10 Sep 2020 Global Biodiversity Outlook published
Brussels, 16 September 2020 – The UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) published its Global Biodiversity Outlook 5 (GBO-5), providing an overview of the state of biodiversity globally. It reports on the progress countries have made towards achieving the so-called AICHI Biodiversity targets set in the CBD Strategic Action Plan for Biodiversity for 2011-2020. Unfortunately, the overall assessment at global level for each target shows that none of the 20 targets have been fully achieved.
This clearly highlights that we need to start doing things differently as the current approach to conservation continues to fail. The report identifies eight transitions required across a broad range of human activities.
The Global Biodiversity Outlook 5 (GDO-5) provides a worrying picture of the state of biodiversity. None of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets will be fully met, in turn threatening the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and undermining efforts to address climate change.
Despite the limited progress globally, the Outlook has also documented some important examples in which national actions have generated successful outcomes. For example, good progress has been made during the past decade on identifying and prioritising invasive alien species (IAS) in terms of the risk they present, as well as in the feasibility of managing them. Europe’s hunters have been active in this respect.
In “business as usual scenarios’’, biodiversity will continue to decline until 2050 and beyond, due to the increasing impacts of land and sea use change, overexploitation, climate change, pollution and invasive alien species.
Commenting on the report, Dr. David Scallan, FACE Secretary General underlines that:
“The sustainable use of biodiversity is an essential foundation to the whole 2030 Agenda. Europe’s hunters have already taken and continue to take concrete actions to deal with biodiversity loss, especially on farmland. In Europe, the major conservation problem for most species is the degradation of habitat. Countering this problem with clear restoration targets should be given the highest priority”.
For more information about biodiversity and the work that hunters are doing, please visit our dedicated website: FACE biodiversitymanifesto.com