COP15: biodiversity at a crossroads

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COP15 biodiversity conference enters its final days. The plenary meeting attended by negotiation teams representing more than 190 countries in Montreal acknowledged considerable progress but also indicated there are still many areas of disagreement, jeopardising hopes of reaching a significant new global biodiversity framework (GBF).

The Natura 2000 Sites

Natura 2000 is the main instrument of European Union policy for the conservation of biodiversity and environment. It’s a network of core breeding and resting sites for rare and threatened species, and some rare natural habitat types which are protected for their typical environment.
Each Member State of the European Union has the obligation, under the EC Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), of contributing to the creation of the Natura 2000 network. This must be in proportion to the Member State’s representation within its territory of the natural habitat types and the habitats of species specified in the Annexes of this Directive; the selected sites are referred to as Sites of Community Importance (SCIs). In addition to this, the EC Birds Directive (2009/147/EC) requires Member States to protect naturally occurring wild birds and their habitats; the measures to be considered in order to affect this include, amongst others, the designation of Special Protection Areas (SPAs).

*Figure 1: The European Natura 2000 Award recognises excellence in the management of Natura 2000 sites and conservation achievements* [*Credits: European Natura 2000 Award Ceremony*]

What is biodiversity?

Biodiversity is a term used to describe the enormous variety of life on Earth. It can be used more specifically to refer to all of the species in one region or ecosystem.
It’s all the different kinds of life you’ll find: plants, animals, fungi, and even microorganisms like bacteria that make up our natural world.
Over generations, all of the species that are currently alive today have evolved unique traits that make them distinct from other species. These differences are what scientists use to distinguish one species from another. Organisms that have evolved to be so different from one another that they can no longer reproduce with each other are considered different species. All organisms that can reproduce with each other fall into one species. All of the Earth’s species work together to survive and maintain their ecosystems. Some areas in the world, have more biodiversity than others. Areas with extremely high levels of biodiversity are called hotspots. Endemic species, species that are only found in one particular location, are also found in hotspots.

Microbial diversity

The past and present wilt: I have fill’d them, emptied them.
And proceed to fill my next fold of the future.
[…]
Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself,
(I am large, I contain multitudes.)
[…]
Song of Myself, 51 Walt Whitman, 1819-1892

Probably when the father of American free verse Walt Whitman wrote this line “I contain multitudes” he wasn’t referring to the billions of microbes sharing his body or his clothes.
Microbial diversity considers the vast array of microorganisms, the smallest forms of life, which exist everywhere. The three primary groups of microorganisms are bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes.
They’re present everywhere that life is found on Earth, including in places where no other organisms can survive. A wide array of microorganisms, including many novel, phylogenetically deeply rooted taxa, survive and thrive in extreme environments. These unique and reduced-complexity ecosystems offer a tremendous opportunity for studying the structure, function and evolution of natural microbial communities. And, they play critical roles in human, animal, climate and planetary health, many of which we’re only just beginning to understand.

Infection bacteria cultured in labortaory — *Figure 2: Infection* *bacteria cultured in labortaory* *[Credits: University of Melbourne]*

Endangered biodiversity

Much of the Earth’s biodiversity, however, is in danger due to human consumption and other activities that disturb or even destroy ecosystems. Pollution, climate change, and population growth are all threats to biodiversity. These threats have caused an unprecedented rise in the rate of species extinction. Some scientists estimate that half of all species on Earth will be wiped out within the next century. Conservation efforts are necessary to preserve biodiversity and protect endangered species and their habitats. WWF’s 2020 Living Planet Report held some alarming news: The world has seen an average 68% drop in mammal, bird, fish, reptile, and amphibian populations since 1970. Much of the loss is caused by habitat destruction due to unsustainable agriculture or logging. And climate change, which hasn’t been the biggest driver of biodiversity loss so far, is expected to take that role in the decades ahead.
The post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework is the most ambitious global plan ever developed for biodiversity and will be the central focus of negotiations at the 15th Convention of Parties of the Convention of Biological Diversity (COP15) to be held in Montreal, Canada, from 7 – 19 December 2022. A major contribution to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda.

Conclusions

In the poem, ‘The Road not Taken’, Robert Frost describes the process of being at a crossroads and making a decision to take the path less travelled in the hope that this will be the one “that has made all the difference.”
A stocktaking meeting at the weekend in Montreal highlighted a large number of unresolved issues threatening to block a strong outcome.
Whilst ‘all is well that ends well’ in Frost’s poem, we know that the reality is often very different.
A new version of the global biodiversity framework text will be issued in the coming days. Countries including the EU members, US, Australia, Japan and Mexico want tougher rules, while 20 countries that harbour 70 per cent of the Earth’s biodiverse areas including Brazil, India, China, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo say finance flows must match targets. It’s understood progress on protecting land is being made, compared to protecting the sea and oceans in a difficult scenario where marine protected areas are scarce.
I really hope COP15 takes the path less traveled by safeguarding ecosystems instead of to a comfortable fiery hydrocarbon journey of those who have taken the well-known.