In February 2020, on the occasion of the event BIO2020: Brazilian Perspectives for the Post-2020 Framework for Biodiversity , subnational and local actors were gathered in the city of São Paulo – representatives of municipalities, states, metropolitan regions, biosphere reserves, sector private sector and civil society – with the purpose of systematizing perspectives of Brazilian actors regarding key points for the Post-2020 Biodiversity Framework.
2020 is a decisive year for biodiversity in the world. The current Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and the respective Aichi Goals conclude their cycle. A new Global Biodiversity Framework will be adopted during the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), COP15, in October, in China. An ambitious agreement is expected, definitively uniting people and nature. Integrate with the Paris Agreement, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals and all other multilateral agreements for the environment and sustainable development, working together to address some of the main global challenges and reinforce the Vision 2050 linked to the CBD: that “biodiversity is valued, conserved and restored wisely until the year 2050,
In 2006, COP8, chaired by Brazil, hosted the first meeting of subnational and local authorities recognized by the signatory governments of the CBD. The following year, the Curitiba city government hosted the first official meeting of the Convention on Cities and Biodiversity, which established the Global Partnership of Subnational and Local Authorities for Biodiversity. That same year, ICLEI, in partnership with IUCN, launched the Local Action for Biodiversity (LAB) program, highlighting the importance of local actions for biodiversity.
During COP10 of the CBD, Decision X / 22 was adopted, endorsing the Action Plan of the Biodiversity Convention that stimulated and guided the elaboration of action plans by subnational governments, municipalities and other local bodies, proposing the integration of territorial actions in a more in line with national strategies. This movement is present in the elaboration of the Strategy and National Action Plan of Brazil (EPANB) and is reflected in documents such as the Action Plans of the states of Goiás, Minas Gerais, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro and several Brazilian municipalities. The State of São Paulo was a pioneer in the elaboration of its Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, with a collegiate body established months after the COP10 (the São Paulo Biodiversity Commission) was held.
The Brazilian government published its Action Plan for Biodiversity in 2017, highlighting the participation of several actors in its elaboration – including entities
subnational, regional and local, academia, civil society and business sector – through the Dialogues for Biodiversity, a process that started even before the COP10 of the CBD.
Despite this, the full potential of these entities to constitute public policies and national actions has been underused. The integration of local and regional policies and incentive mechanisms for their progress has the potential to accelerate and deepen Brazil’s capacity to meet and advance the goals for biodiversity in the Post-2020 Framework.
In the path of preparation for COP15, at least four moments brought together Brazilian subnational and local actors throughout 2019 to discuss and address these issues:
• The Nature Of Cities Summit (TNOC), held in June in Paris, France, who produced the script “Living in Harmony with Nature – Strengthening the moment for the Post-2020 Biodiversity Framework” ;
• In the Aburrá Valley, Medellin, Colombia, in July 2019, authorities from metropolitan areas, local and subnational governments from 12 countries and partners prepared the Declaration of Metropolitan Areas for the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework;
• The 3rd Congress of Protected Areas in Latin America and the Caribbean (CAPLAC), held in October 2019, in Lima, Peru, produced theDeclaration of the role of local governments for the conservation of biodiversity;
• In November, the Integrated Local Approaches to Ecosystem Restoration Governance workshop was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, whose objective was to demonstrate the contribution of local actors, the private sector and non-state actors to restoration initiatives in Brazil.
In all these moments, the dominant theme calls for greater participation, recognition and encouragement for the actions of subnational and local governments and other actors on the biodiversity agenda, in partnership with the Parties. Brazil has significant leadership in its subnational and local governments for the implementation of concrete strategies in this direction. Therefore, it is essential to invest in data and knowledge management, resource mobilization, in addition to integration and training.
Thus, under the strong intention of action, we request to consider the following points in the new Post-2020 Biodiversity Framework:
• Maintain references and guidelines for the vertical integration of public biodiversity policies.
• Adopt a new specific decision based on the legacy of the Action Plan of Decision X / 22.
• Offer additional guidelines for technical and financial support mechanisms and complementary actions on a local and subnational scale.
• Use permanent multilevel and multilateral platforms to report on the initiatives of subnational governments and cities, reinforcing the adhesion and dissemination of actions through CitieswithNature and RegionswithNature.
• Include subnational and local contributions to new national strategies, action plans and reports that will be produced from the new global framework.
• Highlight the fundamental role of protected areas and OMECs (Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures) in implementing the CBD’s support tripod – conservation, sustainable use and sharing of biodiversity benefits.
• Guarantee means to promote sustainable development as one of the central strategies for implementing the CBD.
• Stimulate further integration between global environmental and development agendas.
In addition to strengthening multilevel integration in the Post-2020 Framework, we strongly recommend that the countries that are members of the Convention review the Action Plan Adopted by Decision X / 22 and improve the document, again offering a specific mechanism for the engagement of subnational and local governments. We are willing to adopt ambitious goals.
In order to make the discussion tangible in the Brazilian context, we worked on five specific themes for the conservation of biodiversity, promoting the participation of a plurality of voices from the most diverse sectors of activity, whose synthesis follows below. Brazilian states represented by the entities present are willing to collaborate with other countries, generating cooperation in the design of similar integrating processes.
1 – Restoration of Ecosystems and Restoration of Native Vegetation
Restoration of ecosystems and restoration of vegetation must be promoted in line with strategies – foreseen or to be contemplated in environmental legislation – to make agricultural production, territorial development and biodiversity compatible with income generation in territories. The involvement of different levels of government, private initiative, academia and civil society organizations should be encouraged.
Feasibility mechanisms: promote training, qualification and qualification of the technical staff; develop public incentive policies; promote inclusion of family farmers and traditional communities; encourage the sustainable use of biodiversity; encourage actions in areas that promote landscape connectivity; implement and manage quantitative and qualitative monitorable data systems; promoting actions aimed at expanding technologies and scientific research aimed at restoration; define specific technical and financial support lines for state and municipal governments, including inducing changes in the market; cooperation with the productive sectors; integrated governance of subnational and local actors and production of periodic reports based on shared information.
2 – Protected Areas, Land Use and Connectivity
Conservation Units (UCs) and other effective conservation mechanisms based on areas (OMECs) are strategic for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services. The connectivity between them through different measures / types such as APPs and Legal Reserves, catering, private areas, territories of traditional peoples and communities, urban and linear parks, squares, afforestation and green infrastructure in general is fundamental to guarantee the gene flow and ecosystem balance, as well as ecosystem services for present and future generations.
Feasibility mechanisms: strengthen the creation, management and effectiveness of UCs and OMECs, including those of private initiative; strengthen the instruments of territory planning, reinforcing the integration between the different levels of government, including with regard to territorial ordering; improve financial and clearing instruments and payments for environmental services; create opportunities for income generation; create mechanisms and opportunities that guarantee the effective participation of traditional peoples and other social groups.
3 – Sustainable Production and Consumption
The valorization of sustainable production chains and the promotion of information systems that integrate data generated by the different territories are desirable ambitions for the performance of subnational and local entities. As well as contemplate favorable or minimally neutral criteria in terms of impact on biodiversity in licensing processes.
Feasibility mechanisms: generate lists of impacted species; generate data on the agricultural, extractive, mineral and industrial production chain and certifications; demonstrate opportunities and potential gains from sustainable production; create simplified certification processes; create open databases for information dissemination and social control; provide socioeconomic incentives and credit lines to encourage the transition from conventional production chains to sustainable production; promote the engagement of companies and people through government incentives to optimize production and consumption patterns, consumer awareness and promotion of reverse logistics.
4 – Circular Economy and Nature-Based Solutions
The promotion of the circular economy values local and traditional knowledge, promotes social inclusion and generates opportunities. The wide dissemination and incorporation of measures based on Nature (SbN) are strategies to face different challenges, such as food and water security, climate emergency and disaster risk reduction.
Feasibility mechanisms: promoting tax incentives and multisectoral cooperation policies for the circular economy; stimulate dialogue between different sectors; review
regulations and other normative instruments; foster the bioeconomy with the creation of demands, the organization of cooperatives, the development of products and value chains and analysis of regional and commercial specificities; create incentive lines for research and development.
5 – Environmental Education and Awareness
It is necessary to promote the reconnection of society with biodiversity. Environmental education, plural and transversal, must be a structuring tool for solutions for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. Encourage citizen training to impact public policies. Guarantee equity and protagonism to the communities with the valorization of traditional knowledge. Expand knowledge of the relationship between consumption and impacts on biodiversity.
Feasibility mechanisms: encourage the formation of leaders; foster social participation and citizen science; develop diversified and integrated monitoring models for different sectors, including formal education; democratize innovative technologies and enhance participatory spaces.
Sign this document:
Marcos Penido
State Secretary for Infrastructure and Environment of the State of São Paulo
Patrícia Iglecias
Chief Executive Officer of CETESB
Rodrigo Levkovicz
Executive Director of Fundação Florestal
Renata Gómez
Regions4
Elisabeth Chouraki
Post 2020 Biodiversity Framework. EU Support
Rodrigo Perpétuo
Executive Secretary of ICLEI South America