•Delegates at the talks say the last framework, called the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, partly failed because of a lack of financing and accountability.
•Tuya also said Kenya is demanding payments for traditional knowledge of communities whose resources are monetised.
Image: JOHN MUCHANGI
Kenya may not support a new deal to protect nature if it does not create a pot of money to fund conservation in poor countries, Environment CS Soipan Tuya has said.
CS Tuya said this money must be adequate, and come in a predictable and timely way.
Tuya spoke on Friday at the ongoing 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity talks in Montreal.
The talks are aimed at striking a new deal – by Monday – to stop and reverse biodiversity loss, which is mostly caused by human activities such as clearing forests and bushes for farming, mining and construction.
Tuya’s remarks mirrored the stance of African countries, which are richer in biodiversity compared to northern countries.
African and south American nations have demanded that northern countries – which are economically richer and poorer in biodiversity – contribute more money to help protect nature in countries in the global south.
Countries are currently debating the text of 22 proposed targets known as the Global Biodiversity Framework, which will guide the world to protect nature until 2030.
“Kenya re-affirms the importance of means of implementation as an integral part of the framework and stresses the need for urgent measures, including the provision of adequate, predictable and timely financial resources,” Tuya said while giving Kenya’s statement in the plenary.
She added: “And the establishment of a dedicated biodiversity fund to raise new and additional financial resources to support the effective implementation of the global biodiversity Framework.”
The amount of money needed to conserve biodiversity is estimated at about US$700 billion, according to most estimates given at the conference.
Biodiversity refers to all the different kinds of life found in one area—the variety of animals, plants, fungi, and even microorganisms like bacteria that make up the natural world.
Nations from the global north have rejected a new fund but said they are ready to give additional money through existing platforms such as the Global Environment Facility (GEF), which was created in 1991.
The European Union has committed to giving about 7 billion euros for global biodiversity financing until 2027.
US, which is not a member of UN CBD but is present in Montreal, promised to give $600 million over the next four years, through the Global Environment Facility.
Assistant secretary of state and special envoy for biodiversity and water resources Monica Medina told The Star US is not against African countries' proposal for a new fund but prefers a mechanism that works quickly.
“Some countries had also proposed a special fund within GEF. But we would support a mechanism that works quickly,” she said in an online interview.
Delegates at the talks say the last framework, called the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, partly failed because of a lack of financing and accountability.
CS Tuya said the new money the developing countries are demanding should not come from governments only, but also from corporations, and international organizations.
“We urge parties, leaders, business entities, international organizations and local communities to take urgent action, as well as renew commitment to resource mobilisation at all levels and from all sources in order to achieve the targets, mission and goals of the global biodiversity framework,” she said.
The wording of the GBF targets must be accepted by all nations for a deal to be reached by Monday, the last day of the meeting.
Tuya also said Kenya is demanding payments for traditional knowledge of communities whose resources are monetised.
Such compensation is already agreed on in the Nagoya Protocol, which Kenya is a party to, but it relates to moving physical materials such as herbs from a physical location.
However, nowadays scientists are able to sequence the genetic make-up of a herb, say, in Mau forest, and email the details to Europe where a similar plant can be created without moving a physical sample.
This process is called digital sequence information.
“Kenya welcomes…the integration of Digital sequence information as part of genetic resources and synthetic biology in the framework, as well as benefit sharing mechanisms that are consistent with the provisions of the Convention and Nagoya Protocol,” Tuya said.
This story was produced as part of the 2022 CBD COP15 Fellowship organised by Internews’ Earth Journalism Network.