Egypt’s Minister of Environment Yasmin Fouad called on the international community to try to restore the credibility of multilateral cooperation to achieve the slogan of Peace with Nature carried by the COP16 Biodiversity Conference. What is happening in Palestine is the destruction of natural resources, not just biodiversity.
This was during the speech of the Minister of Environment of Egypt on behalf of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi at the ministerial dialogue on the implementation of the global framework of biodiversity within the framework of the activities of the high-level segment of the UN Framework Convention on Biological Diversity. COP16 conference in Colombia.
The Minister of Ecology said that Egypt has made significant progress in implementing the goals of the global biodiversity framework at the national level. As part of its commitment to the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP), Egypt submitted an update of its national biodiversity plan to the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, focusing on restoring ecosystems, promoting sustainable agriculture and expanding coverage. nature reserves.
He added that Egypt has developed nature-based solutions (NBS) as an important part of the National Biodiversity Plan, which contributes to combating climate change and promoting sustainable development. These solutions in Egypt include projects in coastal areas, restoration of deserts and urban greenery, as nature-based solutions are essential to simultaneously combat biodiversity loss and climate change.
The minister noted that Egypt’s efforts in the implementation of the Global Framework for Biodiversity, as well as the support of nature reserves with the necessary infrastructure that ensures the optimal use of natural resources to support local communities, and the integration of 9 tribes into economic and social activities in nature reserves. preserving its heritage and culture, announcing their willingness to make a formal declaration for the Great Barrier Reef along the Red Sea coast, believing in the importance of marine environment conservation and protection operations as a guarantor of a sustainable future for future generations.
Fouad explained that Egypt has been a pioneer at the international level in integrating the biodiversity dimension into the climate change file in Egypt, which hosted COP27, which included the launch of the ENACT initiative for nature-based solutions in cooperation with Germany. As a growing network of over 18 partners from countries on all continents with the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The partnership published its first report on the status of the nature-based solutions goals at the sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly in March 2024.
At the Arab level, the Minister of Ecology noted that Egypt, during its current presidency of the Board of Trustees of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden (Persqa) Regional Administration, is making a significant contribution to the review of how to develop ways to protect natural resources. and Egypt’s hosting of the Peace Center in Hurghada, as well as the activation of the Red Sea Resolution as a special area to ensure the necessary protection measures in the Red Sea to combat oil spills in the region.
Fouad then highlighted a number of important messages, particularly the importance of funding, which is still limited compared to the goals and targets set by the Global Biodiversity Framework, and the importance of countries, members and donors to fulfill their commitments in supporting the financing of the implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework. A Biodiversity Framework to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 and restore ecosystems by 2050.
It also called for strengthening synergies between efforts to combat climate change, biodiversity and desertification, and for developing innovative methods from all sources, including innovative financial mechanisms and international cooperation, to ensure the implementation of renewed ambitious biodiversity plans. The Minister of Ecology also noted the need to integrate biodiversity with climate change.