The Future of Partnerships for Biodiversity

22 Jul, 2021

The first draft of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework

Compiled and edited by: Neha Owaisy, Jr. PR and Communications Officer, GIZ

On 12 July, in a virtual press conference, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Secretariat released the official first draft of a new Global Biodiversity Framework. This Framework aims to guide actions worldwide through 2030 to preserve and protect nature and its essential services to people. It proposes 21 targets and 10 ‘milestones’ for 2030, en route to ‘living in harmony with nature’ by 2050, a vision adopted by 196 member parties of the CBD in 2010.

“Urgent policy action globally, regionally and nationally is required to transform economic, social and financial models so that the trends that have exacerbated biodiversity loss will stabilise by 2030 and allow for the recovery of natural ecosystems in the following 20 years, with net improvements by 2050” - CBD Executive Secretary Elizabeth Maruma Mrema during the press conference.

The framework operates on the theory of change which assumes that transformative actions are taken to -

• put in place tools and solutions for implementation and mainstreaming,
• reduce the threats to biodiversity and
• ensure that biodiversity is used sustainably to meet people’s needs and these actions are supported by enabling conditions, and adequate means of implementation, including financial resources, capacity and technology.

Figure 1. Theory of change of the framework from the draft GBF

Four goals are proposed under the draft framework* to be achieved by 2050. Broadly summarised, these are -

• Goal A: The integrity of all ecosystems is enhanced.
• Goal B: Nature’s contributions to people have been valued, maintained or enhanced.
• Goal C: The benefits from the utilization of genetic resources are shared fairly.
• Goal D: The gap between available financial and means of implementation is closed.

The framework is built upon the recognition that it will be implemented in partnership with many organizations at the global, national and local levels. CBD Executive Secretary Elizabeth Maruma Mrema adds, “this is a global, outcome-oriented framework for the Convention’s 196 Parties to develop national and regional goals and targets, to update national strategies and action plans as needed, and to facilitate regular monitoring and review of progress at the global level”

Responsibility and transparency will help in successfully implementing this framework. So will effective mechanisms for planning, monitoring, reporting and review. Countries, Parties to the Convention, have a responsibility to implement these mechanisms allowing transparent communication of progress to all, timely course correction and input in the preparation of the next global biodiversity framework while minimizing the burden at the national and international levels by (if broadly summarised) -

• Establishing national targets as part of national strategies and action plans…
• Reporting national targets to enable the collation of national targets in relation to the global action targets…
• Enabling the evaluation of national and collective actions against targets.

The CBD adopted a comprehensive and participatory process for the preparation of this framework and after over two years of development, it will undergo further refinement during online negotiations. In October 2021 it will be presented for consideration at CBD’s fifteenth meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP-15) at Kunming, China “where the world will be called upon to adopt a powerful global biodiversity agenda that guides our efforts together through the rest of this decade.”

*The framework will also be supported by three additional documents, a monitoring framework with headline indicators, a glossary with a definition of terms used in the framework, and supporting technical information on each draft goal and target

-The term “post-2020 global biodiversity framework” is used as a placeholder, pending a decision on the final name of the framework by the Conference of the Parties at its fifteenth meeting. Similarly, the word “framework” is used throughout the text as a placeholder.

Sources:

• Press Release pr-2021-07-12-gbf-en.pdf
• CBD Article: draft-1-global-biodiversity-framework
• First Draft of the Post-2020 Framework wg2020-03-03-en.pdf