A United Nations summit on Monday approved the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, a deal to protect nature and fund conservation efforts.

The deal was adopted in Montreal, Canada, at the 15th Conference of Parties (COP 15) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

Who all have signed the deal?

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) reflects the joint leadership of China and Canada and is the culmination of four years of work toward creating an agreement to guide global conservation efforts through 2030.

Representatives of 188 governments have agreed upon the GBF's goals and targets. This includes 95 percent of the 196 parties of the UN CBD as well as two non-Parties: the United States and The Vatican.

Member countries at the 2022 UN Biodiversity Conference had been negotiating a text proposed on Sunday and talks addressing the finer points of the deal dragged on until Monday morning.

It finally led to the formation of the GBF which has four goals and 23 targets for achievement by 2030.

Why was there a need for this deal?

More than 1 million species could vanish by the century's end, from plants to insects, in what scientists have called a sixth mass-extinction event. As much as 40 percent of the world's land has been degraded, and wildlife population sizes have shrunk dramatically since 1970.

"Governments have chosen the right side of history in Montreal," said World Wildlife Fund International Director General Marco Lambertini.

What's in the deal?

In order to tackle the issue of degenerating biological diversity, the GBF set up four goals.

The first goal is to maintain, enhance or restore the integrity, connectivity and resilience of all ecosystems, increasing the area of natural ecosystems by 2050.

The second goal is to ensure that biodiversity is sustainably used and managed and to value, maintain and restore nature's contribution to people.

The third goal is to protect traditional knowledge while sharing fairly and equitably the monetary and non-monetary benefits of using genetic resources and digital sequence information of genetic resources, with the knowledge holders.

Ultimately, the fourth goal is to adequately implement the GBF in a secure and equitable manner accessible to all parties.

Also read: COP15: India calls for new, dedicated fund for biodiversity conservation

The agreement, which contains 23 targets in total, replaces the 2010 Aichi Biodiversity Targets that were intended to guide conservation through 2020. None of those goals were achieved, and no single country met all 20 of the Aichi targets.

Unlike Aichi, this deal contains more quantifiable targets — such as reducing harmful subsidies given to industry by at least $500 billion per year — that should make it easier to track and report progress.

Delegates were able to build consensus around the deal's most ambitious target of protecting 30 percent of the world's land and seas by the decade's end, a goal known as 30-by-30.

The deal directs countries to allocate $200 billion per year for biodiversity initiatives from both public and private sectors.

Developed countries will provide $25 billion in annual funding starting in 2025 and $30 billion per year by 2030.

Investment firms focused on a target in the deal recommending that companies analyse and report how their operations affect and are affected by biodiversity issues.

The parties agreed to large companies and financial institutions being subject to requirements to make disclosures regarding their operations, supply chains and portfolios - but the word "mandatory" was dropped from previous drafts.

What do parties have to say about the deal?

"We think this is something that is going to push the financial sector to step up," said Ingrid Kukuljan, head of impact and sustainable investing at fund manager Federated Hermes.

"This time around we actually need implementation .... we are facing an unprecedented rate of decline," she said.

Also read: COP15: Over 3 million sign petition for protection of 50% of world's biodiversity

Canada Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault called the agreement "a major win for our planet and for all of humanity, charting a new course away from the relentless destruction of habitats and species."

"We have huge achievements in this text now," EU Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius told reporters after the deal passed. "It was huge effort to find the landing zone and get everyone on board."

Another negotiator said he thought it was a balanced agreement but that "a good deal always leaves everyone somewhat unhappy."

Why are some regions objecting to this deal?

Objections from key African nations, home to large tracts of tropical rainforest, held up the deal's final passage. Furthermore, division over how to fund conservation efforts in developing countries led to fiery negotiations at the end.

With China holding the COP15 presidency, Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu appeared to disregard objections from the delegation of the Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday, declaring the deal passed minutes after they said they were not able to support it.

A Congolese representative argued that developed nations should create a separate fund to help support conservation efforts in developing countries.

DRC is the second-largest tropical forested country in the world and home to the greatest extent of African tropical rainforest, giving it a crucial role in the future of the planet's biodiversity.

Huang declared shortly after 2 pm IST that the deal was agreed, drawing outrage from other African delegates.

Also read: UN recognises Ganges project among 10 initiatives restoring natural world

A representative from Cameroon said through a translator that the agreement was passed by force of hand. Another from Uganda invoked a "coup d'etat".

However, at a second meeting Monday evening, the DRC appeared to walk back its outright objection, downgrading them to "reservations" on financing and resource mobilization.

"We'd like to have this clearly placed on record," said DRC Environment Minister Eve Bazaiba. "I would like to reiterate our readiness to participate in any process of negotiations until COP16. We do hope our voice will be heard".

The DRC statement followed a 30-minute huddle of roughly a dozen members of delegations from Brazil, Indonesia and the DRC - the world's three most rainforest-rich nations - witnessed by Reuters.

Brazil ultimately helped to broker a solution, with the support of Indonesia, "whereby no questions would be left regarding the legality of the approval of the (deal)," a negotiator said. "There are no longer grounds to question the legality and legitimacy of the agreement."

Minister Huang highlighted the DRC's important influence in global biodiversity governance and thanked the country for its support.

The agreement, also, "can be undermined by slow implementation and failure to mobilize the promised resources," said Lambertini. "It also lacks a mandatory ratcheting mechanism that will hold governments accountable to increase action if targets are not met."

What role does India play?

Signatories of the deal, including India, have committed to reduce the use of pesticides and hazardous chemicals by half by 2030. This was one of the more controversial targets at the conference.

When food security is of utmost importance for developing countries, prescribing numerical targets in pesticide reductions is unnecessary and must be left to countries to decide, based on national circumstances, priorities and capabilities, India had said.

Earlier drafts put a target of reducing pesticides by two thirds.

Also read: 'Our future, our voice': What India’s youth want from COP15

With inputs from Reuters.

(Edited by : Ayushi Agarwal)

First Published:Dec 20, 2022 12:10 PM IST