Born Free is urging G7 leaders to focus on biodiversity protection and recovery at the upcoming summit, due to take place in Carbis Bay, Cornwall, on June 11-13.
In a letter to Boris Johnson and other G7 leaders, Born Free’s co-founder and President, Will Travers OBE, highlighted the crisis facing the natural world as a result of destructive human activities, and emphasized that if the degradation and exploitation of nature and wildlife is allowed to continue, ecosystems will collapse with catastrophic consequences, for the natural world and humanity alike.
Will Travers said, “Experts tell us that it’s not too late to halt and reverse the decline in biodiversity, although to do this, transformative changes to our relationship with nature are urgently required. Bold decisions must therefore be taken, at local, national, regional, and global levels, in order to mainstream biodiversity protection across all areas of policy, and provide innovative and progressive economic solutions to the biodiversity crisis.”
The letter calls on the G7 to prioritize the mainstreaming of nature in our global economic systems, and commit to the mobilization of the resources necessary to secure nature’s protection and recovery.
This latest approach by Born Free follows the Declaration it made, alongside 19 of the world’s leading conservation organizations (the WC20), 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 human generations, which was presented to the G20 summit in December 2020.
In October 2020, Born Free launched its Global Nature Recovery Investment Initiative (GNRII), which sets out measures aimed at halting and reversing biodiversity loss and wildlife overexploitation. The GNRII focusses on delivering enhanced and sustainable ecosystem viability and services, while also mitigating climate change and promoting public and animal health, sustainable livelihoods, and food and societal security.
Born Free’s letter to the G7 concludes that we can halt and reverse the decline in the natural world, we can secure a viable future for ourselves and for all life on earth, but we need our leaders to act now, and act boldly. There is no time to waste.
