UN Must Ramp Up Goals to Protect Biodiversity

NEW YORK  – The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has released a proposal for protecting the world’s biodiversity and ecosystems, which are experiencing dramatic declines and degradation.  This draft will be key in setting targets for international action.

The following is a statement by Susan Casey-Lefkowitz, chief program officer at the Natural Resources Defense Council:

“This plan is a good beginning, but it’s not ambitious enough. 

“We are witnessing whole swaths of a continent burning—devastating entire species before our eyes—and the need for dramatic change could not be more blatant.

“To reverse the cataclysmic changes occurring in nature, countries around the globe must heed scientists, who warn that heading off this rapid decline will require transformative action.  That means persuading the UN to adopt strong protections for 30 percent of the world’s lands and oceans by 2030.” 

For more, here is a blog by NRDC’s Zak Smith.

The UN’s draft framework is here.

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The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, and Beijing. Visit us at NRDC.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.​