With biodiversity loss identified as an environmental concern requiring a strategic monitoring and control platform, Cuba is increasing its participation in the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 15) and other related meetings in Canada, with a legal framework focused on the reversal of damage.
Biodiversity is a complex concept with multiple actors and governmental and civil society responsibilities: it is the diversity of existing plants, animals and microorganisms, it includes the ecosystems and landscapes with which they interact and establish nutrient cycles, and genetic differences at the species level.
In view of this, in Cuba there is a clear will from the government to face up to this environmental problem and to fulfill the commitments made within the framework of agreements and other international processes.
The main institutional, legislative and programmatic supports range from the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba, the Law on the System of Natural Resources and the Environment; the National Environmental Strategy in its cycle 2021-2025; the government plan to prevent and combat crimes and illegalities affecting forest resources, wildlife and other natural resources.
In order to specifically address the loss of biological diversity, there is a strategic document: the National Program on Biological Diversity, which defines goals and measures to be implemented in a specific period of time.
This program is currently being adapted to a new strategic cycle, which must respond to national priorities and represent the national commitment to achieve the global goals adopted in the Strategic Framework and Agenda 2030 with their development goals. .
Priorities are focused on tackling the indirect causes of biodiversity loss (raising awareness in society; education, communication, dissemination and training actions related to these issues; integration of biodiversity values into plans, development programs, territorial order, the development of economic instruments to promote the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity) and raising awareness of the importance, contribution and interrelationship of biodiversity with the various domains of development and human well-being.
Another priority line is to control the main threats to biodiversity and promote sustainable use (with actions related to reducing the impact of invasive alien species, sustainable management of ecosystems and efficient use of natural resources, reducing pollution and reducing vulnerability). through climate change; other pressures related to illicit trade, among others) and effectiveness in preventing and fighting wildfires.
Likewise, the country is focused on promoting the conservation of the most representative values of biodiversity through the National System of Protected Areas, which is currently more focused on the sustainability of the system and increasing the effectiveness of its management; and other site-related conservation measures; the restoration of endangered species of wild flora and fauna; and protecting the genetic diversity of native species and those of socio-economic value.
Another priority projection is to reduce habitat, ecosystem and landscape degradation through ecosystem restoration/rehabilitation, reducing fragmentation, increasing resilience, improving the provision of goods and ecosystem services, and adapting to climate change.
With these strengths and challenges, Cuba is participating in COP 15 with a delegation made up of representatives from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (Citma), the National Center for Protected Areas, the Environment Agency and the Cuban Embassy in Canada.
The Cuban delegation, accredited to the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, consists of Adianez Taboada Zamora, Deputy Minister of Citma; Héctor Igarza Cabrera, Ambassador of Cuba to Canada; Odalys Goicochea Cardoso, Director General for Environment, Citma; Ulises Fernández Gómez, Director of International Relations, Citma; Omar Cantillo Ferreiro, Director of the National Center for Protected Areas, Environment Agency (AMA).
The delegation also includes Jesús Guerra Bell, Policy Specialist, International Relations Department, Citma; Lourdes Coya de la Fuente, Environmental Policy Expert, Directorate for Natural Resources, Prioritized Ecosystems and Climate Change, Directorate General for Environment, Citma; Teresa Dolores Cruz Sardiñas, Environmental Policy Expert, Directorate General for Environment, Citma; Susana Malmierca Benítez, Consul General of Cuba in Montreal, and Isaylin Cabañas Vera, Economic and Trade Advisor, both from the Embassy of Cuba in Canada.
COP 15 in context
The 15th Conference of the Parties (COP 15) to the CBD was scheduled to take place in Kunming, China from 15 to 28 October 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation, these meetings have been postponed twice.
In the second half of 2021, at the proposal of the Chinese Presidency of the COP, the first part of the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity was held online between October 11 and 15, 2021 the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the 4. Meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit Sharing.
In this first part, the Presidency of the COP, China practically organized a high-level segment on October 12-13, to seize the existing political moment with the negotiations of the strategic framework. It was titled Towards an Ecological Civilization: Building a Shared Future for All Life on Earth and ended with the adoption of a similarly titled final declaration.
The second part of the COP-15 was scheduled to take place in person in the second half of 2022 in Kumming, China. In June 2022, China announced that due to ongoing concerns related to the ongoing global pandemic, it had decided to move the second part of the December 7-19 meeting of the Conference of the Parties to Montreal, Canada.
This will be conducted concurrently with the second part of the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, the 10th Meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the 4th. Meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit Sharing.
The main goal of COP 15 is the adoption of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Strategic Framework, which will replace the Strategic Plan on Biodiversity 2011-2020 with its Aichi Targets.
The purpose of this new framework is to set new global goals to halt biodiversity loss and get its recovery on track. The framework will be as important for biodiversity as the Paris Agreement is for climate change.
Cuban trajectory
In March 1994, Cuba ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and accepted a number of obligations as a state party. These commitments are expressed either through the text of the Convention or through the decisions adopted every two years by the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention.
The Convention on Biological Diversity has three objectives: the conservation of biological diversity, its sustainable use and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the use of genetic resources. It is a framework agreement with three internal protocols: Nagoya Protocol (regulates issues related to access to genetic resources and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from their use); Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the Nagoya-Kuala Protocol (supplement to the Cartagena Protocol).