Global leaders are currently gathered in Montreal (Canada) for the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity Conference of the Parties, better known as CBD COP15. Over the next few days, nations hope to finalise and agree upon a global strategy to protect nature. This policy, known as the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, includes goals and targets to be met by 2030 and 2050. Our message: local and subnational governments will be central to its success.
Cities and regions have committed to achieving global nature targets, as demonstrated in their clear and ambitious statements – namely the Edinburgh Declaration in the run-up to CBD COP15, and the Montreal Pledge signed at COP15. Regardless of the outcomes of the CBD COP15 negotiations, local governments are determined to continue to step-up their action for biodiversity. They are already preparing the groundwork for the next biodiversity milestone, which will accelerate and channel momentum into ambitious implementation: the new Berlin Urban Nature Pact initiative. The ‘Berlin Pact’, an initiative by cities for cities, is slated to be launched post-COP15 in 2023. Each of the three milestones above constitutes a significant acceleration in terms of ambition and measurability of commitments for biodiversity action.
To this end, the ICLEI Member Berlin (Germany) – a signatory of the Montreal Pledge – invites all cities to join their ongoing, inclusive consultation process for a Berlin Urban Nature Pact to be launched in 2023.
In her address at the 7th Summit for Subnational Governments and Cities, the Mayor of Montreal Valérie Plante tied the three initiatives together, saying: “The Montreal pledge is part of three complementary key pledges. First of all, in the Edinburgh Declaration in 2020, local governments have acknowledged the urgency to act and expressed their commitment to do more during the next decade. Here, in 2022 in Montreal, we’ve acted, and next year with the Berlin Pact we are going to explain how to deploy these actions in our cities to maximise the impact of these actions. So together – Edinburgh, Montreal and Berlin – we will really be able to go further to protect biodiversity.”
The current draft of the Berlin Pact was initiated by the City of Berlin in close collaboration with the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation and ICLEI Europe, and developed in a first round of consultation with a number of cities worldwide. The draft lays out 12 commitments with concrete and measurable targets that are based on the Edinburgh Declaration’s Plan of Action and on the Montreal Pledge. These 12 commitments spell-out SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) targets across: species and habitats; rivers, wetlands and water management; trees and forests; urban green infrastructure; governance and strategies; soils; food; agriculture; marine ecosystems; buildings and public space illumination; education and communication; and reporting and monitoring.
Now it is time for local and subnational leaders to come together to refine the draft Pact in an inclusive consultation process, to culminate in its launch in 2023.
François Moreau, Head of the Urban Ecology Agency of Paris (France) is on-site at CBD COP15, and pleased to be advocating for the Berlin Pact, both because of Paris’ commitment to urban nature protection, and as one of Berlin’s sister cities. Mr. Moreau explains: “The Berlin Pact is a set of strong commitments that support us in greening cities. I invite you, in the name of Berlin & all stakeholders mobilised in this pact, to work on this document, which is very well developed already.”
Do you represent a city ready to help shape the Berlin Pact to drive implementing the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework? Then get involved in the ongoing consultation, continuing through early-2023 with online consultation workshops. Reach out to ICLEI Europe Senior Officer Philipp LaHaela Walter (philipp.lahaela-walter@iclei.org) and visit the website to learn more and to join this movement.