Formal Session for SBSTTA-24, Agenda item 3 | May 3rd
Post 2020 global biodiversity framework: scientific and technical information to support the review of the updated goals and targets, and related indicators and baselines
Honorable Chairs, co-chairs, and distinguished delegates,
I am taking the floor on behalf of the Advisory Committee on Subnational Governments, coordinated by Regions4 and the Government of Québec, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, the Group of Leading Subnational Governments towards the ABTs, the European Committee of the Regions, and on behalf of the Edinburgh Process Partners.
Although it would have been our pleasure to welcome you in the beautiful province of Quebec, we are thankful to be able to resume the negotiations on this urgent agenda. We hope that this virtual format will allow an equitable space for all stakeholders’ voices, as we believe that a whole-of-government and society approach will be key to raise the ambition that we all share for Nature.
As for the special focus that has been asked on document CBD/SBSTTA/24/1/ADD2 for this session, even though we had very limited time to review and analyse the new revised document, we wanted to welcome some of the mentions of local and subnational governments throughout the scientific and technical background supporting the goals and targets of the GBF, especially on the importance of having an active implementation at all levels of governments. That being said, our constituencies strongly believe that we should more explicitly refer to the role of local and subnational governments throughout the P2020-GBF, and that we should make sure that indicators will be reflected and applicable at all levels of governments when needed.
We don’t want to reiterate all the comments we’ve made at the informal session earlier this year, thus we invite you to consult our previous statement on the CBD website. But we think it is worth repeating the importance for us that the proposed monitoring approach to allow us to track progress across all levels of governments, including the subnational level. We thus propose to add the subnational level of governance when it comes to the headline component indicators, as we believe that the indicators should be applicable and used by subnational governments in their own reporting. We therefore ask to explicitly reference the subnational level of governance when it comes to both the headline and component indicators and could provide some suggestions in writing.
Local and subnational governments implication will be crucial if we want to build partnerships and drive the momentum for change aspired for the GBF. We also reinforce the role of our constituencies specifically in contributing to planning, monitoring progress against targets, and reporting. If we are to get a true picture of transformative change on the ground, we need to aggregate action and solutions for all levels of governments. This is something that needs to be emphasised in the P2020-GBF.
We will submit our technical comments throughout the contact groups and by writing.
Thank you!