During the COP15 summit in Montreal where a draft deal calls on wealthy nations to increase financial aid to the developing world to $20 billion annually by 2025, to be increased to $30 billion per year by 2030, the Philippines called for the creation of a fund for the planet’s biodiversity, highlighting the need to invest in the protection of the land and sea.
“The Philippines envisions a future where biodiversity is restored and maintained to sustain healthy, resilient Filipino communities while delivering benefits to all,” said environment chief and Philippine delegation head Maria Antonio Yulo-Loyzaga in a speech Saturday.
The Philippines is one of the world’s most megadiverse countries and hosts the center of the center of global marine biodiversity.
The COP15 draft calls for the protection of 30 percent of the world’s land and sea by the end of this decade. Called the 30×30 target, it is seen to help address biodiversity loss but also combat climate change. The Philippines is a member of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People, which champions the ambitious 30×30 target.
The draft also includes language safeguarding the rights of indigenous peoples as stewards of their lands, a key demand from campaigners.
The text will need to be agreed upon by the 196 signatories to the Convention of Biological Diversity before it is finalized.
As one of the world’s most megadiverse countries and also among the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, the Philippines needs all the help it can get, especially from the international community. If approved, the COP15 draft that we are championing could go a long way in providing the necessary financial support needed by developing countries to protect their land and sea and everything that thrives in or on it.*
