The opening of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in


Kunming has arrived, and the world

talks

about biodiversity conservation

　　The images of Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys, giant pandas, Asian elephants, alpine rhododendrons and other animals and plants recently appeared on the streets of Kunming in autumn. These natural and vibrant faces are exactly what the Fifteenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) is concerned. Object.

On October 11, representatives from various parties will plan a blueprint for global biodiversity governance in Kunming for the next 10 years.

　　China is one of the countries with the richest biodiversity in the world. The traditional ideas of "Harmony between Man and Nature" and "Dao and Nature" in traditional culture reflect the simple awareness of biodiversity protection.

Today, China has embarked on a unique path of biodiversity protection.

　　At the press conference of the white paper "Protection of Biodiversity in China" on October 8, Li Chunliang, deputy director of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration, listed a set of data: The wild population of giant pandas has increased from 1,114 to 1,864 in 40 years. The threat level has been reduced from "endangered" to "vulnerable"; the number of crested ibis increased from 7 at the beginning of discovery to more than 5,000; the number of Asian elephants increased from 180 in the 1980s to about 300 at present; the Hainan gibbons increased from 40 Years ago, there were only two groups of less than 10 animals, which grew to 5 groups of 35 animals.

Przewalski's wild horses and elk, which have been extinct in the wild, have re-established their wild populations.

　　With population growth and expansion of human economic activities, global biodiversity is facing serious threats.

my country has creatively implemented the ecological red line system and established nature reserves with national parks as the main body.

Today, China has nearly 10,000 nature reserves of various levels and types, accounting for 18% of the land area. 90% of terrestrial ecosystem types and 71% of national key protected wild animal and plant species are effectively protected.

　　Li Chunliang said that in September this year, he was particularly pleased to see large groups of Tibetan antelopes, Tibetan gazelles, Tibetan wild donkeys, and rock sheep in the Qiangtang National Nature Reserve in Tibet.

　　In July this year, "raccoon dogs" appeared in more than 100 communities in Shanghai. This short, fat canine was frightening at first.

A team initiated the "Citizen Scientist in the City" project to allow community residents to participate in the investigation and research of urban wildlife. Now people can live in peace with raccoon dogs.

　　High-level biodiversity protection can also be promoted in concert with high-quality development.

In Wufeng Tujia Autonomous County, Hubei, farmers have used bee breeding and nectar plant cultivation to achieve poverty alleviation and income increase. The per capita disposable income of rural residents has increased from 7,880 yuan in 2015 to 11,735 yuan in 2020.

　　These vivid cases are valuable experience left by China in exploring biodiversity conservation.

On the occasion of the COP15, the white paper "China's Biodiversity Conservation" shared more of my country's biodiversity governance experience, and established confidence in the global response to the risks of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation.

　　This is the first time that China has hosted the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, and it is also the most special and longest meeting of all.

Affected by the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the conference that was supposed to be held last year has been postponed until now and has been held in two stages.

The first phase of the meeting in October this year was held in a combination of online and offline, and there were thousands of offline participants alone.

　　“As soon as I walked into the press center of the conference, I saw the well-designed biodiversity protection everywhere.” On October 9th, Elizabeth Murema, Executive Secretary of the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, felt China’s efforts to ensure COP15 has made great efforts to successfully organize and promote the action and leadership of global biodiversity conservation.

　　This meeting stood at a special historical node in biodiversity conservation.

In 2010, the Tenth Conference of the Parties (COP10) of the Convention held in Aichi Prefecture, Japan passed the 2011-2020 Biodiversity Strategic Plan and the Aichi Biodiversity Target.

　　Over the past 10 years, unfortunately, none of the Aichi goals have been fully achieved. Only six goals have been partially achieved, and some sub-goals have even deteriorated.

In September 2020, the fifth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook pointed out that the global biodiversity loss trend has not been fundamentally reversed, and the pressure on biodiversity is still increasing.

　　Therefore, the Kunming event has received high attention and high hopes.

The first phase will form the "Kunming Declaration", and the global biodiversity framework will be reviewed and decided in the first half of next year.

The blueprint for global biodiversity governance planned by the conference for the next 10 years aims to completely reverse the decline of global biodiversity.

　　Looking back on the past experience and lessons, Zhao Yingmin, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, said that global goal setting requires both ambition and pragmatism. The implementation mechanism and guarantee conditions need to be improved. In particular, attention should be paid to the funding and technology of developing countries in the implementation of the contract. In addition, all parties need to pay more attention to biodiversity conservation and implementation.

　　"Ecological Civilization: Building a Community of Life on Earth" is the theme of this conference.

The United Nations also held a global conference on ecological civilization for the first time.

In Zhao Yingmin's view, this meeting will be deeply imprinted with China, and will contribute to China's promotion of a more just and reasonable global biodiversity governance system.

　　At the first press briefing at COP15 on October 10, David Cooper, Deputy Executive Secretary of the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, said that although we are facing unprecedented challenges, we still hope that everyone will be optimistic about the future of biodiversity Sexual governance.

He said that in the fifth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook, as long as actions have been taken, significant improvements have been seen.

David Cooper encourages countries to put forward ambitions and commitments for biodiversity conservation, and transform persuasive commitments into strong policies, regulations, and concrete actions.

"Some good transformative measures need not wait for the adoption of the framework next year, but should be implemented as soon as possible."

　　Our newspaper, Kunming, October 10th

　　China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily reporter Zhang Yi Source: China Youth Daily