The 5th and final session of the 3rd ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Conference on Biodiversity in 2020 (ACB 2020), held in July 2021, focused on the theme ‘Towards 2050: Living in Harmony with Nature’.
Key Points:
i.The ACB represented a milestone for Member States of the ASEAN to implement the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).
ii.At the session, the ASEAN members mentioned the need for resources, financial support, and technology transfer for the developing countries to implement the Post-2020 GBF.
iii.The 5th Session of 3rd ACB 2020 was organized by the Government of Malaysia and its Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources with the ASEAN Center for Biodiversity.
Note – 4 sessions of the 3rd ACB 2020 were earlier conducted virtually from September to December 2020. The 1st ACB took place from 21-23 October 2009.
Overview of the 1st Draft of The Post-2020 GBF:
i.On 12 July 2021, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Secretariat released the 1st draft of a Post-2020 GBF to guide actions worldwide through 2030 to preserve and protect nature and its essential services to people.
ii.The framework includes 21 ‘action targets’ for 2030 to reduce the threats to biodiversity and meet people’s needs through sustainable use and benefit-sharing. The draft also proposed 4 goals to achieve by 2050.
iii.List of some of the Targets:
- To mitigate the emission of Gigatonnes of CO2 equivalent (GtCO2e) by 10 percent/year.
- To eliminate plastic discharge, and reduce pesticides by at least two thirds.
- To conserve at least 30 percent of land and sea areas globally, especially areas of importance for biodiversity and its contributions to people.
- To reduce the rate of introduction of invasive alien species by 50 percent, and control its eradication.
- A $US 200 billion increase in international financial flows to developing countries.
iv.As the ‘United Nations(UN) Decade on Biodiversity 2011-2020’ comes to an end, the ‘15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity’ (CBD COP 15) that is scheduled to take place in Kunming, China, from October 11-24, 2021, would involve into the development of GBF for 2020-2050 i.e Post-2020 GBF.
Recent Related News:
On 28th April 2021, Ministry of External Affairs Secretary (East) Mrs Riva Ganguly Das virtually co-chaired the 23rd ASEAN-India Senior Officials’ Meeting with Permanent Secretary of Thailand Mr Thani Thongphakdi.
About Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN):
i.It is an economic union founded to promote intergovernmental cooperation between Southeast Asian nations.
ii.The 10 ASEAN Member States: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
iii.The ASEAN region occupies 3 percent of the Earth’s land.
Establishment – 1967
Headquarters – Jakarta, Indonesia
Secretary-General – H.E. Dato Lim Jock Hoi (2018 -2022)
Chair for 2021 – Brunei Darussalam
