Expert: COP15 is expected to bring more help to global biodiversity governance

　　Xinhua News Agency, Sydney, October 8 -

　　Xinhua News Agency reporter Hao Yalin

　　Australian ecologist Brendan McGee said in an exclusive interview with a reporter from Xinhua News Agency that he looks forward to the upcoming 15th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) to formulate more ambitious developments for global biodiversity governance. The ambitious goal will help the international community to carry out more cooperation.

　　McGee is the director of the Climate Action Center at Griffith University in Australia. He has been engaged in research on climate change, forest ecosystems, biodiversity conservation and terrestrial carbon dynamics for many years.

He said that biodiversity is rich in connotation, including not only the diversity of biological species, but also the diversity of genes and ecosystems.

Protecting biodiversity is not only of great significance to the natural environment, but also of great practical significance to modern society and human survival, such as providing clean food, water and air, and absorbing carbon dioxide so as to help cope with climate change.

　　Therefore, McGee hopes that COP15 can set higher targets, such as increasing the proportion of oceans and land included in the protected area to more than 30%. "This is the minimum based on science. It will be very good if the parties can reach an agreement." .

At the same time, he also hopes that countries can pay more attention to and protect the existing virgin forest resources.

　　McGee believes that there is no contradiction between achieving good economic development and maintaining a healthy natural environment. For example, planning and carrying out infrastructure construction in a more environmentally friendly and environmentally sensitive way to avoid damage to biodiversity; treating ecosystems as For an asset, further understanding and exploring its economic benefits, setting economic value and conducting economic evaluation for the benefits it brings, and developing an "environmental economy" are all conducive to achieving a balance between economic development and ecological environmental protection.

　　McGee has carried out a lot of cooperation with Chinese research institutions and environmental protection organizations, and has also participated in related work in the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park.

He said that China has done a lot of work in recent years, such as vigorously promoting the construction of ecological civilization and establishing a national park system, which shows that China is paying more and more attention to biodiversity conservation.

　　In addition, McGee also hopes that the international community will carry out more cooperation in the field of biodiversity conservation.

"Biodiversity conservation is a global challenge. In addition to the ecological environment within the borders of various countries, there are also transnational migrating birds and animals. Therefore, this is a global issue that requires coordinated actions and cooperation among all countries."