'Govts failed to keep Nagoya Pact'

Despite the governments agreeing to set the world on a course to help prevent species extinction, many have failed to deliver on the promises and commitments made at Nagoya in Japan two years ago, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) International said on Sunday.

WWF is an international organisation in wildlife conservation and endangered species with over five million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries.

Calling on all the 190 nations that have gathered in Hyderabad to discuss the implementation of the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) to urgently start implementing the previously agreed targets, WWF said governments meeting in India to make key decisions on the planet’s future had to prove that the deal they struck two years ago was not just a display of goodwill but a serious commitment.

 

“What was agreed in Nagoya really has the power to halt the dramatic loss of promises. They need to start taking real steps and implement the targets and commitments they agreed on,” said Lasse Gustavsson, executive director for conservation, WWF.

“The targets agreed at the CBD in 2010 show that countries have the will to come together to protect our planet. Now, they must put money behind their promises and turn their words into action,” he added.

Around 91 per cent of parties to the CBD have developed strategies and plans for their approach to protect Nature and biodiversity. But only 14 have revised their plans taking into consideration the strategic plan agreed in Nagoya, and even fewer have taken measures to integrate the services that Nature provides into their development plans, WWF said.

In Indonesia, the government has come out with a $28.5-million debt-for-nature swap with the US for a forest-carbon-biodiversity conservation programme, while in Guyana, a conservation trust fund was launched in July 2012 that paves the way for establishing a National Protected Areas Trust Fund. Also, European countries have proposed a strategy to meet the CBD targets across the European Union which, if implemented, could help halt biodiversity loss by 2020.

“Governments can only be serious about these targets if they are prepared to invest in achieving them. We need to see richer countries helping poorer countries, and all countries increasing their domestic budgets. Nature underpins our existence on earth and governments need to invest in Nature if they are serious about our future. Protecting biodiversity and Nature is an investment in the future,” said Rolf Hogan, biodiversity policy coordinator, WWF.