COP15 will Begin Today in Montreal

The biannual UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) will commence in Canada today.

COP15 seeks to develop strategies to stop the degradation of worldwide biodiversity. The main purpose of this year’s conference is to agree on a framework to achieve its objectives. The previous Strategic Biodiversity Plan (SBP) 2010-2020 was deemed largely a failure in stopping worldwide biodiversity loss. Delegates will discuss the failure of the previous SBP and seek to develop new targets and strategies. One of the proposals to differentiate a new framework from the failed SBP is the focus on protecting biodiversity in 30% of the world through specific area-based actions rather than a completely global focus.

This 30% represents areas that COP15 deems its objectives to be achievable due to fair governance and representation of indigenous peoples. One such example is the Great Green Wall project in Africa which aims to stop the expansion of the Sahara Desert. The focusing of COP15´s efforts may allow for more action and therefore more positive results provided there is widespread cooperation between itself and local authorities. Simultaneously, this focus could lead to a reduced effort to protect biodiversity in other areas—ultimately accelerating biodiversity decline globally.