Stop the Same: The Youth is heard!
While some of the young leaders worked hard on providing their views on the draft Marseille Manifesto, the delegation kept being involved in the final few sessions offered on the last public day of Congress. GYBN organized a workshop at the #NatureforAll Youth Oasis, to showcase their work and invite as many youth as possible to join the #StoptheSame campaign.
“There is a momentum, a momentum for gender equality, for the inclusion of all people. We just cannot afford to have things going the way they are going. We have to do more for the people out there, to educate them.” Jimena Ojeda, Scouting Peru
Also, the closing plenary of the Post-2020 Partnership Pavilion offered the opportunity to Jimena Ojeda (Peru Scouting) to give her thoughts and expertise on the way forward to a nature-positive, equitable and carbon-neutral future. She stressed that the momentum for a just transition was never this high, and that all stakeholders should be welcomed to take part as direct contributors to this transformation.
As the last meeting of the youth delegation was held to bid farewell to this amazing group of young leaders, newly-elected IUCN President Razan al Mubarak stopped by toask for their impressions after these few days. She listened carefully to their feedback, and commended their dedication to improving the way IUCN includes youth and their expertise. She also underlined that work still needed to be done to reach meaningful youth participation, and committed to work alongside stakeholders to this end.
The Way Forward to elevate the level of ambition for the post-2020 GBF
Day 6 closing plenary of the Post 2020 Pavilion Partnership brought together high-level speakers from multiple organizations to discuss the challenges and opportunities to elevate ambition in the GBF negotiations and the urgent messages that must be shared to political leaders. As a summary speakers repeated how much we are in a red alert situation and we urgently need a transformative shift in our relationship with nature.
“We have to translate the GBF vision into quantification. Now is the time to turn to a nature positive world. That is ZERO loss.” Johan Rockstrom, Postdam Institute
Human rights must be integrated throughout the GBF and the Post 2020 Partnership members restated the importance to get serious about our moral duty to youth and to future generations.
Recognizing that poverty and biodiversity degradation are two sides of the same coin, linking the GBF with other conventions and spelling out the complementarities with SDGs will be instrumental for people to take ownership of the GBF.
“It requires integrated approaches to address the challenges of poverty and inequities alleviation, food security, etc. The Sustainable Development Goals 1, 2, 5, 13 must be addressed much more clearly in GBF.” Sofia Sprechmann, CARE
Tackling drivers of loss is requiring transformative change in our agriculture, infrastructure and food systems. The solutions to solve the nature crisis rely also with the IPLCs who guard, steward, protect and possess unique knowledge.
“As human beings, who are we to destroy the others? We are only one species among others, we have the same rights as birds, insects etc… This is this balance that keeps our planet healthy!” Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Coordinator, Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad
If protected areas are crucial they aren’t enough. Partners repeated the need to ensure that the remaining 70% are managed and used sustainably. Money from public and private sources matters, but the partners recalled the need to ensure that these funds flow in the right direction.
“We have to go beyond our comfort zone and stop talking to each other, going to finance, private sectors, the youth to be truly transformational.“ Patricia Zurita, Birdlife CEO
This last session concluded by emphasizing the need for a whole of planet approach. Synergies among partners are crucial now and the months to come must be seized to elevate the level of ambition. A massive whole of society mobilization will be essential for the implementation of the global biodiversity framework. Bringing forward the Pavilion partnership is surely a relevant step in that direction.
“This pavilion was created with a sense of ownership and co-design. I believe this is the spirit of our community. The mission we have in front of us is much bigger than any of us.” Marco Lambertini, WWF
Read the IUCN World Conservation Congress Marseille Manifesto here
