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"
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"
