Conference of the Parties 11: Outcomes

During the eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, which was held in Hyderabad, the world’s governments have agreed to increase funding in support of actions to halt the rate of loss of biodiversity at the.

The Saragasso Sea, the Tonga archipelago and key corals sites off the coast of Brazil are among a range of marine areas to receive special attention by governments as part of renewed efforts to sustainably manage the world's oceans agreed.

Other key decisions taken at the 11th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 11) include new measures to factor biodiversity into environmental impact assessments linked to infrastructure and other development projects in marine and coastal areas.

Salient outcomes are:

For the first time, developing countries at COP 11, including India and several African states, pledged additional funds above and beyond their core funding towards the work of the CBD.

The conference also saw the launch of the Hyderabad Call for Biodiversity Champions.  The programme will accept pledges from governments and organizations in support of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity. The government of India committed over US$ 50 million as part of the programme.

The 193 Parties to the CBD agreed to classify a diverse list of marine areas, some renowned for containing ‘hidden treasures’ of the plant and animal world, as ecologically or biologically significant. Parties to the Convention also called for more research into the potential adverse effects of underwater noise from ships on marine and coastal biodiversity, and highlighted the growing concern on the adverse effects of marine litter. It also recognized the growing challenge of climate change impacts on coral reefs, which, Parties agreed, will require significant investment to overcome.  There was also a call to fisheries management bodies to play a stronger role in addressing the impacts of fisheries on biodiversity.

COP 11 also agreed to a number of measures to engage the main economic sectors, such as business and development organizations, to integrate biodiversity objectives in their plans and programmes.

A decision on climate change and biodiversity called for enhanced collaboration between the CBD and UN climate change initiatives including Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) Given that forests are home to more than half of all terrestrial species, initiatives such as REDD+, where developing countries can receive payments for carbon offsets for their standing forests, can potentially help achieve international biodiversity targets, as well as those concerned with cutting carbon emissions.  The decision covers technical advice on the conservation of forests, sustainable management of forests, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks.  However the COP also noted discussions around the need for biodiversity safeguards relating to REDD+ and similar incentives. Actions such as afforestation in areas of high biodiversity value, or the conversion of natural forests to plantations, for example, may have adverse impacts on biodiversity.

Further together with FAO and other organizations, the CBD Secretariat will establish a global 'Collaborative Partnership on Sustainable Wildlife Management' to support developing countries in the implementation of relevant CBD provisions.

The Conference welcomed the establishment of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) earlier this year and recognized the potential contribution it could make to enhance the effectiveness of the Convention. COP requested IPBES to contribute to assessments of the achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. It was decided that the Convention's Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice at its next meeting would provide additional explanatory information on the tasks requested from IPBES and that it would convey this information to IPBES before the its second plenary meeting at the end of 2013.