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9:07 AM

COP15: India calls for new, dedicated fund for biodiversity conservation

There is an urgent need to create a new and dedicated fund to help developing countries successfully implement a post-2020 global framework to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, India has said at the UN biodiversity conference in Canada's Montreal.

It has also said that conservation of biodiversity must also be based on 'Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities' (CBDR) as climate change also impacts nature.

Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said the successful implementation of a post-2020 GBF will depend on the "ways and means we put in place for an equally ambitious 'Resource Mobilisation Mechanism'". "There is a need to create a new and dedicated mechanism for the provision of financial resources to developing-country parties. Such a fund should be operationalised at the earliest to ensure effective implementation of the post-2020 GBF by all countries," he  said.

As the 196 parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) finalise negotiations for a post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) -- a new set of goals and targets to halt and reverse biodiversity loss -- there have been repeated calls for the inclusion of the CBDR principle in finance-related targets.

 

8:43 AM

Bhupender Yadav makes plea to boost environmental funding at COP15

India's Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav has expressed hope that the undergoing UN biodiversity summit, referred to as COP15, will reach a consensus on putting in place the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.

Speaking at the plenary in Montreal that was dumped several centimetres of snow, Yadav said reversing ecosystem degradation and halting global biodiversity loss are essential for the socioeconomic development and wellbeing of people, and for advancing global sustainability.

"India, under the leadership of Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi is working towards restoring and conserving its rich biodiversity, which includes one of the world's richest mix of flora and fauna," Yadav wrote in a blog on Saturday.

"India is also working closely with other countries for knowledge sharing and technology exchange for biodiversity conservation."

 

8:25 AM

PM Modi to visit poll-bound Meghalaya, Tripura today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Meghalaya and Tripura on Sunday and unveil projects worth over Rs 6,800 crore. The projects encompass a wide array of sectors including housing, road, agriculture, telecom, IT, tourism, and hospitality. In Shillong, the Prime Minister will participate in the golden jubilee celebration of the North Eastern Council. The Council was formally inaugurated on November 7, 1972.