosystem-based approaches to contribute to mitigation and adaptation to climate change, and ramping up financing for biodiversity protection. The second part of the conference happening in May next year will adopt this framework and turn it into a concrete action plan for governments.

Despite being slightly overshadowed by the UN Climate Change Conference at the end of this month, the COP of the biodiversity convention is critical to address the current natural crisis of our planet. As the UN Environment Programme stresses, the world is facing a triple planetary crisis of climate, nature and pollution which undermine important sustainable development goals and pose existential threats to our society. Hence, states have formally committed to the protection of biodiversity in order to avert a natural crisis. The Kunming declaration “demonstrates global commitment for an ambitious post-2020 global biodiversity framework” for “living in harmony in nature” (Convention on Biological Diversity). 

Nevertheless, the Kunming declaration has several shortcomings. Activists argue that the agreement lacks urgency and that progress is too slow. The WWF notes that the framework agreement still falls short in key areas such as financial support for poorer countries and the effective and full participation of indigenous peoples, who play a critical role in nature conservation. Specifically the “protection” of 30% of land and sea discriminates against indigenous and local communities. In the past, local and indigenous commmunities have been disenfranchised, dispossessed and forcibly displaced in the name of “protection”. In addition, the commitments in the declaration are not legally binding but merely an expression of political will. Already in 2010, states agreed on the “Aichi biodiversity targets” to slow biodiversity loss but none of these targets have been achieved in the last decade. 

For further reading and sources:

World Wildlife Fund. (2021, October 13). WWF reaction to the adoption of the Kunming declaration at the COP15 

https://wwf.panda.org/?3962441

Convention on Biological Diversity. (2021, October 15). Press Release: Part one of the Biodiversity Conference 

https://www.cbd.int/doc/press/2021/pr-2021-10-15-cop15-en.pdf

Stanway, D. (2021, October 13). Countries call for urgent action on biodiversity with “Kunming Declaration”, Reuters https://www.reuters.com/world/china/countries-adopt-kunming-declaration-boost-biodiversity-china-says-2021-10-13/

Minority Rights Group International. (2021, September 2). UN plan to protect 30 percent of the planet by 2030 could displace hundreds of millions, NGOs and experts warn

https://minorityrights.org/2020/09/02/convention-on-biodiversity/