Looking towards the future post-COP15: “Without nature, humanity cannot survive”
The ink had barely dried on the closing statement of COP27 on climate change in Sharm El-Sheikh when world leaders met again at another COP, the UN Biodiversity Conference COP15 in Montreal, Canada. Biodiversity has been decreasing rapidly across the globe, a crisis that is less well-known than the climate crisis but presents equally acute problems. At December’s COP15, member states agreed to a new global biodiversity framework for the coming decade—a potentially pivotal moment in reversing the worrying trend in biodiversity loss. So what are the next steps?
We spoke to Mariska te Beest and Silja Zimmermann from Utrecht University’s Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development to hear their views on the agreement, our future in a world where biodiversity is not prioritised, and why it's crucial that Indigenous peoples are respected and included going forward.
A severe problem
Animal and plant species are disappearing at the highest rates in millions of years. According to the World Wildlife Fund, up to one million species could go extinct in the next century. That’s roughly a quarter of all species, and scientists agree that humans are the main driving force. Overfishing, deforestation, and pesticide use are among the main human activities that lead to species extinction. At COP15, a new Global Biodiversity Framework was adopted for the coming decade by over 190 nations with the aim to end biodiversity loss. But what should be done to achieve it?
“There’s no easy answer, but the first thing that needs to happen to protect biodiversity is to give nature more space”, says Mariska te Beest, an associate professor at UU who researches the biodiversity crisis. “To start, habitat destruction must be reduced by protecting the last spots of intact nature left on our planet, like the tropical forests in the Amazon and South-East Asia or savannahs in Africa. Also in the Netherlands there is much we can do, for example by connecting our small nature reserves and by managing our land less intensively. On top of that, damaged ecosystems need to be restored.”
The first thing that needs to happen to protect biodiversity is to give nature more space
What species loss means for humans
While the need to protect species from extinction might sound self-evident, biodiversity isn’t important just for its own sake. Nature offers many services that are important to human life. Think of food and clean water, but also medicine, energy, and mental health. These so-called ecosystem services are central to the new global biodiversity framework. But only protecting species with known functions is not enough. The loss of species with no clear function can have knock-on effects on the species we know are essential. “This means it’s impossible to know what a safe level of biodiversity loss is. Ecosystems are just too complex,” explains te Beest.
Biodiversity is also deeply connected to the climate crisis. Plants, trees, and the ocean absorb carbon from the atmosphere. Around half of humans' CO2 emissions are negated this way. “By restoring ecosystems like wetlands, grasslands, and forests and giving natural processes space, more carbon is stored, directly mitigating climate change. Ecosystems can also help us adapt to a changing climate, for example by maintaining fresh water supplies”.
Indigenous peoples at the core
COP15 took note of the scientific consensus. The most important aim of the biodiversity framework is to protect 30 percent of the Earth’s oceans and land area and restore 30 percent of damaged ecosystems by 2030, a strategy known as “30 by 30”. Other aims include the reform of subsidies that harm the environment and pledges of financial aid to help Global South nations protect their nature.
Indigenous peoples must be supported by ensuring their full participation in ecosystem management and decision-making. Going forward they must be invited to all tables where issues regarding their land are discussed.
Indigenous communities in these nations are especially important when it comes to protecting nature, and they took center stage during Montreal discussions. COP15’s final agreement specifically calls for the rights, values and traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples to be respected. “Indigenous peoples have lived on and sustained their lands for millennia. They hold valuable knowledge that goes beyond the boundaries of Western scientific knowledge, and that can make an indispensable contribution to the protection of our nature and biodiversity”, explains Silja Zimmermann, a PhD candidate at UU who works with indigenous communities in the Bering Sea.
“The colonial approach to conservation has too often contributed to the violation of indigenous peoples’ rights and thereby harmed those who are most able to protect nature". Zimmermann believes that the decisions taken at COP15 in Montréal this year could lever the systemic shift urgently needed in global conservation efforts if indigenous peoples are invited to the table, and their voices heard. "Indigenous peoples must be supported by ensuring their full participation in ecosystem management and decision-making. Going forward they must be invited to all tables where issues regarding their land are discussed.”
Fundamental changes
Reactions to the Global Biodiversity Framework are mixed. Some hail it as a breakthrough, a Paris Agreement for biodiversity, while others believe the agreement will not be enough. Like most international agreements, the Global Biodiversity Framework is not legally binding. Te Beest is cautious. “These worldwide agreements are extremely important, but only few of the goals of the last ten-year biodiversity plan were met by 2020. I hope the world can pull together to make this happen”.
So what does a nature-positive future look like, we ask her. “We need to fundamentally change the way we interact with nature—to change both our individual behavior and our economic systems and create more space for nature. The Western world has to realize that we don’t rule over nature. We’re part of it. It may sound philosophical, but this can take simple forms. Small things everyone can do in the Netherlands could be creating ‘wild spots’ where plants and trees can grow freely, mowing grass less often, in your backyard for example, but also in parks, lawns and on the roadside, and reducing light pollution. These small things that can make a big difference for plants, insects and birds. It’s this type of change in behavior that will be a start in reducing biodiversity loss, especially in a country like the Netherlands.”
And things are beginning to change, te Beest reflects. “I spoke to a civil servant last year who told me that when planning the construction of a new car park they took care to plan around several old trees. A few years ago, they would have just chopped them down”. But in the end it is simple, she says. “Without nature and biodiversity, humanity cannot survive.”