New globally-supported paper provides a unified path to nature’s recovery
In a unique and widespread consensus, 11 CEOs of global environmental and business organizations have signed off on a new paper titled A Nature-Positive World: the Global Goal for Nature. The paper, which defines what is needed to halt and reverse today’s catastrophic loss of nature, is public April 30, 2021.
“It’s imperative that we see conservation as a global, human endeavor,” says Dr. Jodi Hilty, co-author on the paper and president and chief scientist of Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y). “As an organization that does conservation at such a massive scale in North America, we know how important it is to contribute to nature protection as a global partner.”
Preventing the extinction of threatened species, and increasing the health, abundance, diversity and resilience of species, populations and ecosystems are some of the key steps to succeed in being nature-positive by 2030. These conservation goals are core to Y2Y’s mission to connect and protect habitat from the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem to Canada’s Yukon Territory so people and nature can thrive.
“It’s imperative that we see conservation as a global, human endeavor. As an organization that does conservation at such a massive scale in North America, we know how important it is to contribute to nature protection as a global partner.”
Dr. Jodi Hilty, Y2Y president and chief scientist and Global Goal for Nature paper co-author
The world faces interconnected crises of biodiversity loss, climate change, and human development inequities. The Global Goal for Nature is the first to address the various dimensions of biodiversity, making the case for the adoption of a succinct Nature-Positive Global Goal for nature.
Figure 1 from the Global Goal for Nature paper: The trajectory of nature positive by 2030. It recognizes some ongoing loss is unavoidable given current trends and identifies the goal of a net improvement to a nature-positive condition by 2030 (from a 2020 baseline) and full recovery by 2050.
Lead author Dr. Harvey Locke, chair of the Beyond the Aichi Targets Task Force and Y2Y’s co-founder and strategic advisor, says the important global meetings this year are humanity’s chance to bring it all together to create an Equitable, Nature-Positive, Carbon-Neutral world.
“Eleven global institutions, both business and environment have come together to describe how we can get there with efforts like protecting at least 30 per cent of the world by 2030, stopping species extinctions, protecting intact carbon pools in nature and preserving natural capital,” says Locke.
“Eleven global institutions, both business and environment have come together to describe how we can get there with efforts like protecting at least 30 per cent of the world by 2030, stopping species extinctions, protecting intact carbon pools in nature and preserving natural capital.”
Dr. Harvey Locke, chair of the Beyond the Aichi Targets Task Force and Y2Y’s co-founder and strategic advisor, and Global Goal for Nature paper lead author
A Global Goal for Nature — in parallel to the UN Climate Convention’s “net zero” emissions goal — would commit governments to be nature-positive by 2030 by taking urgent action to halt nature loss now.
People around the world are encouraged to learn more about this innovative path forward for nature by visiting naturepositive.org.
