The joint UK and Indian sponsored independent panel of experts has concluded that a stronger policy framework which reflects the value of biodiversity in all decision making is vital to secure the Aichi targets.

The high level panel on the ‘Global Assessment of Resources for Implementing the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020’ released its first findings at ‘COP 11’ of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The Panel, chaired by eminent Indian economist, Pavan Sukhdev, was established to help understand the global resource requirements for the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, including the Aichi targets.

The Panel’s assessment, which is the first of its kind, provides an insight into the resources needed to meet the 20 international ‘Aichi’ biodiversity targets agreed at the last Conference of the Parties in Nagoya, Japan in 2010. The Panel’s findings are underpinned by detailed research looking at the actions needed to meet each specific target and the potential resources required.

Speaking in Hyderabad, Indian minister Jayanthi Natarajan, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Environment and Forests, said, “The decisions that CoP-11 takes in Hyderabad will lay the foundation for achieving the Aichi targets so as to ensure that by 2020 ecosystems are resilient and continue to provide essential services, thereby securing the planet’s variety of life, contributing to human well-being and poverty eradication, provided sustained and focused efforts are made by all stakeholders”.

UK Environment Minister Benyon, talking about biodiversity, said it was a significant issue for the entire world. “The Panel which the UK and India have established together has shown how important it is to mobilize resources of every kind – human, technical and financial, both public and private - in order to achieve the challenging targets we set ourselves at Nagoya,” he said.

Pavan Sukhdev, founder-CEO of GIST Advisory, a specialist consulting firm, said,  governance structures should ensure that biodiversity was taken into account in decisions in all sectors of our society.

“Whilst there are some big numbers in this report, our panel found that the greatest resource needs are around reducing the direct drivers of biodiversity, those which occur throughout our economies and societies, and those which – if addressed – will deliver benefits far beyond biodiversity, to human health, livelihoods, and sustainable development based on a healthier and more secure natural environment,” he said.