By Bisola Adeyemo
Following the ongoing United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5) underway in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, experts have called on multilateral lenders and wealthy nations to honor their financial obligation to strengthen biodiversity conservation in developing countries.
The international groups on Tuesday also called on major economies to allocate 60 billion U.S. dollars annually to boost the protection of biodiversity hotspots in developing countries to revitalize conservation of endangered species.
Bruno Oberle, the director-general of Geneva-based International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) stressed that bridging a funding gap towards biodiversity conservation will guarantee a healthy, green and prosperous future for communities in the global south.
“Providing local and indigenous communities with the necessary means to conserve nature is not only a moral obligation but also a sound investment that will generate high returns for all of us,” said Oberle.
According to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity(CBD), halting the growing biodiversity loss amid climate change and over-exploitation would require 844 billion dollars annually.
Marco Lambertini, the director-general of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) International said that investing in nature protection will spur inclusive and green growth besides shielding communities from disease-causing pathogens.
Lambertini stressed that innovative financing tools were required to boost conservation of biodiversity hotspots that are key to food, water, and energy security in developing countries.
He said that funding should be at the heart of negotiations that would pave way for the establishment of a post-2020 global biodiversity framework.
According to reports, delegates from over 190 countries will be expected to endorse the post-2020 global biodiversity framework at a summit to take place in Kunming city, the capital of China’s southern Yunnan Province from April 25 to May 8.