This story was originally published on SPREP website.
The adoption of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) in Montréal Canada in 2022, to guide global action on nature through to 2030, was a historical occasion. It provides the global framework against which we plan our regional and national actions.
At Montréal's Palais des Congrès, more than thirty delegates from Pacific Island countries stood amongst delegations from 188 governments to applaud the landmark agreement. The conditions were far from ideal. The freezing temperature in Canada made the work for Pacific delegations who had gathered there for more than two weeks quite difficult. The world was also just getting back to normal post COVID-19 with some of the restrictions still in place. I still remember the hassle of COVID testing, every day.
But that wasn’t all, with the GBF secured only a few days from Christmas, a snowstorm that followed shut key airports in Canada which meant some Pacific officials never made it home for Christmas that year. Such was the sacrifice they made, however, for the cause, a much-needed framework that took many years to develop and negotiate, in which Pacific countries played an active role in the process.
The stakes then were high, just as they are today.
Biodiversity, and humanity are members of one created household that, is in deep trouble as the planet suffers a dangerous decline in nature as a result of human activity. Science and statistics do not lie and tell of the unprecedented loss of species, the ongoing degradation of natural landscapes, and our once fertile land and ocean and its biodiversity are dying the death of a billion cuts.
To read the full Opinion piece by Sefanaia Nawadra, SPREP Director-General, please click this link.
