The UN Biodiversity Conference (Conservation for Biological Diversity (CBD) COP 15), which ended earlier this week in Montreal, Canada, has released the new Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. Although not perfect, right now this is our best hope to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and achieve a nature-positive world by 2030. Given that not one of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets set at the CBD COP in 2010 was met, realising the goals of this Framework will not be an easy task, but we simply have run out of time for talking - the time for action is now.  

Simply put, the situation is urgent. Biodiversity continues to decline at unprecedented rates. According to the Zoological Society of London, over a quarter of species assessed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species face extinction, almost all because of human activities. Imagine that – one in four species of life on earth facing extinction!

The biodiversity crisis and the climate crisis are integrally linked. We will only be able to reach the climate change targets by protecting intact ecosystems, restoring what has already been depleted, and allowing nature to help us. And we can only reach the biodiversity targets if we address the climate crisis.

We need action now – we do not need more science to predict, with ever-increasing accuracy, the rate of temperature increase, or the demise of yet another species – we need action from our political leaders, policymakers and big corporations globally. And we need each of us to do what we can, in our homes and at work.

The new Global Biodiversity Framework will guide action. Target number three refers to the need for the conservation of at least 30% of terrestrial, inland water, marine and coastal ecosystems globally. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECM) are critical tools in the conservation toolkit. Equally important is the recognition of the vital role of local communities in area-based conservation. In addition to protected areas, we need to scale up species conservation – and in the ocean, this means better management of exploited species and work to restore threatened populations of animals such as penguins and turtles.

The Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation is at the forefront of these critical issues in South Africa through our leadership of Marine Protected Areas Day, which generates support for MPAs in Africa, our work with turtle rehabilitation and more recently our innovative #NotOnOurWatch African penguin campaign. We look forward to working with our many partners and supporting people around Africa to meet the targets set in the Global Biodiversity Framework.