The Rio Conventions Pavilion at Rio+20 convened for Financing Sustainable Development Day.
A session on protected areas (PAs) sought to demonstrate that PAs offer long term opportunities to address sustainability challenges and contribute to green economy, if well located and managed.
Another session on investing in natural capital in Africa, Asia and Latin America considered partnerships, policies and investments to sustain natural capital and support transitions to green economies.
19 June 2012: On its seventh day, the Rio Conventions Pavilion at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20) convened for Financing Sustainable Development Day. The event consisted of two sessions on natural capital solutions, namely: protected areas meeting global environmental challenges; and natural capital in Africa, Asia and Latin America – partnerships, policies and investments.
The session on protected areas (PAs) sought to demonstrate that PAs offer long term opportunities to address sustainability challenges and contribute to green economy, if well located and managed. Participants stressed that, while progress has been made, much more needs to be done. On PA financing, participants proposed improved natural capital accounting, leveraging funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and supporting the PA approach in climate funds and mechanisms for REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks). Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), called on parties at the 11th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 11) to the CBD to agree on targets for resource mobilization. Participants presented case studies from PAs in Brazil and Australia and highlighted the role of PAs law in achieving natural solutions in Chile, the Mediterranean, Namibia, and Colombia.
The session on investing in natural capital in Africa, Asia and Latin America considered partnerships, policies and investments to sustain natural capital and support transitions to green economies. Presenters highlighted different types of partnerships and underscored working with planning and finance ministers to raise awareness on the importance of biodiversity in national capital accounting. The day concluded with a pre-launch reception for Mozambique’s Green Economy Roadmap.
The Pavilion is a collaborative outreach activity of the Secretariats of the Rio Conventions (namely the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)), the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and 25 other international, national and local partners. [IISD RS Coverage]