中文
By Kong Qingjiang
The second phase of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is being held from December 7 to 19. Despite the on-going attempts, biodiversity is deteriorating worldwide and this decline is projected to worsen with business-as-usual scenarios. There is an urgent need for international partners to halt and reverse the alarming loss of biodiversity worldwide.
The conference, which brings together governments from around the world, has been focusing on halting biodiversity loss around the world and protecting nature. Delegates are supposed to set out new goals and develop an action plan for nature over the next decade in the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, which aims to halt biodiversity loss by 2030 and achieve recovery by 2050.
COP15 is also looking at the implementation of the protocols of the CBD that deal with the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the use of nature, and the safe transport, handling and labeling of Genetically Modified Organisms.
As one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, China has always attached great importance to biodiversity conservation and has made remarkable progress in this respect, which has been recorded by the White Paper of October 8, 2021 titled "Biodiversity Conservation in China."
China preserves biodiversity with creative and up-to-date measures, forming a new pattern of biodiversity conservation. It has proposed and implemented a raft of measures to increase the efficiency of biodiversity conservation, including building the national parks system, setting red lines for ecological conservation, and strengthening in-situ and ex-situ conservation.
What features most in China's approach to addressing biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation is that the country upholds the philosophy of harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature, which derives from the notion of a shared future for all life and thus prioritizes biodiversity conservation and green development.
Under the banner of a shared future for all life, China has elevated biodiversity conservation to a national strategy and incorporated it into mid- and long-term plans of all regions and fields.
Moreover, China is fully aware that biodiversity conservation needs global cooperation and global governance. As evidenced by its international behaviors, multilateralism is its approach to all global issues. The country actively carries out international cooperation on biodiversity conservation through extensive consultations to build consensus and put forward a unified plan on global biodiversity governance.
It is fair to say in this context that China's achievements and its multilateral approach in this regard have provided strong political impetus to global biodiversity conservation. The country has advocated the adoption of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, which is top of the agenda at the Montreal conference.
As matter of fact, it was China that hosted the first phase of COP15 in Kunming in October 2021. Both the keynote speech of Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Kunming Declaration, which China helped orchestrate, highlighted the urgent need to combat the biodiversity crisis. The first phase of the conference also showcased many approaches that are being taken around the world, such as to integrate biodiversity and natural capital considerations into assessments of wealth and performance. Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, unfortunately, the second phase, which was originally scheduled in April 2022, had to be postponed and relocated to Montreal.
As the president of COP15, China has worked with all parties and stakeholders to advance negotiations on the global biodiversity framework. In his speech on December 15, President Xi highlighted the needs to build global consensus on biodiversity protection, to push forward the global process of biodiversity protection, to promote green development through biodiversity protection, and to uphold a fair and equitable global order on biodiversity protection. The four-pronged proposal is China's solution to biodiversity issue.
As expected, Xi said that "we will do our best to provide support and assistance to fellow developing countries through the Belt and Road Initiative International Green Development Coalition and the Kunming Biodiversity Fund." The offer exemplifies China's new contribution to building a shared future for all life, which is expected to elevate global biodiversity governance to a new height.
Kong Qingjiang is the dean of the School of International Law at the China University of Political Science and Law.
