The Kunming Declaration, the newest globally-recognized agreement on biological diversity, calls for urgent and integrated action for transformative change for nature and people in order to stop the ongoing biodiversity crisis.

The document was adopted on Wednesday at the first part of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.

It recognizes that main direct drivers of biodiversity loss remain "land/sea use change, overexploitation, climate change, pollution and invasive alien species."

The document stresses the urgent need of integrated action to find the future path of nature and people, "where biodiversity is conserved and used sustainably, and the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources are shared fairly and equitably, as an integral part of sustainable development."

World leaders pledged to reverse "current loss of biodiversity and ensure that biodiversity is put on a path to recovery by 2030 at the latest, towards the full realization of the 2050 Vision of 'Living in Harmony with Nature.'"

They also committed to increase the "provision of financial, technological and capacity building support to developing countries to implement the post 2020 global biodiversity framework and in line with the provisions of the Convention."

Participants from around the world are meeting online for the United Nation's biodiversity conference hosted by southwest China's Kunming City from October 11 to 15 to discuss the conservation of ecosystems and prevention of severe biodiversity loss.

The conference, delayed due to COVID-19, aims to roll out the action plans for the next 10 years in terms of conserving the natural world. The second part is scheduled offline from April 25 to May 8, 2022, where countries are due to agree on the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.

According to the Living Planet Report 2020 by the World Wildlife Fund, global biodiversity loss is at its worst. The report found an average 68 percent decrease in the population sizes of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish between 1970 and 2016. It also pointed out a 94 percent decline in the tropical subregions of the Americas, which is the largest fall observed in any part of the world. 

(Cover image by Fang Qiaoran)

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