Egypt is hosting the 14th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 14) on 13-29 November in Sharm El-Sheikh, under the sponsorship of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi. Egypt is the first Arab and African country to host this major event, which is one of the largest UN conferences on biodiversity. Convening beneath the theme, “Investing in biodiversity for people and the planet,” the conference seeks to strengthen international cooperation in the fight to prevent the deterioration of biodiversity throughout the world and offers an excellent opportunity to raise regional and international public awareness on the subject of biodiversity so as to better facilitate the realisation of the aims of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). In organising COP 14, Egypt is determined to demonstrate how well equipped it is to chair this important event, just as it had chaired the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) at the very delicate time of the negotiations in Paris over the climate change convention. Holding this event in Egypt simultaneously underscores the attention and concern that the Egyptian leadership devotes to environmental issues. Indeed, President Al-Sisi has personally participated in numerous conferences and other activities concerned with environmental issues which have been accorded the highest priority on the government's current agenda. The conference is also a good opportunity to demonstrate Egypt's dedication to the causes of sustained development by incorporating biodiversity concepts in various developmental sectors. Likewise, it is an opportunity to promote further investment in biodiversity and in innovative solutions for protecting it. A large exhibition will showcase Egyptian efforts in environmental protection and the conservation of biodiversity and nature reserves, according to Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad. The minister also emphasised the importance of the role that every individual has to play in environmental protection which is a collective endeavour that involves all members of society from school children to young adults, from the media to the private sector, from members of parliament to representatives of civil society, not to mention the officials immediately responsible for the five sectors that will be discussed during the conference: energy, industry, mining, health and housing. The CBD is the first international agreement on the protection and sustainable use of biodiversity. With 196 state parties, the convention quickly gained widespread support and its provisions are legally binding on all signatories. The CBD seeks to accomplish three main goals: the conservation of biodiversity, the sustainable use of its components and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilisation of genetic resources. Towards such ends, governments need to develop national strategies for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, especially given that the convention is regarded as a major key to the realisation of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. Egypt signed the convention in 1992 and completed the process of ratification once the convention went into effect in 1994. It has participated in all conferences of the parties to the convention (the COP conferences) since they first convened. Biodiversity is a renewable natural resource that must be conserved as it is a pillar of all sectors of human activity, such as agriculture, industry, health, the economy and tourism. It offers numerous services without which life would be impossible. It gives us the oxygen we breathe, the hydrological cycle, the pollination of plants and the re-fertilisation of soil. It fights pollution and disease, alleviates natural disasters, safeguards genetic resources and performs other vital processes on which human life depends.
