Posted on October, 13 2021

KUNMING, China (13 October 2021) – Government ministers meeting for the UN biodiversity Conference COP15 today adopted the Kunming Declaration.

The declaration, titled ‘Ecological Civilization: Building a Shared Future for All Life on Earth’, represents the outcome of the high level segment of Part One of COP15  (the fifteenth Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity) and aims to demonstrate ministers’ political will to address the biodiversity crisis.

WWF is encouraged that the Kunming Declaration acknowledges that the aim of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework should be to reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. Securing and maintaining high level political commitment to reverse the loss of biodiversity this decade is a critical first step to addressing the current nature crisis.

WWF also welcomes the combination of measures contained in the Kunming Declaration, which includes both conservation actions as well as action to address unsustainable production and consumption. Both are essential if we are to be successful in securing a nature-positive world this decade.

The involvement of finance, agriculture, development and environment ministers also shows that governments are starting to recognize the need to make biodiversity a mainstream issue across government; however, we are still a long way from a whole-of-government approach implemented by all parties to the CBD. 

Commenting on the declaration, Lin Li, Director of Global Policy and Advocacy at WWF International, said:
 
“The Kunming Declaration is a show of political will and adds much-needed momentum by clearly signalling the direction of travel to address biodiversity loss. While it is highly significant that it recognizes the aim of the framework should be to put nature on a path to recovery by 2030, its impacts will lie in how it is put into action. It is still critical for governments to turn these words into reality.


“In Kunming next May, this declaration must be turned into an action plan for nature which not only protects land, freshwater and seas, but also fundamentally addresses our unsustainable agricultural system, embraces nature-based solutions, ensures adequate funding and is robustly implemented. 

“The world is waking up to the fact that the nature crisis is as serious as the climate crisis, but unfortunately this is not happening fast enough. Biodiversity loss is threatening human health and livelihoods, and increasing the risk of the next pandemic, yet leaders’ pledges are yet to be translated into ambition in the negotiation room. Now is the time to step up.”

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Notes to Editors
Human activities are driving a catastrophic loss of nature globally, with a 2019 UN report revealing that one million species are threatened with extinction.
 
COP15 represents a once-in-a-decade opportunity to reset our relationship with nature through an ambitious global biodiversity agreement and what could be the last chance to make key decisions for the survival of humanity on the planet. Part Two of the conference is scheduled for April/May 2022 and will feature the adoption of the final agreement.
 
WWF is calling for leaders to secure an ambitious and transformational post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework that secures a nature-positive world this decade. But, in WWF’s assessment, the current draft framework agreement falls short in key areas, such as finance and action on the drivers of biodiversity loss, as well as when it comes to the effective and full participation of Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLC) and the recognition of their rights and contributions to conservation. 

For more information, please contact news@wwfint.org