On the 5th April 2014, the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was unanimously approved by all EAAFP Partners to be EAAFP’s 31st Partner, joining the Secretariats of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and the Convention on Migratory Species as inter-governmental Partners representing international conventions.
The Convention was signed by 150 government leaders at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit and currently has 193 parties.
The adoption of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and the Aichi Biodiversity Targets http:// www.cbd.int/doc/strategic-plan/2011-2020/Aichi- Targets-EN.pdf has provided an agreed framework for action among the multi-lateral environmental agreements. A number of these targets, notably Targets 5, 11 and 12, are of direct relevance to the Partnership:
- Target 5: By 2020, the rate of loss of all natural habitats, including forests, is at least halved and where feasible brought close to zero, and degradation and fragmentation is significantly reduced.
- Target 11: By 2020, at least 17 per cent of terrestrial and inland water, and 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services, are conserved through effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative and well-connected systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, and integrated into the wider landscape and seascapes.
- Target 12: By 2020, the extinction of known threatened species has been prevented and their conservation status, particularly of those most in decline, has been improved and sustained.
The Government of the Republic of Korea will host the 12th meeting of the CBD Conference of the Parties (COP 12) in Pyeongchang, in October 2014 and this will be an opportunity to assess progress towards achievement of the Aichi targets. EAAFP will be represented at this meeting, through both Partners and the Secretariat and will identify cooperative measures and actions to achieve both EAAFP goals and contribute to the Aichi targets. EAAFP has already been in discussions with the CBD Secretariat about a potential initiative on coastal wetland restoration that links the conservation of migratory waterbirds to broader issues of coastal management, such as benefits for disaster risk reduction.
The addition of CBD as an EAAFP Partner also facilitates the development of National Partnerships in member countries. While CBD national offices are often in the same agencies as EAAFP focal points, sometimes they are located in different agencies, thus potentially broadening cooperation at the national, as well as international, level. EAAFP’s Implementation Strategy already identifies the inclusion of the conservation of migratory waterbirds into National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans. In addition, there are many other areas where CBD and EAAFP priorities and actions align, thus paving the way for productive collaboration in the future.