Aichi Biodiversity Target 11: By 2020, at least 17 per cent of terrestrial and inland water areas 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 seascape.
The countdown is on with only two more years to go to achieve the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, as committed to by over 190 Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, including the Pacific island Parties.
To help propel Parties to achieve the Aichi Biodiversity Target 11 on Protected Areas in the next two years is the newly launched global Partnership for Achieving Aichi Biodiversity Target 11 with Attendant Multiple Benefits which brings together 37 Partners, including the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).
The partnership is a strengthened commitment to mobilise the global community to implement Target 11 and was launched during the 14th Conference to the Parties on the Convention on Biological Diversity in Sharm El Sheikh from 17 – 29 November, 2018 during a special day on Protected Areas.
“SPREP, as the supporting regional organisation for protected areas in the Pacific welcomes this partnership and the impact it can make across our region,” said Mr Stuart Chape, Acting Deputy Director General, Strategic Policy and Technical Programmes of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).
Pivotal to supporting the global call for focused and coordinated actions is the regional Protected Areas Working Group that sits within the Pacific Islands Roundtable for Nature Conservation and Protected Areas (PIRT). PIRT is a 21 year old coalition of stakeholders in the Pacific that works collectively to progress nature conservation in the region. The Protected Areas Working Group is made up of representatives from government, NGOs, regional agencies and regional protected area projects.
The Working Group operates as a network for sharing information, seeking feedback and updates on stakeholder activities. It also works according to an existing regional protected areas action plan which aligns with the Regional Framework for Nature Conservation and Protected Areas.
SPREP is Chair of the Protected Areas Working Group, and the Secretariat of the Pacific Islands Roundtable for Nature Conservation and IUCN Regional Director for Oceania, Mr Mason Smith, is the current Chair.
“We are hopeful this partnership will catalyse stronger actions on the ground with our Pacific islands as they endeavour to achieve the 17% target for terrestrial conservation and 10% for marine conservation,” said Ms Amanda Wheatley, the Acting Biodiversity Adviser of SPREP.
“We know what the current status, gaps and challenges are, and can see opportunities that exist for supporting countries in achieving all elements of this target, and we have already well-Heestablished partnerships, and guiding frameworks and plans, which will assist the regional partners to be ‘paddling in the same direction’ as we voyage towards 2020 to achieve Aichi Target 11.
The full partnership currently comprise: Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), BirdLife International, Brazil, Canada, Conservation International (CI), Egypt, European Union (EU), European Commission-Joint Research Centre, Finland, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development – Germany (BMZ), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Global Environment Facility (GEF), Indigenous and Conserved Communities Area Consortium, Iceland, India, IUCN-Global Protected Areas Programme, IUCN-World Commission on Protected Areas, Japan, Malaysia, Malta, Monaco, National Geographic, Philippines, Pronatura Mexico A.C./REDPARQUES, Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, South Africa, SPREP, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), UN Convention to Combat Desertification, UNDP – Small Grant Programme, UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre, UN Framework to the Convention on Climate Change, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), World Heritage Convention (UNESCO-WHC) and World Wildlife Fund International.
The “Partnership for Achieving Aichi Biodiversity Target 11 with Attendant Multiple Benefits” was launched during the Protected Areas Day at the CBD COP14 on 22 November, 2018.
The Pacific islands are represented at CBD COP14 with the Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
For further information on the Protected Areas Day please visit: http://enb.iisd.org/biodiv/cop14/riopavilion/