Nairobi CBD Alliance Opening Statement
Thank you co-chair, I speak on behalf of the CBD Alliance,
Firstly, we express our solidarity with all victims of wars and conflicts, present and past. Wars destroy human lives, well-being and biodiversity.
We stress that the last minute announcement on the limited number of secondary badges for CSOs severely restricts civil society participation, which is not acceptable.
Conservation has received far more focus than the other two objectives of the Convention. Sustainable use and benefit sharing must receive equal attention, since all three objectives depend on each other and cannot be achieved in silos.
Conservation must respect the rights of IPLCs, women, youth, and must be based on the governance and land rights of IPLCs and women.
The opposite happens today, for example, the Maasai people are being expelled from their territories for the sake of fortress conservation and related elite tourism interests. We insist on the full integration of human rights considerations in all relevant targets and a self-standing target on gender.
We must address all direct and indirect drivers of biodiversity loss without delay. For example, industrial agriculture, including the use of pesticides, and industrialised livestock farming destroy ecosystems globally. By contrast, agroecological farming by IPLCs and smallholders feeds billions sustainably, while increasing agricultural biodiversity.
Government regulation - at national and international levels- is essential. It needs to address the following:
Perverse incentives must be fully identified and eliminated, and the funds redirected to biodiversity and rights-holders.
All financial flows should be aligned with the CBD and its strategic plans, including through regulatory frameworks
Corporations cannot be allowed to self-regulate and self certify any longer.
Technology and innovation have the potential to create dangerous impacts on biodiversity, and undermine the precautionary principle, therefore horizon scanning and technology assessment are essential.
Some regions have a significantly larger impact on biodiversity than others, and must take their responsibility in addressing it, including by cutting their overconsumption.
Adequate, predictable and sustainable funding, with new and additional funds, and guided by the CBDR principle is essential. It must be accessible to Parties, IPLCs, women, Youth.
Private sector investments are no substitute for multilateral funds and tend to harm rather than contribute to biodiversity conservation.
A proper and timely implementation mechanism, based on a comprehensive, step-wise approach is vital to the success of the GBF.
We invite parties to look at the common CBD Alliance position document on our webpage.