The new Global Biodiversity Framework enshrines the target of protecting 30% of land and sea for nature in international law and commits richer countries to provide $30bn a year to help developing countries safeguard nature and wildlife. This agreement gives us hope for the future and can become the turning point for nature’s recovery.  

Progress at COP15 may have felt slow at times but, in its final hours, the conference set out a clear roadmap for halting and reversing the decline in biodiversity. The adoption of a worldwide 30by30 target gives the nature movement a north star with which to guide the global and national biodiversity agendas. Whilst the climate debate has coalesced around the Paris Agreement’s target to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees, there has not previously been a clear overarching target to galvanise nature action. We hope 30by30 can capture the imagination of both the public and politicians, spurring fast action on nature.  

The new agreement differs from the previous Aichi targets – which we globally failed to meet by the end date of 2020 – by ensuring that governments planning and accountability are embedded into the framework. For the first time, big businesses are strongly encouraged to report on how their actions impact and protect nature. This time we hope that countries failing to play their part will be held to account before it is too late to change course.   

The COP15 agreement also demonstrates a positive change in how indigenous communities are included in international biodiversity agreements. With these communities protecting some of the world’s most important biodiversity, with far more success than most national governments, it is vital they are supported to continue their work. 

There are still some limitations in the Global Biodiversity Framework. A specific target date for halting the human-induced extinction of species would have enabled us to better assess success on longer-term targets. There are also important questions to be asked about how 30by30 is defined and how to ensure that a range of ecosystems are protected under this target, using the best possible scientific evidence 

What does this mean for Wales? 

Countries will now need to reflect the new global deal in domestic policy as an outcome of COP15. In Wales, nature, farming and forestry are all devolved. This means that decisions needed for nature’s recovery are made by the Welsh Parliament - the Senedd in Cardiff. Prior to COP15 Welsh Government consulted all relevant stakeholders in a process called the Biodiversity Deep Dive. This excellent process sets out recommendations on how Wales can achieve 30by30. But now the hard work begins of stopping activities that damage nature, realigning existing budgets and attracting new investments to enable nature’s recovery.

The implementation text, which sits alongside the Global Biodiversity Framework, calls on governments to update their national biodiversity strategies and action plans to align with the new Global Biodiversity Framework. In Wales, our biodiversity plan – Nature Recovery Action Plan 2020, hasn’t been sufficiently funded and lacks ambition at scale and pace. However, it does set a firm base to accelerate action for nature’s recovery.

The new framework will also require the Welsh Government to look again at some of its policies to bring them in line with the new global targets. The new commitment to reducing the risk from invasive species, nitrate pollution and pesticides by 50% by 2030 will be challenging but is necessary. Our young people called for pesticide use to be reduced by 2/3rds, so we hope to see more ambition in future to safeguard wildlife throughout Wales. The target on pesticides can be achieved through reducing use by public bodies and by seeking to stop domestic use. The use of pesticides in farming can be achieved through Integrated Pesticide Management. 

The target of restoring 30% of highly degraded ecosystems by 2030 means we need to speed up habitat restoration in Wales. Welsh Government have already committed to restoring 50% of peatland, but important marine habitats and the rarer habitats of wildflower meadows, fens and heathland on land also need focus. The Montreal commitment to ensuring nature-based solutions have ambitious and good governance requires Welsh Government and business commitments. What we have called Green or Blue spaces in the past should now be seen as critical infrastructure needed to help us adapt to our changing climate.  

Currently, Wales is one of the world’s most nature-depleted nations, with almost 1 in 6 species at risk of extinction. Although Welsh Government has declared a nature crisis, this needs drastic acceleration of action if we are to reach our 2030 targets. In Wales, there is no permanent agency to prosecute all infringements of environmental laws, such as the Office for Environment Protection in England. Wales doesn’t have legally binding nature targets; these will need to be ambitious and require urgent legislation. However, the UK government’s dangerous Retained EU Law Bill, which could remove legal protections for wildlife, would take up all legislative time in Wales for years. So we hope the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irelands devolved governments can push the Westminster government into a race to the top on nature with their own far-reaching plans to implement the new Global Biodiversity Framework.  

We applaud negotiators in Montreal for reaching this landmark deal – now, the work begins to turn ambition into action