Knowledge UN conference agrees on funding for species conservation
After lengthy negotiations, the participating countries at the UN Conference on Biodiversity COP16 in Rome have agreed on funding for species conservation until 2030. Conference chair Susana Muhamad praised the participants, saying they had done an "incredible job".
28.02.2025, 00:08
28.02.2025, 13:01
SDA
The delegates applauded on Thursday evening at the headquarters of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome after the 154 countries reached a compromise on the provision of billions of dollars. At the previous meeting four months ago in Cali, Colombia, negotiations had been broken off.
The decision paves the way for funding, two years after a landmark agreement to halt the destruction of nature and protect ecosystems and wildlife. It sets out two main areas of action for the coming years: raising billions of dollars in additional funding for biodiversity and deciding on the institutions that will provide this funding.
One third of the land and sea area
In principle, poorer and richer countries had already agreed four years ago on a "global nature treaty" with targets to be achieved by 2030. These include protecting at least 30 percent of the world's land and sea areas. In addition, the industrialized countries involved should provide 20 billion dollars (around 19 billion euros) each year to protect biodiversity. By 2030, this figure should be 30 billion.
Until now, however, it was not clear how the financing would be regulated. In addition to a plan for this, a monitoring mechanism has now also been agreed in order to better monitor the actual implementation of the project.
A revised "resource mobilization strategy" has now been adopted to raise the money needed to protect biodiversity. In addition to state funding, the private sector and international development banks are also to be considered. The meeting also served to prepare for the next world climate summit (COP30), which will take place in Brazil in November.
It was also decided to regularly review how progress is being made in implementing the targets set for 2030 and 2050. Based on 40 important criteria, countries will in future have to report on whether progress has been made in protecting endangered species and regions - or whether there have been further setbacks. Biodiversity has been declining drastically for decades, particularly in poorer regions of the world.
FOEN satisfied - criticism from environmental organizations
The Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) was satisfied with the decisions. In response to an inquiry from the Keystone-SDA news agency on Friday, the FOEN stated that the decisions had enabled important steps to be taken towards the global implementation of the framework. In particular, the FOEN emphasized the decision, which, according to the office, was driven by Switzerland, to better coordinate the various conventions in the environmental sector and to use synergies.
However, Swiss environmental organizations consider the financing plan adopted at the World Conference on Nature in Rome to be inadequate, as Pro Natura, WWF Switzerland and Birdlife Switzerland announced in a joint statement.
However, the decision to establish a monitoring mechanism for the implementation of the global biodiversity framework was also seen as "pleasing" by the Swiss nature conservation organizations.
There was even more praise from environmental organizations in Germany. "The signatory states have shown that they can still tackle global challenges together, even in difficult times," said Florian Titze from WWF Germany. "This is a glimmer of hope for species conservation and thus for our prosperity, health and safety on this planet."
