The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is a treaty put into effect on the 29th of December, 1993, and ratified by over 30 countries. The treaty focuses on multilateral conservation strategies that span the entire world. It was a part of an awaking and global push in the 1990’s to make biodiversity conservation a reality. Under the UN website for the convention, I came across their thematic programs page and looked into work being done to sustain forest biodiversity. I was able to find a document regarding an initiative first talked about in 2007 and then formalized in 2010 known as REDD+, which is an incentive mechanism with a goal of reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (hence acronym REDD). The document titled “Biodiversity and livelihoods, REDD-plus Benefits” that they have published explains how the convention members, particularly the developing member states use UN funding and resources to achieve sustainable management of forests in an effort to improve the forest carbon stocks, which is the amount of carbon taken out of the atmosphere by a forest and stored and used in the ecosystem it houses. The publication goes on to explain that REDD operates in three phases. Phase one consists of developing action plans and strategies, while phase two initiates technology development and transfer particularly to developing parts of the world. The third and final phase assesses the actions taken, measures and reports their implementation and effects to ensure progressive work is being done. Some of the main goals of the convention highlighted for the period of 2011-2020, included slashing the rate of loss of all natural habitats by 50% or even 100% where possible, and to conserve at a minimum 17% of global terrestrial and inland water areas. Subsequent publications by the UN in the coming months and years will explore whether such goals were meet in full or partially, however, frequent notification on the website confirm at least some significant success with such programs. The document went on to conclude that a long journey still lays ahead for achieving their multiple goals and benefits, however it will further heavily require multi-scale collaboration and contribution of multiple new and not yet ratified nation actors in the near future if the program as a whole is to succeed1.
References:
[1] “Biodiversity and Livelihoods REDD-plus Benefits”, 2011, published by Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, United Nations Environment Programme.
Applied Plant Ecology Winter 2020 