Norway joins important biodiversity initiatives

Norway is joining two ambitious initiatives. The Global Ocean Alliance is led by the UK and is aiming for the protection of at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030. The High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People is co-chaired by Costa Rica and France, and is championing the goal of protecting at least 30% of the world’s land and ocean by 2030. Membership of these initiatives gives countries an ambitious joint platform for their work.

‘The loss of nature is one of the most serious international crises the world is facing, and can only be resolved through closer international cooperation. Norway has ambitious goals for safeguarding both nature in our own country and the state of the global environment, and it therefore makes sense for us to join both these initiatives,’ said Minister of Climate and Environment Sveinung Rotevatn.

‘Norway will play an active role in the negotiations, and we will do what we can to put in place ambitious international targets for biodiversity and a system for achieving them,’ said Mr Rotevatn.

Norway will use its membership of the two initiatives to focus attention on issues that it is vital to deal with between now and 2030. These include how the world can work towards more sustainable use of the ocean on the basis of the recommendations from the Ocean Panel, and environmental protection as an element of sustainable ocean management.

Both the Alliance and the Coalition are working towards the inclusion of a target of protecting at least 30% of land and ocean in the global biodiversity framework. Norway has also adopted this position in the negotiations.

‘There is clear scientific evidence that it is vital to protect at least 30% of the world in a natural state. This must be reflected in the post-2020 global biodiversity framework,’ said Mr Rotevatn. 

‘An important priority for Norway will be to work for the targets in the new framework to emphasise the protection of areas that are important for biodiversity and of a variety of habitats and ecosystems, sound management, and the development of well connected systems of protected areas,’ said Mr Rotevatn.

Read Norway’s letters to Costa Rica, France and the UK.

Norway is already playing a leading role in developing an improved planning, reporting and review mechanism for the new post-2020 global biodiversity framework.

With a mechanism of this kind, it will be possible to review countries’ collective performance and progress towards the new global targets at regular intervals.