● On the eve of the High Level Week of the UN General Assembly, a call for Heads of State to act to halt and reverse nature loss this decade comes from far and wide;
● Businesses; Environment, Development and Humanitarian Organisations; Faith groups; Local and Regional Governments; Indigenous People; and Youth are all calling for action to secure a sustainable future for people and planet
GENEVA, Switzerland (18 September) Organizations representing hundreds of millions of individuals globally, alongside more than 560 global businesses with combined revenue of $4 trillion, have today issued unprecedented coordinated calls for urgent action on nature to protect human and planetary health.
Nature is currently declining at rates unseen in human history, with up to one million species threatened by extinction. WWF’s Living Planet Report 2020, released last week, revealed that wildlife populations have declined on average by a shocking 68 per cent since 1970, putting humanity’s future in grave danger.
In a distinct indication of growing concern and momentum for change, global organisations representing interests far beyond conservation are voicing simultaneous calls for decisive action to secure a sustainable future for people and the planet.
These calls for action, coming ahead of the High Level Week of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA-75), highlight how the destruction and degradation of nature is placing human health and livelihoods at risk. Nature loss directly increases our vulnerability to pandemics, such as COVID-19, natural disasters and conflicts, with the most vulnerable and marginalized people hit first and hardest. Protecting nature is intrinsically linked to protecting values, human rights, indigenous peoples, women, children and youth; while at the same time essential to tackling the climate crisis. Sustainable use of natural resources means building resilient economies - more than half of the global GDP is moderately or highly exposed to nature loss.
Heads of State and Government are urged by the diverse groupings to take bold, transformative decisions on nature and announce them at the UN’s Summit on Biodiversity, due to take place virtually on 30 September.
Marco Lambertini, Director General of WWF-International, said:
“Never has it been more clear that we need to reset our relationship with nature. The way we currently produce and consume is destroying the very natural systems that support our health and our economies. Urgent action is needed to tackle the drivers of biodiversity loss, most notably our food system, and secure a sustainable future for people and the planet.
“September's UN Summit on Biodiversity provides the world with an unmissable opportunity to change course. World leaders cannot ignore the groundswell of voices from across society calling for them to take decisive action at the Summit to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and secure a nature-positive world by 2030.”
Seven distinct groups, representing global concerns and cultures, are calling for governments to take action on nature loss: Environment, Development and other partner organizations; Development and Humanitarian organizations; Faith-based organizations; Indigenous People; Business; Local and Regional Governments; and Youth. In total, more than 1,000 organizations and individuals, present in almost every country worldwide, are represented in issuing an extraordinary coordinated call for immediate action to tackle our nature crisis, and committing to take action themselves to help halt and reverse the loss of nature.
The High Level Week of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly will start on Tuesday 22 September 2020; with the UN Summit on Biodiversity due to take place on Wednesday 30 September 2020.
● Businesses; Environment, Development and Humanitarian Organisations; Faith groups; Local and Regional Governments; Indigenous People; and Youth are all calling for action to secure a sustainable future for people and planet
GENEVA, Switzerland (18 September) Organizations representing hundreds of millions of individuals globally, alongside more than 560 global businesses with combined revenue of $4 trillion, have today issued unprecedented coordinated calls for urgent action on nature to protect human and planetary health.
Nature is currently declining at rates unseen in human history, with up to one million species threatened by extinction. WWF’s Living Planet Report 2020, released last week, revealed that wildlife populations have declined on average by a shocking 68 per cent since 1970, putting humanity’s future in grave danger.
In a distinct indication of growing concern and momentum for change, global organisations representing interests far beyond conservation are voicing simultaneous calls for decisive action to secure a sustainable future for people and the planet.
These calls for action, coming ahead of the High Level Week of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA-75), highlight how the destruction and degradation of nature is placing human health and livelihoods at risk. Nature loss directly increases our vulnerability to pandemics, such as COVID-19, natural disasters and conflicts, with the most vulnerable and marginalized people hit first and hardest. Protecting nature is intrinsically linked to protecting values, human rights, indigenous peoples, women, children and youth; while at the same time essential to tackling the climate crisis. Sustainable use of natural resources means building resilient economies - more than half of the global GDP is moderately or highly exposed to nature loss.
Heads of State and Government are urged by the diverse groupings to take bold, transformative decisions on nature and announce them at the UN’s Summit on Biodiversity, due to take place virtually on 30 September.
Marco Lambertini, Director General of WWF-International, said:
“Never has it been more clear that we need to reset our relationship with nature. The way we currently produce and consume is destroying the very natural systems that support our health and our economies. Urgent action is needed to tackle the drivers of biodiversity loss, most notably our food system, and secure a sustainable future for people and the planet.
“September's UN Summit on Biodiversity provides the world with an unmissable opportunity to change course. World leaders cannot ignore the groundswell of voices from across society calling for them to take decisive action at the Summit to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and secure a nature-positive world by 2030.”
Seven distinct groups, representing global concerns and cultures, are calling for governments to take action on nature loss: Environment, Development and other partner organizations; Development and Humanitarian organizations; Faith-based organizations; Indigenous People; Business; Local and Regional Governments; and Youth. In total, more than 1,000 organizations and individuals, present in almost every country worldwide, are represented in issuing an extraordinary coordinated call for immediate action to tackle our nature crisis, and committing to take action themselves to help halt and reverse the loss of nature.
The High Level Week of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly will start on Tuesday 22 September 2020; with the UN Summit on Biodiversity due to take place on Wednesday 30 September 2020.
