Biodiversität: „Fürs Überleben zentral“ – Was die Weltnaturkonferenz vorhat

Four years after an international agreement on a framework accord, the 17th UN Conference on Biological Diversity (COP17) aims to take stock of progress made towards the self-set goals by 2030. Over two weeks in the Armenian capital of Yerevan, nearly 200 countries will discuss how to achieve the targets, despite obstacles and setbacks.

The main issues and answers to the conference are as follows. In the global nature treaty, countries agreed in 2022 to protect at least 30 percent of the global land and marine areas. As the halfway point approaches, the focus shifts to the first interim assessment. The world's progress in protecting nature and biodiversity is assessed after UN published an interim report.

This report shows that the goals will not be met by 2030 if the pace does not quicken. There will be insufficient and slow implementation. UN Secretary-General António Guterres highlighted that almost 90 percent of contracting parties have introduced their own national goals to protect biodiversity. "However, the report shows a gap between ambitions and actions," he said.

"These poor news mean that the war against nature is not yet over." A critical point is financing. Guterres called for stronger financial and technical support, especially for developing countries, as well as greater integration of biodiversity in all areas of policy and budgeting. What do conservationists say about this? Environmentalists see progress but lament that it is too slow.

Implementation gaps need to be closed, funding secured and expanded, areas effectively protected, and climate and biodiversity protection interconnected, demands Greenpeace Germany. The president of the German Nature Conservation Union (Nabu), Jörg-Andreas Krüger, said Germany and Europe must take the lead at the conference, showing that they are taking measures to restore biodiversity.

The WWF calls for stronger integration and implementation of nature and species protection in various policies. The German government, in response, stated that while progress has been made, there are still significant gaps in implementation. It is necessary to speed up to reach shared goals. The SPD politician, who will travel to the conference and lead the German delegation in the second week, acknowledged that Germany still needs to complete its homework.

"But important is also the international cooperation so that nature can survive in other parts of the world," he said. What is happening to nature in Germany? The balance for many protected areas in Germany is poor, according to experts. A recent stocktaking analysis of protected areas after the European fauna-flora habitat directive (FFH) concluded that only six percent of habitats and four percent of species are in a favorable state.

The authors identified intensive agriculture, drainage, forestry, and human disturbances as primary causes of the poor condition of many protected areas. Additional stressors include pesticides, nutrient inputs, construction, and climate change. Special attention should be given to forests and marine protected areas. As a result, ten percent of public land forests and ten percent of marine protected areas should be designated as strictly protected areas without any form of exploitation, primarily fishing and construction.

The current situation is that in German marine areas, only about one percent of the area is exempt from any use. Therefore, it is essential to protect biodiversity for the survival of humanity, as it forms the basis of our society, economy, and livelihood.