While the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) attempts to deal with the indirect and direct drivers of biodiversity decline, as outlined by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and the Global Biodiversity Outlook Reports, it remains glaringly weak, with serious and severe gaps.
We wonder, where does the Post-2020 GBF deal with the all-important role of agricultural biodiversity and their stewards?
Not only is agricultural biodiversity directly linked to all the elements of the Convention for Biological diversity (CBD), it is essential as we look forward to safeguarding such biodiversity into the future- for restoration, food security and building resilience in the face of an ever-changing climate . It is fundamental that the Post-2020 GBF makes specific reference to the rights and roles of smallholder farmers and their on-farm work in relation to the conservation and sustainable use of agricultural biodiversity into the text.
The focus under Target 10 on productivity, not relevant to the CBD, should be removed. Specific references to agroecology should be supported and the interconnectedness between agroecology and the maintenance of biodiversity including agricultural biodiversity. Parties should commit to achieving food systems that serve people and planet grounded in human rights, biodiversity, ecological integrity and socio-ecological wellbeing.
While Target 4 refers to in-situ conservation (although still in brackets), specific reference should be made to agriculture biodiversity and its contribution to the conservation and development of plant genetic resources, which constitute the basis of food and agriculture security throughout the world as contemplated by the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA). The objectives of the ITPGRFA specifically require that the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture be in harmony with the CBD, for sustainable agriculture and food security. Conversely, the goals and targets of the GBF can only be achieved if closely linked to the ITPGRFA.
During the Working Group on the Post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), held in Nairobi, Kenya, 21 – 26 July 2022, ACB’s research and advocacy officer, Linzi Lewis, raised critical concerns regarding the negotiations.
The three-part submission, published by the ECO 2022 CBD Alliance, point to the failure of the negotiations to date highlighting global inequalities, and touches on some of the key issues under discussion, and the implications especially for Africa and its food and agriculture systems.
Lewis further highlights that even though the GBF attempts to deal with the indirect and direct drivers of biodiversity decline, it remains glaringly weak, with serious and severe gap that fails to address the rights and roles of smallholder farmers and their on-farm work in relation to the conservation and sustainable use of agricultural biodiversity. And, urges that specific reference should be made to agriculture biodiversity and its contribution to the conservation and development of plant genetic resources, which constitute the basis of food and agriculture security throughout the world as contemplated by the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA).
For further reading:
Who will fund biodiversity conservation, and its implications for Africa
The failure of multilateralism – and rise of corporate capture of the CBD
