Speakers at yesterday’s event stressed that the current economic climate should not deter governments from investing financially in biodiversity, arguing that the long-lasting benefits of protecting our natural world far outweigh any monetary costs incurred.
India has been selected to take over presidency of CoP 11 for two years, meaning the country is responsible for overseeing the implementation of all action plans borne out of this year’s meeting.
Among the proposed outcomes of the meeting are:
- consideration of the mobilisation of resources in support of the Global Strategy for Biodiversity and Aichi Targets;
- a report on the identification of ecologically and biologically significant areas in marine ecosystems as well as a number of other items related to the protection of biodiversity in marine ecosystems; and
- analysis of ecosystem restoration and the relationship between biodiversity and climate change.
10,000 delegates from 173 delegates are scheduled to attend the meet which runs until October 19.