资源环境科技发展态势分析平台

WWF welcomes the publication of the first draft of the new framework for nature as a major step towards securing a crucial global biodiversity agreement. The draft text contains many elements necessary to a successful agreement that will reverse nature loss by 2030.

However, we are disappointed that, overall, the ambition and urgency contained in the draft framework are below what is necessary to secure a nature-positive world this decade. This is at odds with the increasing number of world leaders signaling they are stepping up ambition on nature.

We are also concerned that freshwater ecosystems - or inland waters - continue to be marginalised by the focus on 'land and sea'. In particular, while we support the inclusion of a target to conserve 30% of land and sea areas by 2030, the exclusion of inland waters in this target represents a major gap.

This overarching goal for protection of “land and seas” continues a pattern in global conservation policies and plans: the omission of freshwater habitats such as rivers, lakes and wetlands.

The draft should be amended to refer to 'land, inland waters and sea'.

Although omitted from the phrasing in the high-level goal, the new framework doesn’t actually ignore freshwater habitats. But the goals and targets can still be strengthened - based on the Sustainable Freshwater Transition in the Global Biodiversity Outlook 5, which echoes the pillars of the WWF-led Emergency Recovery Plan for freshwater biodiversity.

WWF also believes that two key areas of the text could be enhanced with to support Nature’s contribution to societal challenges:

• Inclusion of the One-health approach and actions to lower the risk of future pandemics. The response to the Covid pandemic underlined the critical importance of water for people as the first line of defence - and that requires sustainable management of freshwater ecosystems.
  
  WWF's Blue Heart of Africa inititiave is already showing the way forward on One Health by signing agreements with major WASH organizations to collaborate to bring work on water and sanitation and freshwater conservation together.
   
• Inclusion of equitable and rights-based Nature-based Solutions (NbS) to complement the significant contribution of ecosystem-based approaches to climate change mitigation and adaptation. We must address both the biodiversity and climate crises together.
  
  The impacts of climate change are primarily felt through water - extreme floods, longer droughts, raging wildfires and devastating storms - so investing in NBS to enhance the health of rivers, lakes and wetlands is critical to global efforts to build resilience.
  
  Developing and implementing ambitious, large-scale Nature-based Solutions are key components of WWF Freshwater initiatives, including the Resilient Asian Deltas, Blue Heart of Africa, Living European Rivers, Asian Flyways and Water Reserves.

We hope that these improvements - and the other detailed suggestions in our overall response - will be incorporated into the next draft following the Open Ended Working Group (Aug 23 - Sept 3).