UN Biodiversity negotiations in Geneva
UN Biodiversity negotiations in Geneva
Subject : Environment
Section :Biodiversity
Context: A chair of the U.N. biodiversity negotiations underway in Switzerland expects agreement on a key target on raising protected areas, adding he saw support from the talks’ presidency, China, for the first time.
Background:
- Hundreds of negotiators arrived in the Swiss city of Geneva for final U.N. talks on an ambitious pact that aims to halt and reverse the loss of habitats for endangered species ahead of a summit in China (Kunming) later this year.
- At the centre of the talks is a call by the United Nations for countries to protect and conserve 30% of their territory by 2030 – a target known as “30 by 30”.
- Negotiators are also aiming to increase funding for protected areas as well as reforms to agriculture subsidies which are seen as a major cause of biodiversity loss.
- In a previous agreement, Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, signed in Aichi, Japan, in 2010, governments agreed on 20 targets to try to slow biodiversity loss and protect habitats by 2020.
Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020
“Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020”, provide a set of 20 ambitious yet achievable targets (divided into 5 sections: A to E), collectively known as the Aichi Targets for biodiversity.
The Aichi Biodiversity Targets are:
- Strategic Goal A: Address the underlying causes of biodiversity loss by mainstreaming biodiversity across government and society
- Strategic Goal B: Reduce the direct pressures on biodiversity and promote sustainable use.
- Strategic Goal C: To improve the status of biodiversity by safeguarding ecosystems, species and genetic diversity
- Strategic Goal D: Enhance the benefits to all from biodiversity and ecosystem services
- Strategic Goal E: Enhance implementation through participatory planning, knowledge management and capacity building.
What is biodiversity?
Biological diversity deals with the degree of nature’s variety in the biosphere. This variety can be observed at three levels; the genetic variability within a species, the variety of species within a community, and the organisation of species in an area into distinctive plant and animal communities constitutes ecosystem diversity
Types of biodiversity?
Genetic diversity: A single species might show high diversity at the genetic level over its distributional range. The genetic variation shown by the medicinal plant Rauwolfia vomitoria growing in different Himalayan ranges might be in terms of the potency and concentration of the active chemical (reserpine) that the plant produces. India has more than 50,000 genetically different strains of rice, and 1,000 varieties of mango.
Species diversity: The diversity at the species level. For example, the Western Ghats have greater amphibian species diversity than the Eastern Ghats.
Ecological diversity: At the ecosystem level, India, for instance, with its deserts, rain forests, mangroves, coral reefs, wetlands, estuaries, and alpine meadows has greater ecosystem diversity than a Scandinavian country like Norway.
Patterns of Biodiversity
Latitudinal gradients: In general, species diversity decreases as we move away from the equator towards the poles.
Altitude gradient: In general, species diversity decreases as we increase in altitude.