UN plan to protect 30% of the planet, could displace millions of people

Today the United Nations Convention for Biological Diversity begins with a major goal: protect 30% of the planet by 2030, and thus avoid irreversible catastrophes for all life that inhabits the Earth. However, as published by the non-governmental organization Survival International, this could mean the displacement of up to 300 million people, mostly members of indigenous communities around the world.

In a letter signed by 128 human rights and conservation organizations, the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) was alerted that gross violations of peoples’ rights can be carried out, unless they take measures in favor of them.

One of the great concerns lies in the lack of consideration about the social impacts that the protection of natural areas had “on indigenous peoples and other communities dependent on the land.” They argue that in 2010, when a similar decision was made by the CBD, there were “serious human rights abuses by conservation organizations.”

They add that the draft of this proposal does not contain measures regarding the treatment and well-being of indigenous communities. They request that, before the approval of the document, which would take place in May 2021, the protection of the peoples, who have been the guardinas of the Earth and its resources for centuries, be included. They also request that a detailed study be carried out on the effectiveness that the protection of natural areas represents for the conservation of biodiversity.

The big green lie

“Protected Areas will not save our planet. On the contrary, they will increase human suffering and so accelerate the destruction of the spaces they claim to protect because local opposition to them will grow. They have no effect on climate change at all, and have been shown to be generally poor at preventing wildlife loss,” said Survival International.

The NGO based in London, England, explains that the true cause of the loss of biodiversity on the planet is the “exploitation of natural resources for profit and growing overconsumption”, promoted by the countries of the northern hemisphere. According to Stephen Corry, from Survival International, these actions have little to do with the protection of biodiversity, and more with the appropriation of territories and resources.

“The call to make 30% of the globe into “Protected Areas” is really a colossal land grab as big as Europe’s colonial era, and it’ll bring as much suffering and death. Let’s not be fooled by the hype from the conservation NGOs and their UN and government funders. This has nothing to do with climate change, protecting biodiversity or avoiding pandemics – in fact it’s more likely to make all of them worse. It’s really all about money, land and resource control, and an all out assault on human diversity.”

The UN, for its part, states that the constant loss of biodiversity on the planet, and the commitment of the countries to stop it, has not been enough, since in the last decade, the agreements signed in 2010 were hardly achieved comply . “f you look at the scorecard, like a school report, the highest is below 30 per cent of the progress,” said Elizabeth Mrema, Executive Secretary of the CBD.

The official mentioned that although the document is in its initial phase, it should be ready for approval next May, during the 15th. Conference of the Parties, to be held in China in 2021.