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COP15: Landmark Biodiversity Deal Recognizes Rights of Nature is Vital to its Success
December 19, 2022
Montreal, Canada—Negotiators from across the world have adopted a landmark global biodiversity agreement marking the first international agreement to explicitly promote “rights of nature” and “rights of Mother Earth.” The breakthrough came as nearly 200 countries completed their negotiations at COP-15, the United Nations Biodiversity Conference aimed at creating a plan to protect and restore biodiversity through 2030.
Read or download this press release in its entirety here (complete with active, useful links)
Linked here you will find our textual recommendations and concise rationale for supporting the Rights of Mother Earth in the GBF. Recommendation here
Why is including Rights of Nature in the legal systems and a Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth needed?
On average, we’ve seen an astonishing 60% decline in the size of populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians in just over 40 years, according to WWF’s Living Planet Report 2020. The top threats to species identified in the report link directly to human activities, including habitat loss and degradation and the excessive use of wildlife such as over-fishing and over-hunting.
The report presents a sobering picture of the impact human activity has on the world’s wildlife, forests, oceans, rivers, and climate. We’re facing a rapidly closing window for action and the urgent need for everyone—everyone—to collectively rethink and redefine how we value, protect, and restore nature.
Nature Conservation Facts from Ecowatch
Nature provides us with countless services, supplying us with fresh water, clean air, food, medicine, energy and above all, life itself. Ecosystem services contribute an estimated $125 trillion to $140 trillion a year to the world’s economy — nearly 7 times the GDP of the U.S.1 But ultimately, natural resources are so fundamental to our lives that we could never express their value in dollars. See here for the Top 25 Nature Conservation Facts of 2022
What is biodiversity and how are we protecting it?
An article on BBC News by Esme Stallard
Targets to reverse the decline of biodiversity by 2030 may be missed without urgent action, according to a new report.
This goal was a key part of the UN global summit on biodiversity held in December 2022. Nearly a third of all monitored species are currently endangered due to human activities.