This December, close to 200 countries will be meeting in Montreal to confirm a ‘landmark deal to safeguard nature.’ In short, this could be the last chance for nature.
The head of Natural England, Tony Juniper, has said this is the ‘best and last chance’ to reverse the decline in the natural world.
Mr Juniper told the BBC that the United Nations need to come together in agreement at the COP15 UN Biodiversity Conference next month.
‘This isn’t just about saving rare species’, he said.
‘It’s about sustaining the web of life upon which humankind ultimately depends, for food, water, health and climate regulation.’
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‘The defining crises of our time’
Next week Natural England and other UK government agencies will be setting out their plan for protecting the natural world at the Royal Society in London.
The minister for international nature, Lord Benyon, told the BBC that a protected environment is ‘the cornerstone of a healthy climate, secure and clean water supplies and a resilient food supply.’
At the COP27 climate conference earlier this month, the head of climate policy at WWF, Dr Fernanda Carvalho, told the BBC that ‘we have to remember that the climate crisis and the biodiversity crisis are the defining crises of our time.’
‘If they are not tackled, we may not have a planet to live on’.
Progress?
The UK government has said it will commit to a goal of protecting 30% of land and sea by 2030.
However, the Wildlife Trusts say that there hasn’t been enough progress – and that only 3% of land and 8% of the sea have been effectively protected by 2022.
The COP15 biodiversity conference in Canada is three years late, as its original date has been repeatedly rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. If this really is the last chance for nature, we desperately hope it works!
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