Biodiversity protection calls for real actions: China Daily editorial

Four years after the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework was adopted at the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity with the aim of halting and reversing the alarming rate of biodiversity loss, the first global progress report on nations' actions to meet the 23 targets set for 2030, released by the United Nations on Oct 15, presents a worrying picture.

The report shows that targets do not fully reflect the scope and ambition of the framework's global commitments, and implementation falls short even of those less ambitious targets. Unless collective implementation accelerates, meeting the 2030 targets will be "mission impossible".

Hence, COP17, which opened on Sunday in Yerevan, capital of Armenia, could not have a more urgent mandate for putting into effect its theme of "Taking Action for Nature".

As one of the most pressing challenges facing humanity, alongside climate change and environmental pollution, the global impact of biodiversity loss cannot be overstated. Preserving biodiversity is crucial for ecological balance and a sustainable future, as it is vital for the resilience of ecosystems that provide essential elements such as clean air and water.

The warning from the UN report that progress toward the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework targets remains uneven and far too slow must be heeded and acted on. Countries should strive harder to honor their commitments and quicken their steps to translate words into meaningful actions.

China's practical approach to addressing ecological challenges offers referential experience for other countries. Guided by the conviction that mountains, rivers, forests, farmland, lakes, grasslands and deserts form a single web of life, China has pursued a path of systematic governance and institutional safeguards. It has established ecological conservation red lines, built a conservation area system centered on national parks, and implemented major biodiversity protection projects. The country adopted its Ecological and Environmental Code earlier this year, further strengthening the legal foundation for ecological preservation.

These measures have enhanced the security of the nation's biodiversity, improving ecosystem stability and sustainability, as reflected in the continued population growth of wild plants and animals and the expansion of China's forest area.

The country's commitment to biodiversity conservation is manifest not only in its domestic initiatives and the central role it played in brokering the aforementioned framework, but also in the support it offers developing countries in strengthening their conservation capacity through such means as the Kunming Biodiversity Fund.

Noting that the fundamental drivers of ecosystem degradation have not been brought under control, Huang Runqiu, China's minister of ecology and environment, in his speech at the leaders' meeting of COP17 on Friday, highlighted the substantial global funding gap for biodiversity conservation, stressing that the international community needed to strengthen consensus and cooperation and take systemic, transformative action to achieve the agreed targets on time.

His message was clear: goals on paper must become results on the ground. Emphasizing that biodiversity conservation was a shared responsibility and mission of all humanity, he reaffirmed China's readiness to work with all parties to achieve the global targets through practical actions.

The road from Yerevan to 2030 will not be easy. But the progress review has revealed where the deepest gaps are — in subsidy reform, in finance, in the integration of biodiversity into economic decision-making. The lesson of the past four years is that progress is possible when commitments are backed by institutional mechanisms and legal frameworks, which is why China released guidelines for corporate biodiversity information disclosure recently, providing enterprises with a technical framework for identifying, assessing and disclosing their impact and dependencies on biodiversity.

The world needs more concrete actions, and needs them fast. COP17 should be the moment when the international community moves from reviewing its promises to delivering them so that the imperative goals set four years ago can be achieved, and global biodiversity governance can be strengthened for the sustainable development of humanity.