To coincide with the 75th UN General Assembly, and leading up to the UN Biodiversity Summit, UNDP, UNEP, CBD and partners are creating a four-day Nature for Life Hub — a virtual space where global and local leaders will share stories on the importance of nature for sustainable development.
The themes of the four-day Nature for Life Hub reflect the systemic transformations we must see if we are to bend the curve on nature loss, including:
- Transform financial systems and redirect finance and investments in order to accelerate nature-based solutions, and accelerate the creation of a nature-based planetary safety net.
- Strengthen governance and rule of law by ensuring a national nature-based safety net approach that protects and enhances the rights of people vulnerable to biodiversity loss.
- Transform global consumption and production systems by fostering consumption and production practices that do not lead to the destruction of nature.
- Catalyze systemic change that places nature firmly at the heart of national sustainable development and sectoral planning.
- Mobilize demand for action for a nature-positive future across all of society.
Ahead of these four days, the Global Youth Biodiversity Network (GYBN) organized a virtual side event co-hosted by CBD and UNESCO as part of SDG Action zone: “Life in Harmony with Nature: a vision for all generations” bringing together representatives of UNESCO, Women, Youth, IPLCs. Held on September 23rd , the event also gathered the DG of Environmental Ministry South Africa, DG of Environmental Ministry of Japan and National Focal Point of Costa Rica.
Among the high times of the Nature for Life Hub agenda stand out the following sessions:
- The Sustainable Development Goals Day will kick-off the hub with cross stakeholders-mobilization sessions on September 24th. The UNGC SDG Business Forum will include session as part of Uniting Business Live, entitled “Nature is Everyone’s Business: A Business Policy Dialogue”. The Local and Subnational Governments perspective will be brought by ICLEI Cities Biodiversity Center across two thematic sessions on Nature for Health and Security (1.2) and Nature for Water (1.3).
- On the following Business & Finance Day, the CEO Forum Business and Finance for Nature will disclose the Finance Pledge and Business for Nature’s Call to Action, calling on governments to act with courage and urgency by putting nature front and center of policymaking.
- The Global Ambition Day on September 28th will come as the hightime of the Hub with the disclosure of the Leaders’ Pledge for Nature during the event “Leaders Event for Nature and People”, where video statements by Heads of States and other high levels countries authorities endorsing the pledge live forecast. The organization Business for Nature will jointly organize the Nature Finance Forum on Financing an Ambitious Post2020 GBF and Planetary Response to our Planetary Emergency. It will also be closely articulated with three ICLEI CBC-held sessions on “Planetary response to our planetary emergency” (3.1), “Creating a nature-based Planetary Safety Net” (3.2) with a video from Montreal City’s Mayor Plante, and “Green Recovery and Green new deals” (3.3).
- Finally on the Local Action Day scheduled on September 29th, a session “Local Action, Global Impact: scaling up local action for nature” (4.3) will introduce the Edinburgh Declaration and the ICLEI-run and CBD-endorsed platform for local and subnational governments’ biodiversity commitments CitiesWithNature and the Youth mobilization with a representative from GYBN.
Download the Hub’s social media toolkit and press package https://www.learningfornature.org/en/nature-for-life-hub/41
