PS FOR ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE DR SIVENDRA MICHAEL'S NATIONAL STATEMENT AT THE OPENING PLENARY OF THE COP16 TO THE CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

23/10/2024


President of the CBD COP16
Heads of States
Honorable Ministers
Excellencies
Esteemed Delegates
Ladies and Gentlemen
 
On behalf of the Government of Fiji, I would like to thank the Government of Colombia for your warm hospitality and ongoing leadership as the host of COP 16. I also wish to acknowledge the hard work and commitment of the CBD Secretariat.

Report on National Progress 
COP16 must deliver outcomes that translate to the urgent action required globally to disrupt humankind’s destruction of nature and the trends that continue to push the limits of what the natural world can withstand and survive. The generations that are represented here today inherited economic systems and practices that have eroded biodiversity with abandon. The current rate of global biodiversity loss is estimated to be 100 to 1000 times higher than the naturally occurring background extinction rate. It is now incumbent upon us that we do not pass on this same modus operandi to the next generation.   
 
Ladies and Gentlemen, it is vital that we take decisive actions to not only halt but to reverse this crisis of biodiversity loss by 2030, as we collectively committed to in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
 
Fiji remains firmly committed to this global target and we have submitted our revised national biodiversity targets and are in the process of aligning our National Biodiversity Strategic Action Plan to the Global Biodiversity Framework.  Our efforts reflect not only our commitment to global agreements but the real and tangible urgency we feel on a daily basis as we grapple with both the impacts of climate change and the difficult trade-offs involved with balancing economic development, social protection, and environmental conservation priorities across all sectors of our economy and society.
 
Fiji is committed to integrating a whole-of-society approach in the development of our revised NBSAP and ensuring human rights-based approaches are at the core of our actions.

Fiji’s National Development Plan 2025-2029 and Vision 2050 puts in place policies and strategies to conserve our environment and strengthen resilience to the impacts of climate change and natural disasters. Our work on the revised NBSAP is at the core of Fijis NDP; where Fiji remains committed to fully protect 30%, and sustainably manage 100% of Fiji’s waters under the Exclusive Economic Zones. These are targets that we have enshrined in national law through our Climate Change Act passed by Fiji’s Parliament in 2021.
 
Fiji will continue to ensure the alignment between required actions to address biodiversity loss and the commitments and actions we take to address and manage the climate crisis. We know all too well that these human-induced crises are intertwined and inherently linked. Aligning our revised NBSAPs, Nationally Determined Contributions, National Adaptation Plans, and other international commitments, remains essential to maximizing the effectiveness of our efforts.

Announcement of Regional Initiatives
We continue to work closely with traditional custodians of our natural resources, ensuring that their knowledge and rights are protected and incorporated into national policies.
 
In Fiji, we have seen success through several biodiversity initiatives that can serve as models for others. Our BIODEV Project, which focuses on ecosystem restoration and sustainable land management, is aligned with the KMGBF and has been instrumental in building climate resilience while protecting biodiversity.

Through our Ridge-to-Reef and conservation programs, we are safeguarding critical ecosystems across our terrestrial and marine environments, recognizing the interconnectedness of our natural systems.

We are also expanding our network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), ensuring the preservation of our vital coastal and coral reef ecosystems, which are the lifeblood of our marine biodiversity and key to our people's livelihoods.
 
Challenges
Fiji remains deeply concerned about the ambition and quality of the revised NBSAPs currently under development.

Given the clear and present danger of ecosystem collapse and the imperative to deliver action through the CBD and recalling the commitment to mobilise 20bn USD per year by 2025, we are concerned by the major shortfall in the financing that has flowed to developing countries to support protection and restoration efforts.

New commitments to finance biodiversity protection over the past eighteen months have been sparse, further complicating efforts to meet global biodiversity targets. This lack of financial mobilization, combined with insufficient national actions, threatens to undermine the progress needed to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030.

Finance is the key means of implementation that we must unlock to advance our collective efforts, and we call on all Parties to make progress here in Cali to address the barriers to action as failure to do so will result in irrecoverable loss – we only have one chance to save species on the brink of collapse, we only have limited opportunity to intervene.
 
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We must also ensure that the global review process reflects the voices of rights holders, including Indigenous Peoples, local communities, women, youth and children. It is crucial that resource mobilization strategies deliver financing through equitable allocation processes that ensure these groups can access resources and support on the ground implementation in a timely manner.
 
This is the first CBD "Implementation COP," and it is our collective responsibility to turn promises into tangible actions; and Fiji remains committed to playing our part in this global endeavour.
 
As we look to the future, let us be guided by the wisdom of our ancestors, who remind us that, "The Earth does not belong to us; we belong to the Earth."
 
Together, we can leave a legacy of restored ecosystems and resilient communities for future generations. Let COP16 be remembered as our united moment to restore balance to our natural world.
 
Vinaka Vakalevu.