Thursday, October 16, 2014

They said this: Take away messages from CBDCOP12

The 12th conference of the parties of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (or CBD COP 12) began here in Pyeongchang, South Korea on 5th of October. Since then, I have met and had exclusive interviews with several leaders here. Each of them impressed me with their answers and especially their patience in explaining complicated issues in the most simple terms. You can read the news articles that I filed from the convention on the IPS news site. Sharing  here, below, are some of the statements from each of these leaders that I am calling my take home messages.

Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias – Executive Secretary, Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)



We now know what we need to do to prevent biodiversity loss and invasive species. We need to integrate biodiversity into our sustainable development.”



Ibrahim Thiaw – Deputy Director, UN Environmental Program (UNEP) 




"Hope that the member countries would really commit themselves to achieve the Aichi targets. It is a collective commitment that needs to be made. If you go back and don’t match your words with action at the national level, it’s not going to work"


 

 Naoko Ishii, CEO & Chairperson of the Global Environment Facility



"Transformational change can come only when biodiversity conservation is integrated into sustainable development."




 Francisco Gaetani,Deputy Minister of the Environment of Brazil




If you want to engage the private sector in biodiversity conservation, you also must have a regulatory framework that will ensure sustainable use and consumption
 


And finally,
 Hem Pande – Director, Biodiversity Authority of India




"We have heard many promises. It’s time for countries to walk the talk."

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