Page 10 - Biodiversity and Conservation Framework

Biodiversity & Conservation Framework

Eradicating poverty through programs and initiatives that are Investing in nature can help reverse its loss and create
focused on increasing water and food security, diversifying new opportunities for countries. Climate change and
livelihoods, building skills, providing access to education, and transboundary water management (surface and
improved decision-making, are key to achieving the SDGs. groundwater) are critical sustainability challenges that
These can be supported through investment in nature-positive require transboundary and often global approaches to
economies that provide for the development of sustainable and tackle their root causes. This will require an inclusive and
diversified income sources and livelihood opportunities. equitable whole-of-economy approach that places nature
However, these are dependent on securing the natural capital at the core of development. This includes the
and ecosystem services that sustain life on earth, providing for development and implementation of policies and
thriving landscapes that are sustainably managed and used to management approaches that shift markets and value
build resilience in local communities to climate change impacts. chains toward models that conserve and restore natural
capital. This shift can create long-term growth, greener
The world’s water-related ecosystems are being degraded at an and better jobs, and improved water and food security
alarming rate. Unsustainable patterns of consumption and through the implementation of equitable and sustainable
production are recognized as the root causes of climate change, natural resource management and land use practices. The
biodiversity loss, and pollution. These could be mitigated through World Bank Group is supporting green, resilient, and
the implementation of sustainable land use and resource inclusive development⁹ in client countries by integrating
management practices. Women in many developing countries protection and restoration of nature into economic policy,
are the principal users and managers of land, as farmers and development programs, and strategic investments. The
pastoralists with primary responsibility for household food World Bank is also a leading multilateral financier of
production and water use. Their role in promoting sustainable biodiversity and ecosystem conservation.¹⁰ CIWA supports
land management is an opportunity to achieve the dual and implements these approaches through its programs,
objectives of sustainable land management and gender equality.⁵ activities, and initiatives.
Global Biodiversity Framework Integrating Climate and Nature Action

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) Tackling nature loss and climate change together offers
was adopted at the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) of the the best hope for preventing their systemic threats to
Convention on Biological Diversity in December 2022. The development, economic growth, and the well-being of
GBF⁶ comprises four goals and 23 action-oriented targets and people and the planet. Climate change and nature loss are
sets out an ambitious plan to implement broad-based action to critical threats to development, economic growth, and the
bring about transformation in society’s relationship with welfare and health of people and the planet, and are
biodiversity. The 2050 vision of the GBF is “Living in Harmony among the biggest challenges humanity faces. The two
with Nature,” where “by 2050, biodiversity is valued, conserved, crises reinforce each other and are pushing the planet
restored, and wisely used, maintaining ecosystem services, toward dangerous and irreversible tipping points.¹¹
sustaining a healthy planet, and delivering benefits essential for
all people.”⁷ The GBF states that biodiversity is fundamental to An effective response to these crises requires equitable
human well-being, a healthy planet, and economic prosperity, and inclusive social and economic transformation and
including for living well in balance and harmony with nature. integrated policy action and investment at all levels.
Society depends on biodiversity for food, medicine, energy, Countries need to work together to better connect
clean air and water, disaster and risk reduction, and recreation climate and biodiversity ambitions, as reflected in the
and culture, and it supports all systems of life on Earth. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Framework also outlines how a wide range of tools and solutions Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity,
must be developed, implemented, and scaled to reduce the respectively, and to ensure their implementation is
multiple threats to biodiversity while ensuring that people’s aligned. At the same time, it is critical to consider and
needs can be met by the sustainable use of biodiversity. identify measures to respond to obstacles faced by
Investing in Nature for Green, women and vulnerable populations in deriving the same
benefits as men. At the country level, policymakers need
Resilient, and Inclusive Development to ensure nature, climate, and development considerations
are included in sector strategies and plans, including as
Nature and natural resources are at the core of central part of national and regional plans to meet climate
development challenges (health, livelihoods, inequality, climate mitigation and adaptation goals while ensuring that GESI
change, food security, fragility, energy). The poorest countries considerations are mainstreamed into these policies.
and communities are at the most risk from nature loss. In a These include Nationally Determined Contributions
scenario where just a few ecosystems services collapse, low- (NDCs) and biodiversity goals such as National
income countries could forego 10 percent in real gross domestic Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans, which require a
product (GDP) annually by 2030, with women often facing reflection of gender considerations to ensure the levelling
greater negative impacts including higher rates of poverty and of the playing field for women and vulnerable
hunger. Many of the solutions to nature loss and the climate populations.¹² CIWA addresses these cross-cutting
crisis are embedded in three key sectors—food, land, and water; challenges through its cross-sectoral approach, which
infrastructure; and energy and extractives. These sectors includes dealing with aspects linked to GESI, climate
endanger 80 percent of threatened or near-threatened species, adaptation and mitigation, FCV, and biodiversity
including approximately 30 percent of freshwater fish that are at conservation in an aligned and integrated way.
risk of extinction.⁸

⁵ https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/131671a1-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/131671a1-en “Women and SDG 15 – Life on Land: Protect, restore and
promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, and halt biodiversity loss.”
⁶ https://www.cbd.int/doc/decisions/cop-15/cop-15-dec-04-en.pdf
⁷ https://www.cbd.int/gbf
⁸ https://wwf.panda.org/discover/our_focus/freshwater_practice/freshwater_biodiversity_222/
⁹ World Bank. Green, Resilient, and Inclusive Development. © World Bank, Washington, DC 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36322
¹⁰ Ibid.
06 ¹¹ World Bank. Nature and Development Brief: Integrating Climate and Nature Action. COP 15 2022.IUCN, Convention on Biological Diversity and Integrating
¹² Gender Considerations in National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans, November 2016.