China asks intl community to help Global South implement biodiversity targets

China has called on the international community to provide countries in the Global South with greater financial, technological and capacity-building support in the lead-up to the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Huang Runqiu, China's minister of ecology and environment, made the remarks on Friday at the leaders' summit of COP17. The UN gathering is scheduled to last from Oct 19 to 30 in Yerevan, Armenia.

China has established ecological conservation red lines, built a protected area system centered on national parks and carried out major biodiversity conservation projects, Huang said. These measures have enhanced ecosystem diversity, stability and sustainability, while populations of wild plants and animals have continued to grow.

He said China has also worked with other parties to advance the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework through an implementation initiative and the Green Belt and Road Initiative. It took the lead in establishing and contributing to the Kunming Biodiversity Fund to help developing countries strengthen their conservation capacity.

Noting that implementation of the framework has reached the halfway point, Huang urged the international community to translate global targets into national policies and practical measures.

He called for stronger financial, technological and capacity-building support for developing countries to ensure the framework is implemented in a comprehensive, balanced and effective manner.

China stands ready to work with all parties to turn global biodiversity goals into concrete action and build a community of all life on Earth, Huang said.

Adopted at COP15 in late 2022 under China's presidency, the framework has four long-term goals for 2050 and 23 action-oriented global targets over the decade to 2030. It aims to ensure that by 2030 at least 30 percent of degraded terrestrial, inland water, and marine and coastal ecosystems are under effective restoration.