Our member Rory Canavan just returned to the UK after the end of COP15 kindly shares with all of us a brief reflection on the event with a restoration insight:
On the 19th December 2022, 192 countries in Montreal, agreed to halt and reverse the decline of nature by 2030. The current and ongoing devastating decline in biodiversity desperately needed the world to come together and agree a new Global Biodiversity Framework for people and planet. The agreement is a significant breakthrough for biodiversity after decades of continuing failure. There are several notable developments, including some issues which remain unsettled.
Of particular note for the restoration community, is for the first time biodiversity action has a clear goal to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030. This includes the adoption of the 30×30 target to secure the effective conservation of 30% of the world’s lands, seas and inland waters. Crucially, this also includes securing the funds necessary to finance a transition towards a more nature positive world by filling the $700 billion (€659 billion) annual deficit in nature finance. Ultimately, finance can be held to account to align with the goals of halting and reversing biodiversity loss and scaling up restoration. This is significant, as the failure of the previous framework, i.e. 2010 Aichi Biodiversity Targets, was largely due to the failure to mobilise finance.
Additionally, there has been considerable corporate interest with Target 15, which relates to private sector reporting and disclosure on the adverse impacts on biodiversity.  However, there is a risk of a disconnect between corporate strategies and ESG reporting with actual on the ground restoration.  This is where the restoration community is uniquely positioned to proactively engage, support and guide projects to ensure they are ecologically coherent and meaningful.
The author also recommends some links for further insight:
  • Full recording of Restoration Day (December 13) at COP15 (+10 hr video), see programme of the day too. It includes some notable presentations, including the youth contingent but also on the monitoring front and deployment of digital tech.
  • Recording of the presentation of the first 10 UN World Restoration Flagships (1hr video). Read this detailed UNEP news on the Restoration Flagships, with a small European representation at Serbia, by a multi-country mountain restoration initiative.
Also of interest is this review of all the activity that SER International engaged with at Montreal, including a meeting with the MEP Cesar Luena, rapporteur of the Nature Restoration Law as the European Parliament discusses its approval.
Photos by Rory Canavan, except the last on the MEP – SER meeting, by the MEP team.