(UN photo/John Isaac)
Oct 19, 2012
As the United Nations biodiversity conference winds down to its final hours in Hyderabad, India on Friday, an environmental group warns of "false solutions" that favor corporate polluters, while lack of financial commitments by developed countries may put biodiversity goals at risk.
Agence France-Presse reports that the meeting, formally known as the 11th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 11) "is meant to come up with tangible ways to execute what have become known as the Aichi Biodiversity Targets," biodiversity targets set at the previous convention meeting, COP 10, in Nagoya, Japan.
But the conference is ending with wrangling by developed countries over the funding needed to meet those targets, Inter Press Service reports:
Resource mobilization has been the most contentious area of negotiations at Hyderabad. Developing countries, home to rich biological diversity, are now doubtful that the promise of increasing financial resource flows from developed to developing countries by 2015 will materialize.
Developed countries are firm that a baseline is necessary to determine the sum that is already being spent and that needs to be increased. But developing countries are pushing for commitments on interim figures.
Experts say funding from diverse international and national sources, and across different policy areas, is required to secure the full range of economic and social benefits to be gained from meeting the Aichi targets.
Public funding and private sector investment (still under debate), innovative measures, incentives such as payments for ecosystem services, conservation agreements including with local communities, water fees, forest carbon offsets, and green fiscal policies are among possible sources.
At the same time, environmental group Friends of the Earth International warns against any "false solutions to biodiversity loss" led by corporate influences at the conference that treat nature as a commodity.
Financialization "is a way for corporate polluters to continue destroying biodiversity and threatening indigenous peoples and local communities. If UN talks start favoring the financialization of nature, community and Indigenous peoples' rights will be violated, leading to mass land grabs," stated Isaac Rojas, Friends of the Earth International Coordinator of the Forests and Biodiversity Program.
"The corporate influence on UN talks is extremely worrying. Multinational corporations lobby in favor of approaches which have negative impacts on communities and Indigenous Peoples and do not protect forests and biodiversity. These are false solutions. Instead, we need ways to properly protect traditional knowledge and ownership. For instance we need more community-based forest governance, which is an effective way for local people to help protect their forests as well as the climate," stated Rojas.
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. Join with us today! |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
As the United Nations biodiversity conference winds down to its final hours in Hyderabad, India on Friday, an environmental group warns of "false solutions" that favor corporate polluters, while lack of financial commitments by developed countries may put biodiversity goals at risk.
Agence France-Presse reports that the meeting, formally known as the 11th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 11) "is meant to come up with tangible ways to execute what have become known as the Aichi Biodiversity Targets," biodiversity targets set at the previous convention meeting, COP 10, in Nagoya, Japan.
But the conference is ending with wrangling by developed countries over the funding needed to meet those targets, Inter Press Service reports:
Resource mobilization has been the most contentious area of negotiations at Hyderabad. Developing countries, home to rich biological diversity, are now doubtful that the promise of increasing financial resource flows from developed to developing countries by 2015 will materialize.
Developed countries are firm that a baseline is necessary to determine the sum that is already being spent and that needs to be increased. But developing countries are pushing for commitments on interim figures.
Experts say funding from diverse international and national sources, and across different policy areas, is required to secure the full range of economic and social benefits to be gained from meeting the Aichi targets.
Public funding and private sector investment (still under debate), innovative measures, incentives such as payments for ecosystem services, conservation agreements including with local communities, water fees, forest carbon offsets, and green fiscal policies are among possible sources.
At the same time, environmental group Friends of the Earth International warns against any "false solutions to biodiversity loss" led by corporate influences at the conference that treat nature as a commodity.
Financialization "is a way for corporate polluters to continue destroying biodiversity and threatening indigenous peoples and local communities. If UN talks start favoring the financialization of nature, community and Indigenous peoples' rights will be violated, leading to mass land grabs," stated Isaac Rojas, Friends of the Earth International Coordinator of the Forests and Biodiversity Program.
"The corporate influence on UN talks is extremely worrying. Multinational corporations lobby in favor of approaches which have negative impacts on communities and Indigenous Peoples and do not protect forests and biodiversity. These are false solutions. Instead, we need ways to properly protect traditional knowledge and ownership. For instance we need more community-based forest governance, which is an effective way for local people to help protect their forests as well as the climate," stated Rojas.
As the United Nations biodiversity conference winds down to its final hours in Hyderabad, India on Friday, an environmental group warns of "false solutions" that favor corporate polluters, while lack of financial commitments by developed countries may put biodiversity goals at risk.
Agence France-Presse reports that the meeting, formally known as the 11th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 11) "is meant to come up with tangible ways to execute what have become known as the Aichi Biodiversity Targets," biodiversity targets set at the previous convention meeting, COP 10, in Nagoya, Japan.
But the conference is ending with wrangling by developed countries over the funding needed to meet those targets, Inter Press Service reports:
Resource mobilization has been the most contentious area of negotiations at Hyderabad. Developing countries, home to rich biological diversity, are now doubtful that the promise of increasing financial resource flows from developed to developing countries by 2015 will materialize.
Developed countries are firm that a baseline is necessary to determine the sum that is already being spent and that needs to be increased. But developing countries are pushing for commitments on interim figures.
Experts say funding from diverse international and national sources, and across different policy areas, is required to secure the full range of economic and social benefits to be gained from meeting the Aichi targets.
Public funding and private sector investment (still under debate), innovative measures, incentives such as payments for ecosystem services, conservation agreements including with local communities, water fees, forest carbon offsets, and green fiscal policies are among possible sources.
At the same time, environmental group Friends of the Earth International warns against any "false solutions to biodiversity loss" led by corporate influences at the conference that treat nature as a commodity.
Financialization "is a way for corporate polluters to continue destroying biodiversity and threatening indigenous peoples and local communities. If UN talks start favoring the financialization of nature, community and Indigenous peoples' rights will be violated, leading to mass land grabs," stated Isaac Rojas, Friends of the Earth International Coordinator of the Forests and Biodiversity Program.
"The corporate influence on UN talks is extremely worrying. Multinational corporations lobby in favor of approaches which have negative impacts on communities and Indigenous Peoples and do not protect forests and biodiversity. These are false solutions. Instead, we need ways to properly protect traditional knowledge and ownership. For instance we need more community-based forest governance, which is an effective way for local people to help protect their forests as well as the climate," stated Rojas.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.