‘We urge governments to integrate conserving biodiversity and disaster management’

By the IFRC

(This story is an IFRC press release issued in Bogota and Geneva yesterday.)
 
Ahead of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 16), the IFRC called on the parties to address the relationship between environmental degradation, climate change, and disasters and their impacts on people, nature and cultural heritage; all this will help achieve the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) targets.

“Biodiversity loss, climate change, and pollution are environmental but also humanitarian crises. All increase the risk of food shortages, water scarcity, epidemics and pandemics, more frequent and intense disasters, and forced displacement and migration due to recurrent catastrophes,” said Martha Keays, IFRC Regional Director for the Americas.

“We call on all local and national governments, civil society and all COP 16 participants to increase technical and financial commitments to disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation.”

Two specific GBF targets are critical to avoid a situation where, by 2050, 200 million people require international humanitarian aid every year as a result of a combination of climate-related disasters, environmental degradation and resulting socio-economic impacts.

Target 8 aims to increase the climate resilience of ecosystems and livelihoods through mitigation, adaptation and disaster risk reduction, or nature-based solutions; Target 11 aims to restore, conserve and enhance nature’s contribution to human well-being.

“It is crucial to accelerate joint action to save nature and lives. Red Cross expertise in convening power and action in disaster risk reduction, locally adaptation and resilience-building can directly support the efforts to protect, restore and sustainably use biodiversity,” Keays explained.

Local Red Cross teams across the Americas are already implementing measures like protecting mangroves to reduce the impact of flooding, restoring coral reefs and forests, and protecting water sources.

Bioengineering to reduce landslide risk

These nature-based solutions are complemented with early action systems, forecast-based anticipation and early action protocols that allow the IFRC network to protect people and nature before disasters strike. Examples include:

*The Argentinian Red Cross supported the restoration of more than 25,000 hectares of natural vegetation after the destructive fires in the province of Corrientes in 2022.

*The Mexican Red Cross promotes a participatory and localized resilience-measurement which highlights the interconnectedness between systems and sectors, facilitating analysis and collective action across the physical, human, social, financial and natural spheres.

*In Canada, the Red Cross has supported several indigenous organizations in restoring their lands post-disaster to increase resilience.

*In collaboration with the Belize Red Cross, Canadian volunteers supported local communities to restore their culture and forests and increase resilience to climate change by planting Maya nut trees.

*The Honduran and Swiss Red Cross worked together to help reduce the risk of disasters by combining soil bioengineering and reforestation to reduce landslide risk. This was done via agroecology activities to help productive areas recover, increase food security and provide economic opportunities.

*In Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Grenada, the Red Cross promotes the sustainable management and restoration of mangrove ecosystems to strengthen the resilience of landscape and to reduce climate risks, while also contributing to biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation.

“We urge governments to integrate biodiversity conservation strategies into disaster management plans and sustainable development initiatives,” said Judith Carvajal de Alvarez, President of the Colombian Red Cross.

“As auxiliaries to public authorities in the field of disaster risk reduction, the Red Cross can help with this.

“We’ve expertise in ensuring that local, indigenous and scientific knowledge are prioritized. We can also advise on ensuring women are at the centre of all efforts – considering their critical role and contributions and addressing their specific needs.”

COP 16, in Cali, Colombia, started on Monday and ends on 1 November.

Clarendon, Jamaica. Red Cross volunteers work with local people on agroforestry in the community of Rock River as part of a greening programme aimed at reducing disaster risks. They planted a first batch of 50 trees on farmland and river banks to reduce erosion and flood. (File photo: JRC via IFRC)