QUINTANA ROO, Mexico (Reuters) — The 13th annual U.N. Biodiversity Conference (COP13) closed in Cancun Saturday (December 17) after officials agreed on a roadmap to promote the conservation of biodiversity in fishing, forest, tourist and other agricultural sectors to meet the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development.
Indeed, the theme for the meetings had been proposed by Mexico to be “Integrating Biodiversity for Welfare.”
Some 5,000 to 10,000 people from international organisations, NGOs and indigenous groups, as well as youth from 140 countries took part in the two-week conference.
The Cancun declaration will seek to promote policies that reduce and even turn back loss of biodiversity and contribute to the well-being of ecosystems.
Mexico’s secretary for the environment spelled out the goals.
“We have adopted decisions on issues of great relevance. Besides the integration of biodiversity in activities of production and services, such as with pollinators and food security, the protection of ecosystems and species at risk, marine contamination, and of course, climate change,” the secretary, Rafael Pacchiano, said.
The conference’s objective is also to contribute to consolidating the effectiveness and impact of the conference through the Cartagena and Nagoya Protocols.
Cartagena’s Protocol, which came into effect on September 11, 2003, seeks to protect biological diversity from the potential risks from living modified organisms resulting from modern biotechnology.
Nagoya’s Protocol aims at sharing the benefits from the use of genetic resources in a fair way. It entered into force on 12 October 2014.
“Let’s assure that the commitments that today we have made have continuity and are put into practice. It’s important that the legacy left by the United Nations conference on biodiversity is maintained, and that in successive conferences other sectors continue to be incorporated in the integration of biodioversity for well-being,” Pacchiano said.
The next meeting, COP14, will be held in Egypt.