Date : 17 – 29 November 2018
Venue : Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt
Organizer : United Nations
Preparation of the post 2020 and the 2nd work program of IPBES:
Great progress overall, but what about freshwater?
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
The 14th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) will be held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, from November 17th to 23rd 2018.
The COP-14 is a crucial step before the year 2020 and the COP-15, which will mark the end of the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity (2011-2020) and the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. The COP-14 will serve as a starting point for the negotiations to come over the next two years in preparation for the post-2020 era.
2020 is also an important year for climate and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) under the Paris Climate Agreement will be reviewed and enhanced; and SDG 6.6 on the protection and restoration of freshwater ecosystems and 15.1 on the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems are set to be reached.
For more information on the COP-14:
THE FRENCH WATER PARTNERSHIP AT THE COP14
The French Water Partnership has been admitted as an observer to the COP-14 and will be attending a Biodiversity COP for the first time! While the FWP’s work on climate and the SDGs has always taken into account biodiversity, 2018 was the year it launched a separate action plan on the topic. So the COP-14 comes at a time when the FWP is reflecting on a very active year spent advocating for conservation of aquatic biodiversity and implementation of Nature-based Solutions for Water worldwide.
The FWP’s activités on biodiversity and Nature-based Solutions were made possible thanks to the the Seine Normandy Water Agency and the French Biodiversity Agency.
MESSAGES FROM MEMBERS OF THE FRENCH WATER PARTNERSHIP FOR THE COP-14
The multi-stakeholder working group of the French Water Partnership has prepared a document of recommendations in which it advocates for the implementation of Nature-based Solutions for water, and urges international negotiations on biodiversity to take into account freshwater ecosystems, as they are not in the COP-14 provisional agenda. Take a look at our recommendations.
FRESHWATER IN SIDE-EVENTS ORGANISED AT THE COP-14
The negotiations and side-events organized at the COP-14 will both take place in the Sharm El Sheikh International Congress Center (SHICC). For more information of the organization of the COP-14, take a look at the website!
The side-events organized throughout the two weeks parallel to the negotiations will address the important role and implication of civil society organizations in the coherent implementation of SDGs, the Paris Agreement and biodiversity targets (Aichi targets and the post-2020 framework).
While freshwater biodiversity is not on the agenda of the COP-14 negotiations, several side-events will be addressing the topic. Here’s a short – and non-exhaustive – idea of what’s planned:
- « Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures : Meeting Aichi Target 11 and Informing the Post-2020 Biodiversity Framework » [link]
Organized by: IUCN International, CBD
Practical information: Saturday 17th of November at 13:15, Red Sea – GRULAC Room, Building 1
- « On Target ! Galvanizing long-term action for nature » [link]
Organized by: IUCN International & IUCN France
Practical information: Monday 19th at 13:15, Event tent, Building 2
- « We need to better connect people with nature to inspire enhanced action on biodiversity conservation » [link]
Organized by: IUCN International, CNN, PCA [link]
Practical information: Thursday 22nd at 13:15, Al Alamien – Contact Group 5 Room, Building 2
Several events will also be case study-based, such as an event on the case of the Qaroun Lake in Egypt and the effects of pollution on fish. To access the full list of side-events, please click here.
SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE: A TURNING POINT FOR NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS?
Recommendations from World Water Week 2018 for the COP14
The theme of this year’s Stockholm World Water Week which took place end of August 2018 was “Water, ecosystems and human development”. On this occasion, the FWP co-organized with Rare the IUCN International an interactive event on social acceptance and local perceptions of Nature-based Solutions. After case study presentations, the audience members separated into groups to discuss ways in which various stakeholders’ perceptions of and behaviors towards Nature-based Solutions can be shifted towards acceptance. The resulting discussions gave way to a series of important recommendations which feed into the FWP advocacy work on Nature-based Solutions for water worldwide. Take a look at these recommendations and come and meet us at the COP-14 to discuss them!