It was seen as a victory in 2022 when the world’s countries succeeded in agreeing in Montreal on a global agreement to stop and reverse the loss of biodiversity on earth by 2030.
But after the continued negotiations in Cali in Colombia last year collapsed without any money or a finished plan for exactly how it should go, experts are now talking about a backlash for nature.
Tense external situation makes it difficult
Torbjörn Eberhard is a research leader at the Center for Biodiversity at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. He was involved in negotiating the agreement in 2022, and is now concerned about the delay.
– The nature crisis is acute. Every month, every year when countries discuss instead of starting and working, is important.
Today’s new tense situation between different great powers does not make the situation easier, when the parties now meet again in Rome a week to try to get the last parts in place in just three days.
– The moods in the outside world also affect. Not least the war in Ukraine and Russia’s aggression have left their mark. People see about their house in a different way, think more about defense and have the tags outward rather than collaborating and stave off other problems.
Sharp decrease in wild vertebrates
The World Wildlife Fund’s Living Planet Report 2024 showed that populations of crawfish, amphibians, mammals and birds have decreased by an average of 73 percent since 1970, and that climate change continues to press both humans and animals. Now the organization requires the countries to agree.
– If we do nothing now, the measures are required to be even more and considerably more expensive, says Ankin Ljungman, Policy Manager at WWF.
See the biggest challenges that the negotiators face in the video above.