The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and Future Earth on Tuesday, December 12, 2017 agreed to strengthen their collaboration around a number of key areas.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU), signed at at the 21st meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice, being held from December 11 to 14 in Montreal, Canada, is geared towards facilitating collaboration between CBD Parties to achieve shared goals and objectives on the conservation, protection, enhancement and support of nature and natural resources, and to mainstream biodiversity into different sectors.
The agreement marks an important commitment by both organisations to jointly strive to achieve the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
“As the world takes the steps to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity and build a sustainable future, the Convention on Biological Diversity relies on partners like Future Earth for the evidence-base for policy decisions and action,” said Dr. Cristiana Paşca Palmer, CBD Executive Secretary.
“The discussions of the post-2020 period will be about transitions of socio-ecological systems and will require that we all harness the opportunities provided by disruption. Our work with Future Earth will ensure that as we move forward towards the 2050 vision of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity, we are guided by the best available science from around the world.”
Based on the agreement, the CBD Secretariat and Future Earth agreed to strengthen their collaboration to:
- Support the development of plausible pathways towards the 2050 Vision of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 by mobilising scientific communities and providing scientific knowledge
- Align relevant research priorities in Future Earth with policy needs identified in the context of the CBD such as in support of the Convention’s work on biodiversity and health
- Support the mainstreaming of biodiversity as an important consideration in other sectors of society.
“We know that biodiversity underpins all aspects of sustainability – from clean air and drinking water to the wellbeing of people living in cities and rural areas alike. Future Earth is excited to work with CBD to help bring a consideration of biodiversity into the mainstream, ensuring that it is embedded into critical international sustainability efforts,” said Amy Luers, Executive Director of Future Earth.
Future Earth and the CBD recently worked together to launch a project called Natural Systems and Sustainable Cities, which builds on the successful Cities Biodiversity Outlook undertaken by the CBD and its partners. This project aims at assessing areas where urban growth is likely to have the greatest impact on biodiversity and ecosystems. Future Earth and the CBD will also collaborate with governments at various levels to develop tools and best practices to support efforts to to foster biodiversity through urban design, planning, development and management.
“This partnership is very important to Future Earth. It will enable us to provide the evidence-based knowledge the world needs to make the transformational changes that are at the heart of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, the 2050 Vision and the Sustainable Development Goals,” said Anne-Helene Prieur-Richard, Director of the Future Earth Global Hub in Montreal, Canada.
“Nature-based solutions, building on biodiversity, are an example of these transformational changes, which are already arising around the globe. A science-based assessment of opportunities, constraints and impacts for these solutions will be key for efficient and long-term policy-decision and the maintenance of biodiversity and critical ecosystem services.”
