Conservationists take negative stock one year after nature agreement
Published: Monday, Dec 18th 2023, 12:30
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One year after the World Summit on Nature in Montreal, Swiss nature and environmental protection organizations are criticizing Switzerland's lack of commitment to protecting biodiversity. From a global perspective, however, there has also been some progress.
Exactly one year ago, around 200 countries agreed in Montreal to better protect nature. The Montreal Convention on Biological Diversity (Canada) of December 19, 2022 includes 23 goals to be achieved by 2030. These include the sustainable use and restoration of nature. What progress has been made so far?
The UN Environment Program (Unep) sees important progress in the financing of nature conservation. "The establishment of the Global Fund for Nature Conservation in August was an important step towards mobilizing the necessary resources," said David Ainsworth, spokesperson for the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. The fund was one of the goals of the World Summit on Nature by 2030.
Switzerland criticized
However, Swiss environmental organizations see little reason to celebrate. Rather than using effective nature conservation, Switzerland is trying to achieve one of its most important goals with embellished figures, wrote the environmental organization Pro Natura in a press release on Monday.
It refers to the goal of effectively protecting 30 percent of the world's land and sea area by 2030. According to Pro Natura, Switzerland has the lowest proportion of protected areas in Europe. In addition, according to the nature conservation organization, Switzerland also counts areas towards the global target whose protective effect is minimal or limited in time.
The bird protection organization Birdlife Switzerland also emphasized in a press release on Monday that Switzerland still has a great need for action. Massive efforts by the federal government and cantons are needed to improve the quality of existing areas and quickly secure additional areas for biodiversity.
©Keystone/SDA
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