International Day for Biological Diversity – “We Are Part of the Solution”: Celebrating Victories and Forging the Way Forward

by Born Free USA in Blog, GNRII on May 21, 2021

Before COVID-19, world leaders and climate activists declared 2020 a “super year for nature” with vital international negotiations scheduled on the biodiversity and climate crises. As the pandemic spread, these negotiations were postponed to 2021, and we are now gearing up for a series of landmark meetings that, together, will set the international policy agenda on climate change and nature for decades to come. Born Free, a global leader in wildlife conservation and wild animal welfare, is working to make 2021 an exceptional year – a year of great ambition and opportunity to drive better outcomes for wild animals and people alike.

On October 20, 2020, Born Free launched its Global Nature Recovery Investment Initiative (GNRII), which provides a framework to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and wildlife overexploitation; deliver enhanced ecosystem viability and services alongside climate change mitigation; and promote public and animal health and welfare, sustainable livelihoods, and food and societal security.

As the world celebrates this International Day for Biodiversity, Born Free continues to forge ahead with its call for transformative reforms for the natural world.

“The prime objective of the GNRII is to make sure nature is heard, valued, recognized, prioritized, and loved as it should be. Through this initiative, we aim to amplify the knowledge and science that lays out how we need to change to ensure nature can recover fully. The priorities of our natural world must be what drives our economic growth and the decisions that global leaders will be making to tackle the recovery from COVID-19.” Said Will Travers, co-Founder and Executive President of Born Free Foundation in the UK, and President of Born Free USA.

This year, the theme of the International Day for Biodiversity celebration reminds us that “we are part of the solution.” Born Free is proud to have launched several initiatives to drive transformational change worldwide.

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Explore Our Work

Calling on World Leaders to Implement Bold Commitments to Ensure Nature’s Recovery

Born Free was joined by 19 of the world’s leading conservation organizations (the WC20) in authoring a Declaration calling on world leaders to invest in nature to protect biodiversity, avoid future pandemics, and safeguard the long-term well-being and security of current and future generations and all life on Earth. This declaration was presented to the G20 summit in December 2020.

We are calling on world leaders to support the protection of at least 30% of land and sea areas worldwide by 2030 (30 by 30). This must include protecting at least 30% of the ocean from destructive industrial and non-industrial activities; the reduction of direct exploitation of threatened species to levels compatible with their recovery; the transformation of the valuation of nature in our global economic systems; and the mobilization of the resources necessary to secure its protection and recovery. This call was made in preparation for the One Planet Summit in January 2021, and in preparation for the upcoming 26th meeting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

Born Free USA joined 14 NGOs to call on the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to be more ambitious at the upcoming 19th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) by seeking a complete prohibition of all commercial trade for species threatened with extinction that are or may be affected by international trade.

“Exploitation of wild plants and animals (which includes commercial trade) is the second leading driver of unprecedented decline in biodiversity, and in the case of marine species, it is the first driver. Traded species are more likely to be endangered than non-traded ones, and wildlife trade has the ability to annihilate affected species in just a few years. We must recognize our responsibility and ensure that our legal frameworks are strengthened to ensure species at risk of extinction will no longer be decimated by commercial trade.” Said Angela Grimes, Born Free USA’s Chief Executive Officer.

Promoting the Adoption of a Global Agreement on Wildlife Crime through the End Wildlife Crime Initiative

Born Free is founding member of the Global Initiative to End Wildlife Crime, which was established to promote the need for a new global agreement on wildlife crime, and for the amendment of existing international wildlife trade laws to include public and animal health criteria into decision-making. The Initiative has identified a protocol under the United National Convention against Transnational Organised Crime (UNTOC) as the appropriate vehicle for an international agreement, and has produced a draft protocol in collaboration with legal advisors.

At the opening session of the 13th Session of the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Vienna on 17 May 2021, the Presidents of Costa Rica and Gabon confirmed they would launch the process for the establishment and implementation of a global agreement to tackle wildlife crime. The European Commission has confirmed its support for the initiative, as part of the EU Strategy to Tackle Organised Crime 2021-2025.

Securing Field Victories Against Wildlife Crime

In the field, Born Free USA organized 32 law enforcement training workshops for 18 countries in West and Central Africa, representing a total of 590 officials trained including customs officers, judges, prosecutors, rangers, airport employees, and other law enforcement officers. These trainings started paying off over the past year with participating officers successfully intercepting a wide variety of wildlife products including:

  • 14 elephant tusks seized by Burkina Faso customs officers on 11 May 2021 in Ouagadougou;
  • 400 kg (882 lbs) of pangolin scales seized by customs officers in the Northern part of Nigeria in March 2021;
  • 2,400 lbs (8,800 kg) of pangolin scales; 2,772 elephant tusk pieces; 11 lbs (5 kg) of rhino horns; dried and fresh animal bones; 425 lbs (103 kg) of skulls suspected to be of lions and other wild cats; and 76 pieces of semi-processed and processed timber seized by the Nigeria customs in January 2021; and
  • Significant shark fins seizures by customs authorities in Benin and in Ivory Coast.

Recognizing the True Value of Wild Animals through the REBALANCE EARTH Initiative

Rebalance Earth aims to internalize the cost of ecosystem protection into the economy of businesses, starting with the protection of keystone species such as forest elephants, whose daily activities increase the amount of carbon sequestered and stored in their forest habitat. Researchers at the International Monetary Fund estimates that, over its natural lifetime, a forest elephant’s activities can result in the sequestration of carbon to the value of at least US$1.75 million. Born Free is proud to support this initiative showcasing the need to translate what science is telling us about the value of the nature into the language of the markets and policy makers. To find out more, watch our Earth Day webinar.

Birds in the wild.

Be Part of the Solution

1. Invest in Nature. Invest in Born Free. Support our efforts by making a donation to Born Free. Your gift – of any size – will help us fight to protect the natural world on a global scale, save animals, and protect habitats.

2. Watch and share our short film, Protect Them, Protect Us, which explains why, to protect humankind, we must protect the natural world and save wildlife from exploitation.

3. Contact your decision-makers to ask that they:

A. Actively support the adoption of worldwide commitments to expand protected areas to at least 30% of land and sea areas by 2030 and 50% by 2050 including by adhering to the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People, the Global Ocean Alliance, and the Blue Leaders Campaign.

B. Actively support the adoption of targets and milestones in the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework ensuring that:

      • Human-induced extinctions of wild species are halted;
      • Declines of wild species are halted;
      • Unnecessary wildlife trade both legal and illegal is eliminated;
      • The recovery of species is secured to ensure that all wild species can maintain a favorable conservation status;
      • The interrelationship between human health and well-being, animal health and welfare, and environmental health is fully recognized and prioritized through the adoption of the One Health and One Welfare approaches in the Framework.

C. Promote strong protection of oceans by:

      • Ensuring that at least 30% of Oceans receive “high” protection status (no extractive activities allowed subject to the rights of indigenous communities) or “full” protection status (only light extractive allowed such as local community fishing) by 2030;
      • Securing the conclusion of an international treaty under the UN Convention for the Law of the Sea for the conservation of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction;
      • Securing firm commitments on pollution reduction.

D. Adhere to the End Wildlife Crime Initiative and actively support:

      • The creation of a new global agreement on wildlife crime (UNOTC Wildlife Protocol).
      • The amendment of existing CITES provisions to include public health and animal health into decision making.

E. Ensure that Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) responds to the species extinction crisis more effectively by seeking to prevent commercial trade when a species is at risk of extinction.

F. Make a bold commitment to reduce carbon pollution during the COP26 UN climate change conference and commit to ambitious Nationally Determined Contribution of reducing climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions.

G. Promote recognition of the One Health and One Welfare frameworks, which recognize the links between animal health and welfare, human health and well-being, and broader environmental health; and support the incorporation of these principles into international policy initiatives and their implementation.

 

Animals in Africa.

Frequently Asked Questions

How badly off is Earth? What do we mean when we say biodiversity is in crisis?

Experts indicate that we are now facing a biodiversity crisis unprecedented in scale resulting in a “mass extinction event.”

Around one million species are threatened with extinction, many of them within a few decades. Seventy-five percent of the terrestrial environment is “severely altered” and more than 85% of the surface of wetlands have disappeared.

The tropics lost 11.9 million hectares of tree cover in 2019 which corresponds to losing a football field of primary rainforest every 6 seconds for a full year.

The world’s oceans are warmer, more acidic, more polluted, and losing more oxygen than ever before, causing unprecedented damage to virtually all marine life. Ninety-seven percent of marine fish stocks are fully- or over-exploited or depleted.

By 2100, climate change could result in the loss of more than half of African bird and mammal species, a 20% to 30% decline in the productivity of Africa’s lakes, and significant loss of African plant species.

Natural ecosystems play a crucial role in the sequestration of carbon. When human activities degrade or destroy habitats, they jeopardize the role these play in carbon sequestration and can cause affected ecosystems to switch from carbon sinks to carbon sources in just a few years. Protected areas are our key to preserving the carbon sequestration potential of our ecosystems.

Today, only 15% of the world’s land mass and 7% of the oceans are protected. Degradation and loss of ecosystems are one of the main causes of greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

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We are in the middle of one of the biggest public health crisis the world has ever encountered. Shouldn’t that take priority over focusing on biodiversity conservation?

The important lesson from Covid-19 is that we must address the biodiversity crisis if we hope to sustain human life.

More than half (60%) of emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic, and 70% of these are thought to originate from wildlife.

In the case of COVID-19, its emergence was most likely linked to wildlife trade with contact between humans and wildlife occurring at a wildlife market. We know that illegal and poorly regulated wildlife trade is a significant threat to human life. We also know that crowding, stress, and injury among wild animals provide the perfect environment for pathogens to spread and mutate, and their close proximity to people during capture, farming, transportation, butchering, and trade creates many opportunities for human transmission. Yet no measures are in place to protect public health or animal welfare in this context.

Any activities that bring people into direct and often conflicting contact with wildlife can increase the risk of disease transmission from wildlife to people.

Loss, degradation, and fragmentation of natural ecosystems are reducing natural habitats and force animals to come into contact with humans. Our response to Covid-19 must address the ongoing threats to biodiversity and animal welfare.

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What is the impact of wildlife trade in all of this? Does it really affect biodiversity that much?

According to international scientists, the direct drivers of nature’s decline over the past 50 years include, in order of importance:

  • Changes in land and sea use;
  • Direct exploitation of wild plants and animals;
  • Climate change;
  • Pollution;
  • The spread of invasive alien species

Direct exploitation of wild plants and animals (which includes legal and illegal commercial trade) is the second leading driver of the unprecedented decline in biodiversity, and in the case of marine species it is the primary driver.
Traded species are more likely to be endangered than non-traded ones Wildlife trade has the ability to devastate affected species in just a few years.

Illegal wildlife trade is expanding and devastating increasing number of species (350 million specimens sold on black market each year).

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Why are we still experiencing a biodiversity crisis when we have been hearing about conservation measures for years? Can protection even work?

Protected areas are recognized as the cornerstone of biodiversity conservation and yet today, only 15% of the world’s land mass and 7% of the oceans are protected.

But, protection on paper is not enough. Protected areas must be genuinely protected, their true value recognized and mainstreamed, and sufficient resources need to be urgently and equitably provided for their protection. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development estimates that more than US$500 billion of public funds each year are invested in activities which are harmful to nature. This must be stopped and the funds redirected.

A change of scale is urgently needed. – We need to rethink our relationship with nature to prioritize recovery.

To prevent mass extinctions and bolster resilience to climate change, scientists warn that we must protect at least 30 percent of our lands, rivers, lakes, wetlands, and oceans by 2030 and 50% by 2050.

The precautionary approach is not sufficiently followed internationally. CITES is a good example; more than 38,000 species are listed and granted CITES protection, and yet and a large number of endangered/critically endangered species remain on Appendix 2 (meaning commercial trade is allowed).

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What problems can arise if we don’t reverse the path of nature destruction?

Without change, we will not be able to sustain life on earth. We will lose the ecosystem goods and services on which human life depends (e.g. clean air, clean water, and pollinators ensuring sustainability of crops). Our exposure to zoonotic diseases will continue and escalate. We will jeopardize livelihoods and food security. We will worsen climate instability (e.g. floods, droughts, and cataclysmic weather events).
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Born Free USA

Born Free USA works to ensure that all wild animals, whether living in captivity or in the wild, are treated with compassion and respect and are able to live their lives according to their needs. We oppose the exploitation of wild animals in captivity and campaign to keep them where they belong—in the wild. Born Free USA’s primate sanctuary is one of the largest in the United States and provides a permanent home to monkeys rehomed from laboratories or rescued from zoos and private ownership.

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