Nele Mariƫn, Friends of the Earth International
Biodiversity is rapidly declining, nearing the brink of collapse, with numerous reports highlighting its critical state. In the past two weeks, 18,000 to 20,000 people gathered - in the blue zone alone - to tackle this crisis. But how did these massive crowds engage with one another? Were they all cooperating for the benefit of Nature? Were they carefully listening to one another?
At times, it felt as if multiple universes coexisted within a single space. There was the universe of negotiations, buried under brackets and late-night deliberations. The universe of Indigenous peoples, closely connected to Mother Earth and deeply rooted in spiritual values interwoven with Nature. The universe of NGOs, passionately speaking up against false solutions and injustices. And the universe of business people, speaking in polished terms about their role in "the solution." Whenever someone from one universe ventured to speak in another, they were often regarded as aliens.
Except, perhaps, for the business people, whose perspectives seemed warmly embraced in the negotiation rooms and inside delegations. We heard of a small European country's delegation that included 60 registered business representatives, invited to exclusive receptions and granted special access to the minister. Although NGOs could join the delegation, they didnĀ“t have such privileges. This dynamic doesnāt appear to be unique to that country.
This results in decision texts that put āthe impact of biodiversity loss on businessā at the forefront, with the impacts of business on nature only on a distant second place - after hard fights to even include them - and any regulatory measures to stop such impacts are entirely lacking.
Similarly, proposals that would permit businesses to continue expanding harmful operations s like biodiversity offsetting - have gained significant traction among official delegations.
Biodiversity is certainly not improving!