A day after COP 11 giving a call to give a commitment on resource mobilisation for implementation of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets by 2020, several members did not seem to be on the same page on setting national expenditure targets for next decade.
The working group met on Tuesday to discuss the modalities of resource mobilisation for conservation of biodiversity.
It is said about $ 300 billion could be needed by the 170 parties to the CBD for implementation of the Aichi targets, which include reduction of the rate of loss of natural habits by half, bringing at least 17 per cent of terrestrial and inland water and ten per cent of marine areas under protected area among others by 2020. Resource mobilisation was the unfinished agenda of CoP at Aichi.
Many parties from the developed countries agreed that they needed to spell out the expenditure targets. On the otherhand, members from developing countries felt it premature to set such targets now as there was no consensus on the baseline year for setting future targets.
On Monday, Jayanthi Natarajan, India’s environment and forests minister, urged the global community to come clear on interim commitments and targets on resource mobilisation, failing which implementation of the biodiversity protection agenda would be severely impacted.
The challenges for India and other developing countries was to strike a balance between addressing environmental concerns and the need to eradicate poverty but for the developed world the challenge is how to change consumption pattern, she said pointing out that current trends in biodiversity loss, mainly due to consumptive lifestyles, was a concern and they were bringing closer the potential tipping points that would reduce the capacity of the ecosystems to provide services essentials for survival.
David Ainsworth, information Officer, Secretariat of the CBD, said one or more contact groups are likely to be set up to hold in-camera discussions with members opposing the proposal to set targets. The opposing members would give their views and recommendations to the contact groups to be put before the CoP.
2011 Financial Chronicle