Interview: Protecting biodiversity requires commitment from every country, says Brazilian expert

BRASILIA, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Commitments and protocols established at the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15), currently being hosted virtually by China, must be fulfilled and monitored by all countries to conserve the world's biodiversity, said Brazilian biologist Alice Biedzicki de Marques.

In an interview with Xinhua, the former director of Sustainable Use of Biodiversity and Forests at the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources said it is essential "to create effective economic mechanisms that help control and reduce the rate of animal and plant extinctions."

Themed "Ecological Civilization: Building a Shared Future for All Life on Earth," COP15 is the first global conference convened by the United Nations on ecological civilization, a philosophy proposed by China, and is being held online from Oct. 11 to 15 in China's southwestern city Kunming, with a second part in early 2022.

According to Biedzicki, COP15 comes at a time when, despite global efforts to curb the extinction of species, there is a very rapid decline of hundreds of thousands of species across the world.

"This biodiversity conference calls on governments around the world to agree on new targets for nature," she said, since the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) 2011-2020 plan did not succeed as expected.

The objective of COP15 is to establish a post-2020 CBD framework, with new agreed targets for 2050 and intermediate targets for 2030.

Biedzicki, who is the current advisor to Urban, Rural and Environmental Development Unit for the Legislative Chamber of the Federal District, said: "It is important to discuss climate change and biodiversity together, because one is fundamental to the other. The loss of forests and biodiversity causes major climate changes."

Another important point, according to the biologist, is the discussion of the relevance of biodiversity amid the world's economic issues, since "there is a great loss of areas and water resources, which make the issues of the resilience and maintenance of natural and protected areas very important."

She pointed out that for post-2020 goals, it is essential that developed countries and emerging economies ensure all their international investments follow environmental standards to reduce the impact on biodiversity.

"Without this factor, there is really no way to achieve the proposed targets. It is also important to ban illegal hunting and fishing, as well as the consumption of wild animals, especially from illegal and unsustainable sources, to avoid new pandemics and zoonoses," she said.

According to Biedzicki, international cooperation in innovation and technology, as well as scientific knowledge, is fundamental for preservation, and for COP15 objectives to be achieved in practice, it will be very important for all countries to follow up in a very concrete manner.

Regarding the potential for cooperation between Brazil and China, two major trading partners, the expert stressed the importance of including biodiversity in business strategies.