Erica Mason, Policy Campaigns Officer for RSPB Scotland, talks us through the Aichi Targets for biodiversity, actions we can take for nature, and the first steps to Revive Our World.
Ten years ago, countries around the globe set themselves a task: save the planet’s biodiversity. It set the Aichi Targets, a framework for action for all the countries of the world, and gave them ten years to do things like address the causes for biodiversity loss, increase protections and safeguarding, and implement action through participatory planning processes.
Last week, the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity published the fifth and final report on the Aichi Targets, the Global Biodiversity Outlook 5. In the ten years since these targets were agreed, the world has failed to fulfill a single one. Forget failing grades, we’ve dropped out of school.
The Aichi Targets outline an integrated relationship between people and nature. They set out a vision for a resilient and healthy world: in our cities we could nurture habitats and wildlife alongside our homes, shops and workplaces. Our rural areas need not be parceled off for single use but instead be a diverse mosaic with wildlife rich spaces providing benefits such as resilience to a changing climate and protection from flooding.
As part of this vision, we all have the right to be in nature, to access it and to benefit from it. But we also have the responsibility for it, to tend to it and protect it, to serve as a steward for survival now and thriving later.
The importance of having access to nature has never been clearer, but so is what we mean by access. Each of us should have the ability to go outside and hear birds, see trees and immerse ourselves in the diversity of our plants and animals. We should also be able to breath clean air, withstand natural disasters and sustain not only ourselves, but the species around us.
We at RSPB Scotland continue to hope we can achieve this vision. As Mariame Kaba, the civil rights activist, reminds us, hope is not a way to see the world but a discipline. To achieve transformational change, we must take action every day to build the future this hope outlines. Along with our partners at WWF Scotland and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, we have outlined 11 first steps we can take for nature. And we don’t have to wait: the Scottish Government could implement these #11actions now, and what they fail to achieve could be implemented by the next government, following Parliamentary elections in the spring.
By taking steps now, we can achieve our vision later. As part of the Nature Recovery Plan, we outline steps that deliver for nature and people, including collaborative efforts between conservationists and industry to protect our seas, support for nature-friendly and climate-friendly farming and protection from invasive species and harmful practices such as peat burning and the inappropriate use of nitrogen fertiliser. Each of these steps requires us to change the way we work with each other, bringing people from all sectors together and planning a new, integrated relationship between our human and natural spaces.
But we know we cannot achieve these goals without support from everyone to change policy and practice. The first action you can take is to support the Revive Our World Campaign. As part of the campaign, we’ll connect you to actions you can take to support the Nature Recovery Plan and other initiatives that support our vision. We know that we can achieve transformative change, step-by-step. We have hope.