23 June 2015
CBD Secretariat Analyzes Status of Biodiversity in Post-2015 Zero Draft
story highlights

As an annex to a notification dated 19 June 2015, the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has circulated an 'Analysis of the Status of Biodiversity in the Zero draft of the outcome document for the UN Summit to adopt the Post- 2015 Development Agenda.' The analysis highlights the extent to which the role of biodiversity for sustainable development is included in the zero draft, how the proposed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) relate to the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, and how national-level commitments might relate to the global aspirations of the SDGs.

CBD19 June 2015: As an annex to a notification dated 19 June 2015, the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has circulated an ‘Analysis of the Status of Biodiversity in the Zero draft of the outcome document for the UN Summit to adopt the Post- 2015 Development Agenda.’ The analysis highlights the extent to which the role of biodiversity for sustainable development is included in the zero draft, how the proposed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) relate to the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, and how national-level commitments might relate to the global aspirations of the SDGs.

The brief analysis was undertaken in accordance with a decision of the CBD Conference of the Parties at its 12 meeting (COP 12) in 2014, which requested the CBD Executive Secretary to follow discussions on the post-2015 development agenda and inform CBD Parties of any major developments related to biodiversity, and to ensure the appropriate integration of biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services (Decision XII/4).

The analysis suggests that, while the importance of addressing climate change is well-covered in the Preamble and Declaration sections of the post-2015 zero draft, other environmental issues are not given much attention, including biodiversity, as well as water, chemicals and disaster risk reduction (DRR). In particular, the important role of biodiversity for sustainable development and for achieving other SDGs is not highlighted in the draft Declaration. The analysis further notes that the biodiversity-related targets in the SDGs use 2020 as the date for their achievement, to ensure that the SDGs do not fall below the ambition level of the Aichi targets. However, as most other SDG targets use 2030 as the date for achievement, the brief says, it will be important to find a way to include these issues in the SDGs beyond 2020, so that biodiversity remains an active part of the SDGs until 2030.

Finally, it is highlighted that the post-2015 zero draft does not set forth a clear mechanism by which countries can contribute at the national level to the achievement of the global SDGs in a common manner. The analysis puts forward the example of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, which represents a set of global commitments to be implemented at the national level, and suggests how elements of the Strategic Plan might be relevant for the mechanisms used in the SDGs for translating the global goals into national actions. [CBD Notification, including Zero Draft Analysis] [Publication: Zero Draft of the outcome document for the UN Summit to adopt the Post-2015 Development Agenda]

related posts