Happy holidays, biodiversity advocates
Happy holidays to all biodiversity advocates. It’s time to celebrate hope for all the creatures that depend on our efforts to curb environmental destruction and degradation. Our collective actions can make a difference in overcoming the despair that sometimes underlies our observations of the threats to the natural world. It is time to shift attitudes from “see it while you can” to “understand and change it.”
In the coming year, we hope to add to that understanding and the actions that can be taken to reverse course on biodiversity loss.
A parting word about the results of COP 28, which have precipitated mixed reviews among climate advocates. While the biggest news was the announcement of a new worldwide agreement to transition from “fossil fuels,” the first of its kind to even mention the term, and establishment of a fund to assist developing nations adapt to climate change, there was another development of substantial future importance for biodiversity: focus on reducing the carbon footprint of agriculture, which now accounts for 30% of carbon emissions. The clearance of tropical forests for cattle ranching, soybean production and palm oil plantations is perhaps the principal driver of biodiversity loss in such regions. While there are many “solutions” to such a goal, such as intensifying the productivity of existing agricultural regimes and curbing appetites for beef consumption, it remains to be seen how and how fast programs can be developed to stop deforestation from the agricultural sector.
Another development of interest occurred outside the confines of COP 28: proposals to preserve vast tracts of forest in developing countries through purchase of carbon credits by Middle eastern oil producers. Currently there are no rules governing how carbon credits can be measured. The basic idea is that emissions from fossil fuel producers can be traded off by preserving forests that absorb a like amount of carbon. Such credits are procured by purchasing the rights to forested land, either from governments that control such resources or from communities that have collective rights to such lands.
Some of the controversies involve how governments can assure the preservation of their own lands under a carbon trade agreement and how funds are channeled to communities that now are dependent on destruction of forests for subsistence agriculture immediate economic needs. The important point to note is that such deals between oil producers and developing countries are already being negotiated. See New York Times report, December 16, 2023, on the activities of Blue Carbon, an Emirati concern actively seeking carbon trade agreements with tropical countries. Click here to read article Biodiversity advocates need to follow these developments closely, as well as the results of the COP16 conference on biodiversity scheduled for Mon, Oct 21, 2024 – Fri, Nov 1, 2024 in Colombia. Click here for details.
We look forward to the new year.
T.D.
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