What does it mean to live in harmony with nature? To answer this question, it is first necessary to understand that human beings and nature are part of the same ecosystem and that they live – or should live – in harmony. As an integral part of this ecosystem, biodiversity sustains its functioning and provides essential services to human life. 

Globally, biodiversity has seen its rates decline on an unprecedented scale. In addition to deforestation, primarily due to agriculture and livestock farming, the accelerated process of urbanization is also a major driver of this decline. reduction.

In a national context, Brazil is considered to have the greatest biodiversity on the planet. With its continental size and enormous variety of terrestrial and aquatic habitats, it possesses the largest number of plant species, of which more than half are endemic. 

Given all these challenges – preserving biodiversity and ensuring that humanity lives in harmony with the natural resources provided by the planet – the years 2020 and 2021 are crucial for biodiversity in Brazil and the world.

The current Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and its respective Aichi Targets have completed their cycle, and a new Global Biodiversity Framework will be adopted during the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15). Ambitious targets are needed in the new framework. Post-2020 biodiversity framework, which aims to guide the implementation of the 2050 vision: "Living in harmony with nature". 

The campaign “New Deal for Nature and People”, launched by WWF and ICLEI South America in Brazil, has as its main objective to contribute to, expand and strengthen the role of Brazilian subnational governments in this journey of defining the new framework, and subsequent implementation of the global goals of the New Deal. Post-2020 Biodiversity Framework. 

For Sophia Picarelli, Biodiversity Manager at ICLEI South America, the initiative reinforces the importance of local actions for biodiversity preservation. “State and municipal governments are already working on several fronts, and can make increasingly significant progress in addressing this major global challenge. To this end, it is essential that the new framework continues to recognize subnational actors and, above all, guides ways to increase technical and financial support for local actions.” 

“We have reached the 21st century with a very high level of technological development, but we are using this knowledge for a primitive relationship with nature. Our way of life is still highly predatory. And to manage the natural resources we consume, we need one and a half planets,” says Maurício Voivodic, executive director of WWF-Brazil. In less than 50 years, the world has lost more than two-thirds of its populations of wild mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and fish, according to the most recent WWF report on biodiversity, which also warns that the tropical sub-regions of South and Central America are the most affected, with reduction rates exceeding 90%. “The most urgent challenge of the 21st century is to establish a new agreement between humanity and nature. This agreement needs to guarantee not only the preservation but also the restoration of what we have already lost.”

Stop Oliver Hillel, Program Officer at the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity – UN, Brazil has a fundamental responsibility to reverse the multiple losses and degradation of biodiversity, and to transform these conflicts into opportunities, innovation, and solutions. "The country played an extremely important role in the journey that established the Aichi Targets in 2010, especially in recognizing subnational and local authorities as key actors for implementation (Decision X/22). I hope that more and more states, municipalities, and other forms of subnational governance understand the importance of this moment and continue to show the world the reach of their actions for biodiversity.". 

This course will focus on several themes that aim to demonstrate how the global discussion lands in the national context, namely: Restoration and Recomposition of Native Vegetation; Sustainable Production and Consumption; Protected Areas, Land Use and Connectivity; and Nature-Based Solutions.

The first meeting will take place on February 11th, with the theme "Restoration and Recomposition of Native Vegetation," and will be broadcast on the ICLEI South America YouTube channel via this link: https://youtu.be/VTbkhXAaFD8

The New Deal for Nature and People joins other movements such as... Edinburgh Declaration and the São Paulo Charter, which call for greater participation, recognition, and encouragement from subnational and local governments in the biodiversity agenda.

Brazil has significant leadership in its subnational and local governments for the implementation of concrete strategies in this direction.

Check out also CitiesWithNature, a platform for states and municipalities to commit to action, share experiences, and inspire other cities and regions to contribute to the implementation of the new post-2020 biodiversity framework.