Activists take to Montreal streets demanding more action from COP15

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On the sidelines of the COP15 conference on the preservation of biodiversity, conservation groups expressed concern on Saturday as the conference shows no transparent mechanisms for implementing the targets, leading protesters to urge for more action. 

Guido Broekhoven, head of policy and research at the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), said, "Strong text that commits countries to review progress against global targets and ratchet up action over time is essential to hold governments accountable," adding that he felt "very worried" about the current state of negotiations.

Similarly, the last 10-year biodiversity deal known as the Aichi Biodiversity Targets adopted in 2010 in Japan was regarded as a failure for not being able to reach the targets and objectives set. 

'Protect Indigenous people first'

The Paris agreement of 2016 focused on adaptation, implementation strategies, and international cooperation, in the form of "nationally determined contributions" to combat global warming. 

The current text on biodiversity, on the other hand, does not commit countries to amp up action if targets are found to not be met and instead solely "urges" them to consider a global review every four years.

Aleksandar Rankovic, of the US nonprofit Avaaz, told AFP, "So what we have on the table is barely an encouragement to maybe do better," adding, "And there is no compliance mechanism being discussed that could help organize this necessary conversation between governments, on how they could cooperate better."

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The UNFCCC event taking place from December 7-19 gathers nearly 5,000 delegates from 193 countries to devise "a pact of peace with nature," in an attempt to preserve forests, oceans, habitats, and species.

A large majority of Indigenous Canadians joined in on the protests in the streets of Montreal as they donned costumes resembling birds, trees, and reindeer, which is a symbol of Canada's forests now threatened by climate change. 

"The people are trying to speak, trying to say you can't just talk, you have got to act," said Sheila Laursen, a member of the activist group Raging Grannies. 

Member of a tribe that calls the Ecuadoran Amazon home, Helena Gualinga, commented, "Let's not forget that... to protect biodiversity we need to protect Indigenous people first, Indigenous people are protecting biodiversity." 

'A bicycle without gears'

Li Shuo, global policy advisor of Asia at Greenpeace, told AFP, "If biodiversity targets are the compass, implementation is the actual vessel to take us there." 

According to Shuo, the negotiations are currently "missing critical elements" meant to mandate nations into increasing activity over time, as he describes the situation as "a bicycle without gears."

French think tank IDDRI researcher Juliette Landry expressed some hope that progress was made, noting that for the first time, common planning and reporting templates were adopted by the nations during this COP event. 

In light of the pressure arising from protests and activists, an additional meeting day next week was approved.

The EU is one of the largest perpetrators of biodiversity loss. A report from the European court of auditors done two years ago, which previously warned of the EU's failure to stop marine biodiversity loss and to restore fishing to sustainable levels in European waters, found that it has left 99% of continental waters unprotected from bottom trawling, industrial-scale extraction, and other “high-impact activities” with only 1% set up as “true” marine protected areas (MPAs) and only 10.8% of the surface of Europe’s seas had been designated as MPAs in 2017.