Congratulations, ministers, for signing the Regional Declaration on Cooperation in Biodiversity Conservation creating an overarching framework for cooperation and action across Central Asia.
The Regional Umbrella Programme and Action Plan, the regional resource mobilization plan and the regional working group to coordinate actions that you are launching are the practical machinery for implementation. And they are excellent preparation for the seventeenth Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP17) in Armenia this October.
UNEP is committed to supporting the delivery of this framework in line with the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) including through the NBSAP (National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plan) Accelerator Partnership, which can help countries to access technical and financial support to address the drivers of biodiversity loss in an integrated manner.
Excellencies,
This is indeed a step forward not just for biodiversity, but for people, livelihoods and economies in the region.
Central Asias biodiversity is resilience infrastructure. Wetlands for flood buffering. Forests, grass- and rangelands for soil stability and drought resilience. Connected mountain habitats for climatedriven species movement. Therefore, the Declarations commitments on mapping ecosystem services, Key Biodiversity Areas, and Nature-based Solutions serve as direct support for adaptation planning and risk reduction.
UNEPs Central Asian Mammals and Climate Adaptation (CAMCA) project has already demonstrated how climateinformed tools and community approaches such as ecological corridors, grazing management and Protected Area Vulnerability Assessments can be scaled into national policy and transboundary cooperation.
And Central Asia is already building a migratory connectivity architecture that this new framework can enhance including the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) Central Asian Mammals Initiative, species-related Memoranda of Understanding, action plans and conservation strategies many of which were updated and discussed at CMS COP15 in Brazil last month. The Saiga antelope, Bukhara deer, Siberian crane, raptors and Persian leopard are among the species targeted for conservation.
I encourage Multilateral Environmental Agreement secretariats and partners present today to support shared monitoring standards, compatible data systems and coordinated positions for this regional connectivity model including at COP-17.
Excellencies,
To make real progress, we must ensure that the drivers of biodiversity loss such as land use change, invasive alien species, unsustainable use of natural resources, and habitat fragmentation are tackled together.
The Declarations focus on science, monitoring and crosssector mainstreaming is essential to reduce the drivers of biodiversity loss. It understands that there are no side issues. Restoration and corridor strategies can easily be undermined by invasive alien species and overexploitation unless prevention, early detection and enforcement improve. We need wholeofsociety approaches: community stewardship, sustainable livelihoods and data systems that make impacts visible for decisionmakers.
A nature-positive finance shift must also happen.
The IPBES Business & Biodiversity Assessment tells us that that for every dollar spent on conservation of nature, 30 are spent in destroying it. The way to turn this around is to frame conserving and sustainably using biodiversity as an economic asset. Because it is. Biodiversity underpins water, agriculture, energy reliability, disaster risk reduction, tourism and more. Without it, economies and competitiveness crumble.
Emerging mechanisms such as biodiversity credits, green bonds and payments for ecosystem services can help, but they must be highintegrity, sciencebased and deliver equitable community benefits. Meanwhile, UNEPs Vanishing Treasures and CAMCA initiatives contribute to investable local solutions, such as community-led nature-based tourism linked to protected area management.
I encourage MEAs and International Finance Institutions to get behind the Umbrella Programme and resource mobilization plan and help to create a pipeline for sustainable financial mechanisms across the region.
Excellencies,
Todays signature is indeed a milestone but the real achievement will come with implementation that turns harmony with nature into resilience and sustainable regional development. Rest assured that UNEP, the biodiversityrelated MEAs, the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership and our international partners are here to support Central Asia to connect landscapes, scale climatesmart tools, mobilize highintegrity finance and present a strong, coordinated regional contribution to COP17.
