Recently, Dr. Zhou Jinfeng, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation(CBCGDF), was interviewed by the media about biodiversity conservation in the context of the 7th World Conservation Congress (IUCN WCC) and the 15th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP15). For reference, the text is compiled below.
Reporter: It is a big issue for China's diversity, because we know that there will be two very important meetings at the UN level at the end of the year.
Dr. Zhou: The IUCN WCC meeting is very important because it is more comprehensive, with more participants, including government delegations, social organization delegations, and different groups of scientists. The CBD COP and the Climate COP are both technical meetings that are very important.
Reporter: We know that this conference is expected to end up with a document called the Marseille outcome, what kind of expectations do you have for this document?
Dr. Zhou:I have high expectations. In fact, it has been more than a year since the conference was postponed. We have done a lot of work, including the global experts discussing on the relevant aspects. We have six proposals passed by electronic vote and there are many comments have been raised. Besides, people are still making efforts through the discussions. We believe that the outcome of this meeting in Marseille will be an important and leading document for the next 5 years and 10 years of biological conservation and nature protection.
Reporter: We can find that there should be some innovative intiatives in the traditional sectors in the meeting. Because of Covid-19, or because of a combination of online and offline way, we know that on the day of the 3rd, the first meeting was a summit that in order to mobilize their participation, including business mobilize the local government, the local people, which is what we call indigenous people. We also mobilized the youth to participate in the global ecological governance. Do you see any new trends in global biodiversity governance in the context of this conference? How can you seize these trends?
Dr. Zhou:We have two trends with great importance. The first trend is the mainstreaming of ministream diversity, which originally was a small circle of experts. People you mentioned just now, including the youth, indigenous, women, science, business shall all participate. In this way, it can be transfered to a mainstream. This is a major trend, and we think it is necessary, because only mainstreaming can really solve our biodiversity problems.
The second trend, we think, is synergy. We have recently been discussing biodiversity a lot in the climate discussion, and in the biodiversity discussion, we also have to discuss the climate issue, because they are inseparable. Climate change leads to significant changes in its significance, which leads to changes in global biodiversity, and they are closely intertwined. Both trends are evident and are highly anticipated and we are involved in.
Reporter: You just mentioned this trend of mainstreaming, do you think there has been such a trend in China now? Because we have recently seen many domestic news about biodiversity are already showed on the trending list, for example, the wild elephant migration. We also see now, we can clearly see the number of Tibetan antelope has increased significantly, these news have now become a heated topic. Do you think that China has this lack of main culture?
Dr. Zhou: You are very right. Many people do not understand when we talk about the topic, but today many people come to us to talk about our involvement in the wild elephant in Yunnan. When we sent a meeting invitation link to organize a projects discussion, experts from all over the world, including Africa, America, Europe, Asia will attend and make proposals and comments. Besides, they are quite envious about the truth that today China's biodiversity has been raised to a very high level, because CPC Central Committee and the State Council and the government pay great attention to it. The measures we’ve taken help tap into the advantages of our culture based on the favorable advantages. Many people, including friends and experts from Europe , say that you are really leading the way in biodiversity, and that the mainstreaming of biodiversity in China is undergoing dramatic changes, with increasing participation and support from all sectors. This year's conference in Kunming will reach a new peak.
Reporter: This question is about the conference in Kunming this year, especially the theme of the conference in Kunming this year, we have included ecological civilization in the theme. I heard that this is also what yourLegal Department strongly advocate. Do you think the inclusion of ecological civilization is a very important ecological goal proposed by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council? What is the significance of it?
Dr. Zhou: In 2018, I wrote to the then head of the CBD asking for ecological civilization as the theme of COP15. Many people told me that you are dreaming or it is delusional or it is impossible, because the concept is not widely accepted internationally. And there are some countries that oppose China and fiercely say that this is a draft from a congress of the Chinese Communist Party and cannot be used here. However, we are very encouraged that we finally achieved this goal and the United Nations accepted an ecological civilization, a Shared Future for All Life on Earth as the theme of the COP. The world is changing, we are changing, and it is all for the better. And apart from that, I also proposed a green conference to the head of CBD, who was in charge at the time, at the previous meeting in Stockholm. I was very pleased, and soon he told me that in his country, China, the government had signed a document to host the conference that included a green conference, which fully reflects the participation of Chinese social organizations in global ecological governance. It shows that you can achieve great results and can make a difference.
Our 1.4 billion people, our rapid reform and opening up, our economic development, the climate and the futuer of mankind, the idea of a community of shared future, and our a shared future for all life on earth should all be supported by the law and policy.
Reporter: Thank you very much. That's all I have for the interview.
From:CBCGDF
Original Chinese Article
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/ui_j6o33pdpTVBG--B3r6g
Translator/Lucy
Contribution
https://www.paypal.me/CBCGDFChina
http://www.cbcgdf.org/English/ConfirmDonaTion/0.html