New Delhi: India and other South Asian countries together face a formidable development challenges and barriers that are strengthened by weak socio-economic status and the existence of people who depend on natural resources, environmental minister Union Bhupender Yadav said on Thursday.
Overcoming the consultation of South Asia about the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, attended by nearly by representatives from Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, Yadav said this regional consultation among countries in South Asia assumed relevant by maintaining discussion momentum Global and negotiations in the field of global biodiversity framework.
“As you know, South Asia, with more than 1.97 billion human populations and high biodiversity, form important areas in the world.
Our territory is united by historical, geographical, political, and ecological threats.
We are all countries.
On Fast economic development pathways.
We, therefore, together face a formidable developmental challenges and barriers that are strengthened by weak socio-economic status and the existence of communities that depend on high natural resources in our region, “he said.
“Consultation in the two-way regions among countries in South Asia assumes great relevance.
I understand that the results of this consultation will consume a global meeting of the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) planned in March 2022 in Geneva and then in a big meeting of COP to -15 CBD in China in April-May 2022, “said Minister in his speech.
He also said biological diversity laws will be implemented to further emphasize the interests of the local community and to encourage research in the field of biodiversity to make changes needed in policies to ensure more access & benefit sharing (ABS).
“We need to encourage investment for sustainable use with the regulations needed to increase ABS funds, which can be used for biodiversity conservation and repair of local communities,” added the minister.
He said it also needed that tribal and other local communities that fostered or carried out other activities for their livelihoods must be released from the biodiversity law to find a balance between the development of local communities and biodiversity conservation.
The two-day virtual-cum meeting, which was held in the National Capital, was also attended by representatives from the Secretariat of the Biodiversity Convention, Montreal; Global environmental facilities, Washington; French Embassy in New Delhi; UNDP-India; IUCN office in Canada and Singapore; National Geographic, USA, and Campaign for Nature, Montreal.
Yadav also said the country subscribed to the theory and practice of green infrastructure development and ‘development with design’ in particular “in the linear infrastructure sector that we built to promote economic development, conservation and connectivity.” He said conservation was prevailed in all economic development sectors under the philosophy of “development without destruction”.
The minister said India has joined more than 75 countries which are part of 30 by 30 high ambition coalitions (HAC) for nature and humans.
In South Asia, Pakistan and Maldives have joined HAC.
He urged other countries to join HAC and also requested global environmental facilities (GEF), Biodiversity Conventions (CBD) and campaigns for nature and others to ensure timely and adequate resources for developing countries.
The minister said the two-day regional consultation will help in developing a strategy that will consume the Global CBD meeting planned in March, 20022 in Geneva and for the 15th Conference of the CBD in China in April-May, 2022.
In his speech, the environmental secretary Leena Nandan said this convention was a historical milestone to develop a South Asian perspective and called for innovative financing from GEF.