By Simone Galimberti
KATHMANDU, Nepal | 16 September 2024 (IDN) — With the upcoming COP 16 on Biodiversity that is scheduled to be held in Colombia, October 21-November 1—the first after the introduction of the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework—it is imperative that Nepal presents an ambitious updated version of its National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan or NBSAP.
The local chapter of the Global Youth Biodiversity Network is striving to ensure youths, including indigenous youths are involved and engaged in the debate. Shreya Adhikari, the Chapter Coordinator and Priyanka Pandey, GYBN Nepal’s Youth Advisor and a biodiversity advocate, shared about their work.
When we talk about the future of our planet, one of the greatest worries is the disconnect between climate action and biodiversity preservation. The link between these two issues have been largely ignored and, in general, the global conversation about been mostly centered on the threat of climate warming and its devastating consequences.
We often forget that biodiversity loss is one of the three key ingredients (the others being climate warming and air pollution) of the so called Triple Planetary Crisis faced by Planet Earth, a destructive combination of human induced actions. Biodiversity has been largely ignored. This comes with many risks and consequences.
Rift bridged at the Climate Cop 28
Finally last year at the Climate Cop 28, this rift has been bridged and finally biodiversity must be integrated in the next cycle of Nationally Determined Contributions, NDCs, the main national document that parties to the Paris Agreement like Nepal have to submit to show their commitments towards mitigating their carbon emissions.
Nepal has some success stories in the field of biodiversity and conservation. First the size of protected forest land has increased, allowing Nepal to exceed its global commitments. There have also been efforts to protect and safeguard endangered animals.
Yet as reported by Mongabay News, there a host of issues that the country needs to work very hard in the field of biodiversity. For example, the fact that “apart from promoting a few dominant tree species, there is a very limited integration of biodiversity in the overall community”.
Management of wild animals and humans’ interactions also poses serious challenges, a situation also aggravated by dislodgement and displacement from what are now protected areas of many traditional indigenous communities that for centuries were the natural guardians of the forests.
On the top of these issues, riverbeds are often the subject of illegal sand and there have been a consistent patterns of flouting local environmental impact evaluations related to major infrastructural projects.
Nepal now has an opportunity to propose further commitments and plan measures that could put an end to these abuses. The occasion is called the mandatory update of National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan or NBSAP, the masterplan that each party to the Convention on Biodiversity, must review and update periodically.
At the upcoming COP-16 on Biodiversity to be held in the city of Cali in Colombia, Nepal will have to submit its revised version. Importantly, this is the first COP following the groundbreaking agreement related to the Kunming-Montreal Framework, (KMGBF), a global plan to preserve biodiversity that was approved in 2022.
In order to know more about the efforts to promote youths’ involvement, I approached the Global Youth Biodiversity Network- Nepal, a member of a global network representing youths in the global biodiversity discussions.
Through e-mails, two of the key members of GYBN Nepal, Shreya Adhikari, the Chapter Coordinator and Priyanka Pandey, GYBN Nepal’s Youth Advisor and a biodiversity advocate, shared about their work.
I came to know about their work when local news covered a major national workshop that the Chapter had organized at the beginning of August. The GYBN Nepal chapter’s network was started in 2020 amidst COVID.
Because climate discussions overshadow the ones on biodiversity and the links between the two are, at policy level, still very at embryonal stage, it is not a coincidence that the work of this group has not been recognized as it should be.
The workshops were key because participants, all young people representing the wide diversity of the youth population of the country, discussed their priorities Nepal should include in the revised NBSAP. I wanted to know from them why the Kunming-Montreal Framework is so important for Nepal.
“Nepal is home to diverse ecosystems and a wealth of flora and fauna, including many endemic and endangered species. The KMGBF provides a framework for conserving this rich biodiversity and ensuring the protection of critical habitats and supports actions to maintain and restore these services, which are essential for the well-being of both people and nature”, Shreya said.
Priyanka further added: “It further aligns with sustainable development goals by promoting conservation strategies that can help achieve economic, social, and environmental sustainability. This is crucial for Nepal, where many communities depend directly on natural resources for their livelihoods. For a country like Nepal, which faces significant conservation challenges, participating in such frameworks helps attract international support and resources”.
Creating awareness among young people about the threats to biodiversity is an imperative according to Shreya and, accordingly, young people must be knowledgeable about the different initiatives happening at policy level.
“GYBN Nepal is currently focused on creating awareness among the young population of Nepal about the KMGBF but we also are generating conservations around its significance, our role as youth in achieving its targets, and its implications for the upcoming NBSAP in Nepal. Our recent workshop brought together a diverse group of young individuals who actively contributed to the drafting of a “Youth Priorities and Recommendations” document”, Shreya explained.
“This document, now submitted to the Ministry of Forest and Environment, outlines how youth can play a crucial role in the NBSAP process. However, our work doesn’t end there—we are committed to staying involved in the NBSAP process by regularly attending meetings, voicing our concerns, and ensuring that youth perspectives are well represented in the final policy document and beyond” Shreya further added.
I asked Priyanka about the major building blocks of Nepal’s revised NBSAP? “People and nature are intrinsically connected. As GYBN Nepal, we see Indigenous People and Local Communities, Women and Youth from intersectional representation are the building blocks of Nepal’s NBSAP”, she commented.
What are the major steps for the updated NBSAP?
Shreya wrote me the following: “As of now, Annex I focusing on targets and its headline indicators have been submitted by the government to CBD. Following up, further local level stakeholders consultation to build a road map for 2030 KMGBF will be launched. We as GYBN Nepal will be supporting the government via submission of our National Youth Priorities on KMGBF and will act as supportive stakeholders throughout the process”.
She continued: “However, our focus is on ensuring and pushing the government as much as possible to make it inclusive towards youth. So far, the response from the government has been supportive and inclusive of youth engagement in NBSAPs and we are dedicated to build on that post our consultation”.
Interestingly, indigenous youths have been engaged in the work of GYBN- Nepal, this is essential as youths from vulnerable and historically marginalized groups must also be at the center of the discussions.
“We invited representatives from the National Indigenous Youth Group of Nepal. GYBN and its mission has always been to lead conservation via youth especially indigenous youth, moving forward with the consultation we hope to make more formative pacts with existing indigenous youth groups and align our priorities for biodiversity”, Priyanka noted.
My last question was on how to strengthened the nexus climate and biodiversity. Priyanka is crystal clear on how the implementation of the KMGF in Nepal and a real commitment by the government towards it, is paramount.
“Biodiversity plays a key role in enhancing resilience to climate change. As we often say climate change might be the part of the problem but biodiversity acts as the solution. By implementing the KMGBF, Nepal can better protect its natural systems, which in turn supports climate adaptation efforts. By implementing the KMGBF, Nepal can better protect its natural systems, which in turn supports climate adaptation efforts”.
As I am writing this piece, Minister for Forest and Environment, Ain Bahadur Shahi Thakuri is attending the One Planet Network Forum in Rio de Janeiro. This is an important networking opportunity for Nepal to share best practices and knowledge but then Government must do its outmost to prepare, inclusively its updated NBSAP.
For Shreya, Priyanka who have soon welcome new members, in an important boost for the organization, the priority is to ensure that young people are involved and engaged in the process of reviewing the NBSAP.
Interestingly Nepal seems to be a pioneer in trying to connect climate and biodiversity. In 2021, during the COP 26 on Climate in Glasgow, then Prime Minister Deuba committed “Nepal would increase forest cover to 45% of its area by 2030” as explained by the Nepali Times.
This is definitely going to be one of the major commitments of the country for the revised NBSAPs. At the same time, the country needs to continue work on capacity building and this area remains a top priority for Shreya and her colleagues.
“We plan to do a pre-cop16 capacity building and awareness program catered to youth however, this is subject to availability of resources and funding”.
Hopefully donors and other development partners will step in and support this key initiative.
*Simone Galimberti writes about the SDGs, youth-centered policy-making and a stronger and better United Nations. [IDN-InDepthNews]
Photo source: Mongabay
