As Biodiversity COP17 Opens in Yerevan, Campaigners Urge Governments to Turn Wildlife Pledges Into Action

Governments have gathered in Yerevan, Armenia, for the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP17), and conservation groups are pressing them to convert years of promises about protecting wildlife into practical action. The conference runs from 19 to 30 October and arrives at what the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) calls a pivotal moment for global efforts to halt nature loss.

Two years ago, at COP16 in Colombia, governments formally recognised that wild animals themselves contribute to tackling climate change — through the roles species play in forests, grasslands, wetlands and oceans, from seed dispersal to carbon storage. IFAW’s concern is that this recognition could slip away: language acknowledging the ecological functions of wild animals remains unresolved in this year’s draft decisions.

Wildlife as climate infrastructure

“At the last biodiversity COP, governments took an important step by recognising that wild animals play a role in tackling climate change. Now we need to make sure that progress isn’t lost,” said Matt Collis, IFAW’s senior director of policy. The organisation wants COP17 decisions to explicitly include wildlife populations in ecosystem protection and restoration plans, rather than treating animals as a by-product of habitat policy.

Its priorities for the summit include stronger wildlife protection, connected habitats that allow species to move and adapt as the climate shifts, and greater support for the local people and rangers who safeguard nature on the ground. “COP17 is an opportunity to move beyond recognition,” Collis added, “and ensure that protecting and restoring wildlife populations becomes part of the practical decisions governments make.” With wildlife populations under severe pressure worldwide, the talks in Yerevan will test whether the world’s biodiversity framework can deliver results, not just declarations.

Source: IFAW