In December 2022, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, a historical agreement which sets out an ambitious agenda towards the vision of living in harmony with nature, was adopted during the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP15).
Two years onward, Pacific countries are taking part in a series of regional and sub-regional dialogues to facilitate the sharing of experiences and mutual learning related to the updating and revision of National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), including national targets, to align with the Global Biodiversity Framework.
In Fiji from 18 – 21 March 2024, the CBD Secretariat partnered with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), the Government of Fiji, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to host the sub-regional Dialogue on NBSAPs.
Ms Camari Divuniwaqa, of Fiji, was amongst the participants, proudly representing the voice of the Pacific youth in amplifying the call for more action in the fight to save the world’s declining biodiversity. In this piece, she shares what she learnt during the discussions, tells us why the meeting is important and why conserving biodiversity is everyone’s responsibility:
Camari Divuniwaqa*
I’ve never felt so cold in my life, it was freezing in fact.
Two years ago, I was amongst Pacific representatives advocating our Pacific priorities at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP15) in Montreal Canada.
Our Pacific countries might be small in size but our One Pacific Voice was loud and strong.
In the end, our Pacific voice played a key role in achieving the historical feat in biodiversity conservation, with more than 190 countries adopting the historic Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
It was a major milestone for the conservation of our natural world.
Since then, the CBD Secretariat has encouraged regional and sub-regional dialogues to facilitate the sharing of experiences and mutual learning related to the updating and revision of National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), including national targets, to align with the Global Biodiversity Framework.
The NBSAPs Subregional Dialogue is an important event that helps us to assess the progress made by each Pacific Island Countries in revising and updating their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans!
It brings together experts, government representatives, NGOs, CSOs and non-state actors such as IPLCs, Youths and women for a solution-driven interaction on NBSAPs.
As the Youth Representative to the dialogue, I have learnt a lot from the plenary!
I came to understand that each Pacific Island Country have their own challenges and achievements in revising their NBSAPs. It is important that we include youths in these dialogues.
I am confident that participation of young people in the NBSAP processes is essential as they provide valuable data that supports the achievement of our various national targets.
However, this is only possible if youths understand how important their contributions are to their NBSAPs. Youths can contribute through capacity building and raising awareness about KMGBF, NBSAPs, and the CBD in our communities and consolidating youth inputs into the NBSAPs.
Furthermore, this event is important for the Pacific because we can take advantage of the available experts and organizations present at the dialogue to help us to identify areas that we need support and guidance and work towards finding solutions to the challenges we encountered in our NBSAP processes.
The government should ensure that non-state actors are recognized in the NBSAP processes as implementing the KMGBF will require participation and ownership of all stakeholders!
*Ms Camari Divuniwaqa is currently based in Lae, Papua New Guinea. She is enrolled in a PhD programme with anticipation to complete her studies soon. She has 5 years of work experience in technical support, research and environment management. An enthusiastic team player and passionate to encourage more youths to learn and engage in conservation biodiversity & decision-making processes. In her free time, Camari plays volleyball and loves to tell stories with her friends.