Update from joint inclusive conversations series on biodiversity and climate action

Text and photo in this post by Stephen Woroniecki Principal Research Officer WWT London Wetland Centre (LiU until recently) and representative in this conversation process for Focali in collaboration with the hosting partners. Ashanapuri Hertz in photo with Stephen with SwedBio is co-leading this series with the broad team of partners involved.  

Update from our joint series "Inclusive conversations: Opportunities for the Implementation of a Human Rights-Based Approach to Biodiversity and Climate Action" by Focalimember Stephen Woroniecki reporting directly from UNFCCC UN SBSTA/SBI June 2024, Bonn, Germany

"Implementation Gap; the UNFCCC/multilateral environmental policy sphere is a bubble in itself. This makes implementation of the Paris Agreement, whether mitigation, adaptation, or Loss and Damage even more of a challenge.

Interactions between international, national and sub national levels are vexed, power-laden and potentially unjust. There is a need to ensure that interactions are mutually beneficial and reflect the interests, values, knowledges and perspectives of the different groups who are involved.

This brings up issues of rights and duties, and the possible relevance of a Rights-Based Approach. It may be necessary to put in place suitable structures to ensure that the decision-making processes of implementation recognise, respect and include those affected by those decisions. Such process-based rights are arguably as important as the rights of those affected by climate impacts themselves.

Our project aims to provide a platform for a diverse array of stakeholders to make sense of a rights based approach in implementation of policies designed to address the biodiversity and climate crisis, including through nature based solutions. We are here to listen and learn. With such an approach, we hope for fair and meaningful action to confront these interwoven crises."

Read more about the inclusive conversations process leading up to COP16 in this article by SwedBio and stay tuned for more updated on our work ahead of and during COP16.