Costa Rica News – The forestry, agriculture, tourism and fishing sectors joined forces in the fight to halt the loss of biodiversity.
All this was stipulated by the countries meeting in Mexico for the summit on biodiversity that began on December 2nd and will be extended until the 17th. The signing of the Declaration of Cancun will take place that weekend.
This document renews the commitments made in 2010 with the 20 Aichi Targets, which are part of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
Under this declaration, a work agenda will be integrated to promote the sustainable use of the species by the productive sectors, in order to continue to enjoy the services provided by ecosystems without falling into exploitation.
“We started breaking language barriers, and I’m not talking about those between our different mother tongues, but the jargon we use in the sectors,” said Braulio de Souza, CBD secretary.
Nations committed themselves to creating policies and budgets that integrate that common agenda between conservation and uses, as well as to increase international cooperation and technology.
Germany announced that it will continue to invest 500 million euros annually in environmental projects around the world.
The Aichi goals deadline expires in 2020, and four years away from 2020 two-thirds of the goals have not been reached.
“Pressures on biodiversity continue to be present, largely due to governments’ delay in taking effective steps to promote conservation,” state the summit organizers.
Reports submitted by countries to the CBD reveal that between 6% and 44% of them do not contain information suggesting that a significant change has occurred or that the country meets a particular goal.
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) warned that by 2020, the world might witness a two-thirds decline in the world’s wildlife by only half a century.
With the loss of biodiversity there is a decline in ecosystem services that guarantee people medicines, clean water supply and food security, while raising poverty rates and the possibility of disasters.
By Brenda Sotelo
