Rights-based approaches in the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework
By Ghanimat Azhdari
November 18, 2020
It is with deep sadness and respect for our friend and colleague Ghanimat Azhdari that we publish this blog post she was working on before she died earlier in 2020. This month we remember her contributions at the CBD meetings held in 2019 in Montreal, Canada and continue to honour her legacy.
Between November 17th and December 3rd, 2019 the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) held a series of meetings in Montreal, Canada. The purpose of these meetings was to develop a “post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework” as a stepping stone towards the 2050 Vision of "Living in harmony with nature":
"By 2050, biodiversity is valued, conserved, restored and wisely used, maintaining ecosystem services, sustaining a healthy planet and delivering benefits essential for all people" (CBD Secretariat, 2010).
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) entered into force on 29 December 1993 with three objectives:
The conservation of biological diversity
The sustainable use of the components of biological diversity
The fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources
Countries that are signatories to the CBD (“the Parties”) negotiated the Aichi biodiversity targets in 2010. Many countries are not on track to meet these targets, which are part of the CBD’s Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020. With the current targets expiring at the end of 2020, the Parties have begun to develop the “post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework,” which will include a new set of targets. In November 2019, the Parties and interested observers met in Montreal to provide input to the development of these new targets for 2030.
Increasingly, governments and scientists recognize that territories governed or managed by Indigenous peoples and local communities contain high levels of biodiversity and cultural diversity. Further, the knowledge and practices of these peoples have contributed to the conservation of ecosystems, species, and genetic diversity.
Indigenous Peoples, youth, women, and members of the Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership made important interventions during these meetings to advance rights-based approaches to conservation.
Here are some highlights from these meetings:
The Global Thematic Dialogue for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework focused on Indigenous Peoples’ views on goals and targets, and their implementation post-2020.
A new potential target for Indigenous Peoples and local communities to further develop for the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework is:
“Full and appropriate recognition of and support for indigenous peoples’ and communities’ rights and responsibilities to their collective territories, lands and waters, in accordance with their self-determined customary laws, governance systems and management practices.”
The Eleventh meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions of the CBD focused on links between nature and culture. Article 8(j) of the CBD refers to the respect, preservation, and maintenance of Indigenous knowledge, as well as the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of this knowledge.
The Working Group approved draft recommendations to forward to the Conference of the Parties, which included suggestions related to the development of new institutional arrangements on Article 8(j) as well as options for integrating nature and culture in the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.
Delegates to the 23rd meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical, and Technological Advice of the CBD provided draft recommendations to the Conference of the Parties on the following agenda items:
Links between nature and culture;
New and emerging issues;
Biodiversity and climate change;
Ecologically or biologically significant marine areas in the north-east Atlantic Ocean;
Sustainable wildlife management;
Technical and scientific cooperation; and
Scientific and technical base of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.
The final Thematic Workshop on Area-based Conservation Measures was attended by delegates, Civil Society Organizations, and a few Indigenous Peoples’ Organizations. Participants discussed lessons learned during implementation of Aichi Target 11 (part of the 2020 targets), as well as post-2020 targets. Participants debated components of the post-2020 framework related to actions and sub-targets with appropriate indicators and monitoring mechanisms for area-based conservation measures. These components are:
Scope of area-based conservation measures to be included in the post-2020 framework (e.g. protected areas, “other effective area-based conservation measures”—OECMs, Indigenous lands, etc.);
Representativeness (i.e. especially areas of importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services);
Connectivity (i.e. enhancing a cohesive network of areas important for biodiversity and ecosystem services) and the ecosystem approach;
Effectiveness (i.e. including means to improve and strengthen conservation effectiveness);
Equity, good governance, and benefit-sharing;
Land- and sea-scape approaches to enhance conservation outcomes and sustainable use, including spatial planning; and
Baseline and indicators for effective monitoring.
Here is a clip of Ghanimat making a statement at one of the 2019 CBD meetings in Montreal: https://twitter.com/i/status/1199882460714225664
In negotiation for post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, conservation of biodiversity should be achieved in an equitable manner, with full recognition and respect for IPs' conservation practices.
— Ghanimat Azhdari (@GhanimatAzh) November 28, 2019
(Agenda item 3 statement)@IIFB_indigenous @ICCAConsortium @IndgLed_Conserv pic.twitter.com/gTyhHtat9n
Ghanimat (front, second from left) at the CBD meetings in Montreal in December 2019 (Photo Credit: Larry McDermott)
In Memory of Ghanimat
We tragically lost our beloved colleague, Ghanimat Azhdari, on flight 752 on January 8, 2020. Ghanimat began her PhD studies with Dr. Faisal Moola in biocultural conservation in September 2019 at the University of Guelph’s Geography, Environment and Geomatics program. She was a student researcher with the Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership and was a much-respected emerging young scholar.
Ghanimat was a proud member of the Qashaqi tribe in Iran and a powerful and passionate young leader, at the international level, in advancing the rights of Indigenous Peoples. She was a founding member of UNINOMAD, a civil-society organization that represented Iran’s Nomadic and Tribal Peoples and helped negotiate International conservation agreements that advanced Indigenous bio-cultural knowledge as part of the Conservation on Biological Diversity policy processes.
Ghanimat was a lovely, warm, generous and kind person. Messages of heartbreak have poured in from around the world demonstrating the far-reaching and lasting impact Ghanimat has had.
The University of Guelph has created a scholarship to honour the victims of the plane crash. The graduate scholarship will be named for Ghanimat Azhdari along with Milad Ghasemi Ariani: https://news.uoguelph.ca/2020/03/u-of-g-creates-scholarships-to-honour-plane-crash-victims/
While we are heartbroken by the loss of Ghanimat, we find comfort knowing that her work will live on through the Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership and others committed to advancing Indigenous-led conservation around the world, including her friends and colleagues through the ICCA Consortium.