Building momentum: Pledges increase to the Action Agenda following a joint call for action at NGO Parallel Forum

Some 50 pledges from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), businesses, local governments and other non-state actors based in China and abroad have been made to the Action Agenda for Nature and People following a joint call for action at the NGO Parallel Forum, held at part one of COP-15 from 27-28 September 2021.

This includes a 2.55 billion RMB biodiversity conservation pledge from 10 leading Chinese NGOs and companies.

Pledges aim to increase the participation of non-state actors in the development and implementation of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework; support national biodiversity strategies and action plans and national implementation; support strategies for biodiversity mainstreaming, with the engagement of indigenous peoples and local communities, women and youth; further promote education and public awareness; invest in biodiversity practices in China and abroad; and, mobilize non-state actors to catalyze further action in the context of COP-15, the post-2020 framework and the Action Agenda.
 

These announcement and commitments from non-state actors come at a critical time, as the 196 Parties to the CBD are currently negotiating the components of the draft post-2020 global biodiversity framework, due for adoption in Kunming, China later this year. The framework’s adoption will be an essential and urgent step in protecting the world’s biodiversity, guiding action on biodiversity for the next decade and beyond.

Commitments received have set time-bound targets for companies, non-governmental organizations, local governments and other non-state actors on different themes to address the drivers of biodiversity loss and achieve the needed transformational change. Themes vary from conservation and restoration of land ecosystems, the conservation and sustainable use of species to freshwater, coastal and ocean biodiversity, to urban sustainability, climate action and stewardship. Many of the commitments help enhance the involvement of indigenous peoples and local communities, women and youth.

By engaging actors other than national governments and mobilizing different sectors of society to understand and support the post-2020 framework, the intergovernmental process can benefit from good practices, including success stories from actors in different sectors, different regions and at different levels, to demonstrate what works well and what could work elsewhere.

Broader engagement could also facilitate creation of new multi-stakeholder partnerships and collaboration, test innovative approaches, mobilize private finance, offer new knowledge, and raise interest amongst sectors traditionally impacting biodiversity loss, in order, to account for dependencies and impacts, and ultimately to shift their practices.

Organizations making pledges include Lao Niu Foundation, Huatai Securities Co., Ltd. Yulong Wildlife Conservation Association, Astral ESG, Shanghai Pudong Yixing Biodiversity Research Center, Farmers’ Seed Network, China Blue Sustainability Institute and Wildbound.

The Forum was organized by the China Environmental Protection Foundation, the Global Environmental Institute, the Paradise International Foundation, SEE Foundation, All-China Environment Federation and ClientEarth, in collaboration with the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the China NGO Network for International Exchanges, and the CBD Secretariat.

Any non-state actor can make a commitment to the Action Agenda: