THE COMMODITY ISSUE
Authors of the report
congregated at the IPBES
meeting in Paris this May
Photo Kai Chan
4
t first is seems the IPBES report, a
damning indictment of humanity’s
destruction, brings more questions
than answers. How did we get to this
point? Is there anything we can do to slow or
even stop this catastrophic loss of biodiversity?
A
But the answers to those questions can be
found within the report itself. Chapter Three
analyses the progress we have made to date
toward the 2020 Aichi Targets: 20 goals
adopted by the world’s governments in 2010 to
address biodiversity loss. The analysis found that
countries have made poor progress overall in
achieving these targets. However, analysing the
patterns of progress and reasons for variation
helps us to understand what we need to do and
change in the future.
“This report should be a wake-up call to
decision-makers: we are not on track to meet
universal goals for safeguarding the biodiversity
on our planet,” Says Dr Stuart Butchart,
BirdLife International’s Chief Scientist, who
co-led Chapter Three of the report. “Individual
successes, from species saved to ecosystems
restored, show that we have the knowledge and
tools to turn around the biodiversity crisis, but
transformational change and sustained political
commitment is required.”
Each of the Aichi Targets comprises multiple
components (54 in total). Progress was assessed
using numeric indicators, scientific papers,
government reports and other sources. Progress
was classified as either good, moderate, poor
or unknown. Worryingly, the IPBES report found
that good progress was made toward just five
elements of four Aichi targets.
One such area where good progress has been
made is the expansion of the extent of protected
JUL-SEP 2019 • BIRDLIFE
Authors of Chapter
Three of the report,
including BirdLife’s Stuart
Butchart
Photo Kai Chan
0
areas, which now cover nearly 15 percent of
terrestrial and freshwater environments and over
7% of marine environments, approaching the
target thresholds of 17% and 10% respectively.
However, many of the most important locations
for nature, including Key Biodiversity Areas
(KBAs, which encompass and extend beyond
Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas) still
lack adequate protection. Furthermore, many
protected areas are not effectively managed,
and are in effect, ‘paper parks’.
Butchart sitting on the
IPBES panel – every single
word of the report had to
be painstakingly analysed
and agreed by all, a process
which often saw single
sentences consume hours
Photo Kai Chan
2
One area where good progress has been made
is in the eradication of invasive alien species that
threaten native wildlife. Particularly on islands,
there has been substantial success in identifying,
prioritising, and beginning the eradication of
non-native species. However, despite these
achievements new alien species continue to
appear, indicating that more needs to be done
to improve biosecurity and address the root
causes behind their introduction
“THIS REPORT SHOULD BE A
WAKE-UP CALL – WE ARE NOT ON
TRACK TO SAVE THE PLANET“
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