Following is the text of Smt. Jayanthi Natarajan, the Minister for Environment and Forest and the CoP President’s, Summary Statement at the High Level Segment of CoP-11, being held in Hyderabad, to the CBD following the Plenary and Panel Discussions held on 17 – 18th October 2012:
“The High Level Segment (HLS) of the Eleventh Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CoP-11) convened between 16-18 October 2012 witnessed active and stimulating discussions on the four main themes of the HLS. Nearly, 120 Parties and others made statements including Ministers and Heads of Delegation of Parties, representatives of regional groups, International organizations and Multi stakeholder groups including non-governmental organizations, indigenous and local communities, women and youth have held active discussions revolving around four issues and related matters.
On the theme of status of biological diversity, it was recognized that biological loss led to livelihood loss resulting in persistence of poverty. Parties indicated the progress made in achieving Aichi targets through increase in the forests, coastal and marine protected areas. They also outlined the threats faced by various ecosystems.
On the theme of activities relevant to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, participants noted the special programmes and projects initiated at national, sub-national and regional level and observed the need to document the wealth of traditional knowledge among indigenous and local communities. In – country initiatives for protection of biodiversity within a legal framework, development of community oriented programmes and activities for awareness and capacity building have been undertaken to educate stakeholders. There is a need to undertake precautionary approach while adopting biotechnological innovations.
On the theme of implementation of the strategic plan on biodiversity, the need to implement biodiversity activities at different levels of governance within a country and the need to ensure substantial financial resources from developed to developing countries, particularly Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States and mobilization of domestic resources were underlined. Countries indicated aligning their national plans with Aichi targets and the need to conserve biodiversity in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication. Gender equity was identified as a cross cutting issue in biodiversity related efforts. Parties viewed that valuation of ecosystem services is an important tool in mainstreaming the biodiversity conservation, priorities in the programmes and activities.
On the theme of status on the ratification of Nagoya Protocol on access to genetic resources and benefit sharing, participants urged greater political commitment to expedite the process of ratification and the need for new and additional financial resources and technical support for capacity building initiatives, including innovative financing.
The four Panel discussions generated considerable interest. In the Panel on implementation of the Strategic Plan on biodiversity 2011-2020, mainstreaming of biodiversity into national policies, involvement of all stakeholders for planning and implementation and support for development of baseline data were emphasized. Substantial financial resources through conventional mechanisms were required.
In the Panel on biodiversity for livelihoods and poverty reduction, the need to integrate biodiversity with livelihood security conforming to the principles of inter and intra generational equity and justice, and right’s based approach was underlined. Parties agreed to continue discussions related to ‘Biodiversity and Livelihoods’, and ‘Biodiversity and Health’ and recommend concrete actions, considering the critical linkages of biodiversity with livelihoods, health and poverty alleviation.
In the Panel on coastal and marine biodiversity, the major challenges of conservation such as over fishing, ocean acidification, sea bed mining etc were mentioned and need to regulate such activities was underlined. A differential approach was necessary to deal with artisanal and commercial fishing. There was a suggestion to establish an International Research Centre on Ocean and Marine Resources under the United Nations.
In the Panel on implementation of Nagoya Protocol and access to genetic resources and benefit sharing, participants underlined the on-going domestic preparatory process in their countries and the benefits such ratification would bring, including addressing the issue of bio-piracy”.