Calling for a Rights Centered Approach to the 30x30 Framework and Biodiversity Protection
By Cameron Armstrong
As leaders and climate experts prepare to meet at the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in Montreal, the issues they face are at once complex and fundamental. The science is complex, and the numbers are staggering. 60 percent of terrestrial wildlife has been lost in the last 50 years and 90 percent of the big ocean fish have been lost in the last century. 75 percent of the land environment and some 66 percent of the marine environment have been significantly altered and impacted by human actions. The decline of the web of life we call biodiversity, however, is fundamentally a relationship problem, our relationship with the natural environment and each other.
COP15 provides an opportunity for countries to commit to a goal of protecting 30% of global lands and waters by 2030 (30x30). What has emerged as essential to this goal is a focus on the power of nature-based climate solutions — addressing the climate crisis by protecting and restoring natural ecosystems that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Equally as important is correcting societal norms that play a significant role in the decline of biodiversity on this ocean planet. Key to the success of meeting these ambitious goals is not repeating the mistakes of the past and present.
I am a third-generation Filipino settler on Treaty 1 Territory in what is known as Winnipeg, Manitoba. I am a mixed, cis-woman of colour and understand the systemic privileges my European descent, cisgender, and settler identities hold. I feel extremely lucky to be connected with my Filipino heritage, but I also understand the ways in which colonization, white supremacy, patriarchy, racism, colourism, and the immigrant experience have affected my specific lived experience and perspectives. With those perspectives in mind and COP15 underway, I offer these thoughts on a rights-based approach in environmental policy inspired by and echoing the work of Indigenous youth and leaders. While nature-based climate solutions have gained traction within the climate policy realm, BIPOC environmentalists, and specifically Indigenous leaders, local communities, and youth are concerned about the ethics surrounding western definitions of these solutions, specifically government-sanctioned protected areas.
We have seen the success of Indigenous and community led protected areas in ocean and terrestrial environments. Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, the Palau National Marine Sanctuary and Thaidene Nëné are just a few examples that honor a collaborative community led approach to conservation. An international commitment is needed to further these success stories around the globe. Indigenous leaders and youth have strongly urged that current implementations and definitions of nature-based climate solutions further colonial conservation methods that continue to harm Indigenous communities; experts have also suggested that implementing these solutions without Indigenous leadership will likely result in continued land theft. Territorial eviction in the name of achieving government-sanctioned conservation goals also continues to displace people from land and create a disconnection from livelihoods, culture, and tradition.
In establishing the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, it is critical for Indigenous and youth leadership to be at the forefront of negotiations to ensure biodiversity conservation is rooted in a rights-based approach. As nations move toward implementing the 30x30 agenda, and as nature-based climate solutions continue to gain traction, Indigenous leadership and youth must be key players in the creation, implementation and regulation of a sustainable biodiversity framework. If Indigenous and youth voices are not included, implementation of the 30x30 agenda and nature-based climate solutions run the risk of falling to the same fate as past unsuccessful and harmful climate solutions such as market-based offsets.
As a representative of leading youth environmental nonprofit EarthEcho International who is attending COP15, I have seen the power of community focused nature-based solutions firsthand. Through the OceanEcho 30x30 campaign, our global network of young ocean advocates has worked to elevate the role of youth leadership in advancing both local marine protected areas, as well as advocating for the meaningful protection of at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030, with BIPOC leaders, local communities, and youth at the forefront of this work. From engaging local youth in restoring mangroves and coral reefs in Indonesia, to advocating for the successful restoration of a national marine monument in the United States, young people are at the forefront of efforts to drive nature-based climate solutions that are effective for both people and the planet.
For the second decade, the international community has failed to meet targets established to reduce global biodiversity loss. Current strategies for creating and adopting biodiversity frameworks are not working and a clear shift toward a rights-based approach in environmental policy is needed to address biodiversity loss, as well as its root causes and repercussions. Action is needed now and COP15 must be a moment of urgency that prioritizes the needs, knowledge, and leadership of BIPOC and local communities to ensure a rights-based approach to protecting our ocean planet.
Cameron Armstrong (she/her) is a mixed Filipina activist born and raised on Treaty 1 Territory in what is known as Winnipeg, Canada. Cameron is passionate about environmental justice, inclusive climate policy, and water protection. She has worked on research to address the effects of environmental racism and work towards community-based solutions. Cameron serves as a member of EarthEcho International’s Youth Leadership Council.
