The latest draft of the proposal \u2013 known as the 0.5 draft \u2013 has caused disappointment. Susan Lieberman, vice president for international policy with the Wildlife Conservation Society, told China Dialogue that \u201call the governments said they wanted something ambitious, but then when they started to negotiate, there\u2019s no ambitions there.\u201d She pointed out that the proposal \u201cdoesn\u2019t really talk about [protected] areas being effectively managed, just making a line on the map. It ignores Covid and the whole issue of wildlife markets and trade.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Basile van Havre is co-chair of the Open-ended Working Group on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (\u201copen-ended\u201d means all UN member states are invited to participate). He told China Dialogue that it is easy for people to forget the biodiversity crisis during a pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lack of progress means hopes are being placed in COP15\u2019s host \u2013 China. This is the first time China has hosted a multilateral environmental conference of this level. Guido Schmidt-Traub, executive director of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, told China Dialogue that China is bound to play a central role in the talks, but that its status as host also brings risks. Like all rapidly developing nations, China faces huge challenges in protecting biodiversity. But, he said, \u201cthe fact that, in spite of these risks, China has also agreed to host CBD COP is very significant. I think it does underscore China\u2019s commitment to what is called ecological civilisation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Back in 2015, France used its status as host to help conclude the landmark Paris Agreement on climate. In 2021, can China inject political momentum into the global biodiversity process?<\/p>\n\n\n\n A CBD conference has been held every two years since the convention came into being in 1992. There has been no shortage of political commitments, funding initiatives and work but global biodiversity has still seen massive losses. Van Havre stressed the importance of the Kunming meeting providing a \u201cmajor course correction in our effort to reach the vision\u201d. But he also warned that the pandemic is making diplomacy more difficult, as meetings are cancelled or delayed and national representatives miss out on face-to-face interactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The remaining eight months will see only one meeting of the Open-ended Working Group on the draft proposal, and two technical meetings, but the pandemic may yet prevent these going ahead. And many disagreements remain over expectations for the Kunming conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The core of the talks is balancing the three major goals of the CBD: protection of global biodiversity, sustainable use of biodiversity, and sharing of the benefits. The Global Ocean Alliance<\/a>, founded by nations including the UK, Costa Rica and Finland, supports the \u201c30×30<\/a>\u201d goal \u2013 to protect 30% of ocean areas by 2030. Others reserve judgement. Currently, only 7.45%<\/a> of the ocean is protected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 30×30 target is the \u201cstar\u201d of the agenda, but consensus is hard to reach in other areas too. For example, developed and developing nations disagree on whether derivatives of genetic resources<\/a> (such as genetic sequencing data) should be shared. Li Shuo, senior global policy advisor with Greenpeace East Asia, thinks this is not something COP15 can solve, and that a procedural decision to hold further discussions in the future will likely be taken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other countries think China\u2019s role as host grants it huge potential to influence the talks and encourage the setting of tough \u201cKunming targets\u201d. In November 2019, China and France jointly issued the Beijing Call for Biodiversity Conservation and Climate Change<\/a>, calling for the world to \u201cdefine and adopt an ambitious and realistic post-2020 global biodiversity framework building on the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and the lessons learned from the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But China has reservations on some key issues, including the 30×30 target, due to concerns about \u201crealism\u201d. Liu Ning, an official with the Ministry of Ecology and Environment\u2019s Ecological Protection Department and a lead negotiator in the Chinese delegation to COP15, said in an online meeting in July that while China is actively participating in global talks on ocean protection, more scientific evidence is needed before a goal is set, as current findings are inadequate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think the science is clear, that we need at least 30% of the ocean [protected],\u201d said Susan Lieberman. \u201cI would never say \u2018no, the science is just done, we know everything\u2019. But we do know enough to take action.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of the global ocean, 61% falls outside national jurisdictions, and so any ambitious plan touches upon management of these high seas \u2013 a thorny problem. How China, as host, influences the 30×30 target, will be closely watched. \u201cIf there\u2019s one thing we need decided in Kunming, even if it\u2019s in the final 24 hours, it\u2019s the 30×30 target,\u201d said Li Shuo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Consensus on funding and implementation is also proving hard to find. Developing countries say they need more money \u2013 at an Open-Ended Working Group meeting in Rome this March, Brazil asked for funding in compensation for protecting the Amazon. African nations want to see a global diversity fund<\/a> to supplement existing funding mechanisms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Funding has long been a chronic issue for global environmental governance, and the pandemic will make mobilising money even harder. Susan Lieberman hopes people realise environmental destruction, as well as protection, is getting funding. One example, she said, is fishing subsidies<\/a>: \u201cIf that money stopped destroying the environment, there would be plenty for conservation.\u201d Guido Schmidt-Traub has been calling for the biodiversity and climate issues to be solved in tandem, as funds mobilised for climate change could also help protect biodiversity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is common practice for a COP host to initiate a new fund to help achieve the targets set at the meeting. At COP9, Germany provided 800 million euros<\/a> in support of over 30 sub-projects. At COP10, when talks over the Nagoya Protocol had stalled, host Japan stepped in at the last minute with a commitment to create a 1 billion yen Japan Biodiversity Fund<\/a>, with an additional 1 billion yen for capacity building in developing nations. Experts say China is working on a host fund and has already sounded out views.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the CBD\u2019s weakest point is implementation. Guido Schmidt-Traub told China Dialogue this is because the factors driving biodiversity loss \u2013 agriculture, industry, urban development and climate change \u2013 do not fall under the jurisdiction of the environmental authorities and require cross-departmental approaches. This means complex and less efficient governance mechanisms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also, the convention has 20 global goals, unlike the easily understandable 2C temperature rise target of the Paris Agreement. And within those global targets, there is no requirement for national targets to be set, as there is in the climate change process. This means national reports on actions taken cannot be compared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019ve always said each nation must set its own national targets once a global target is set in Kunming. That\u2019s the only way to ensure the actions of individual nations can be compared with each other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But Guido Schmidt-Traub says there simply isn\u2019t enough time for this to happen at Kunming. He doesn\u2019t want to see very specific talks on implementation, as this would touch upon national sovereignty and there is a lack of the necessary knowledge: \u201cWe don\u2019t really know how to solve the biodiversity crisis. There\u2019s a lot of innovation that\u2019s needed.\u201d He says the Kunming talks should come up with ambitious and clear targets \u2013 but implementation is outside the scope of the current framework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hosting a successful conference presents a host nation with three challenges: of political will, diplomacy and logistics. Nobody doubts China\u2019s logistical capacity. \u201cThis is not a small task and failing would have important consequences. Making the proper arrangements is very useful in facilitating discussion,\u201d said Basile van Havre, adding: \u201cThere is no doubt in my mind that China will deliver a good logistics package for the meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The theme for COP15, \u201cEcological civilization building: a shared future for all life on Earth\u201d, reflects a strong political will for international environmental governance rooted in domestic politics. The concept of the ecological civilisation was put forward at the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2007, and then elevated to the status of a national strategy. With 2020 being the final year of China\u2019s 13th<\/sup> Five Year Plan, a domestic system showcasing the concept has been established. And so COP15 is important for China on both the domestic and international levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the key to displaying leadership at COP15 will be how to bring the 196 signatories to the convention to a consensus.<\/p>\n\n\n\nGoals: Ambition and realism<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The science is clear, we need at least 30% of the ocean [protected]. I would never say \u2018we know everything\u2019. But we do know enough to take action.<\/blockquote>Susan Lieberman<\/strong>, vice president for international policy with the Wildlife Conservation Society<\/cite><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Funding and implementation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Rufous-backed-Sibia-china-biodiversity.jpg\")
<\/div>Leadership: A test for the host<\/h2>\n\n\n\n