Egypt's Minister of Environment, Yasmine Fouad, called on the international community to work to restore the credibility of multilateral cooperation in achieving the slogan of Peace with Nature, which is carried by the Biodiversity Conference COP16, at a time when the world is silent about what is happening in Palestine, which is the destruction of natural resources, not just biodiversity. This came during Egypt's speech delivered by the Minister of Environment on behalf of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, at the ministerial dialogue on implementing the global framework for biodiversity within the activities of the high-level segment of the United Nations Framework Convention on Biological Diversity COP16 conference held in Colombia.
The Minister of Environment said that Egypt has made remarkable progress in implementing the goals of the global framework for biodiversity at the national level. As part of its commitment to the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP), Egypt submitted an update to its national biodiversity plan to the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, focusing on restoring ecosystems, promoting sustainable agriculture, and expanding the scope of nature reserves.
She added that Egypt has developed nature-based solutions (NBS) as an important part of the National Biodiversity Plan, which contributes to combating climate change and promoting sustainable development. These solutions in Egypt include projects in coastal areas, restoring deserts and urban green spaces, as nature-based solutions are essential to confronting biodiversity loss and climate change simultaneously.
The Minister pointed out that Egypt's efforts in implementing the Global Framework for Biodiversity also included supporting nature reserves with the necessary infrastructure that enables the optimal use of natural resources to support local communities, and 9 tribes were integrated into economic and social activities in nature reserves while preserving their heritage and culture, announcing readiness to issue an official declaration for the Great Barrier Reef along the Red Sea coast, believing in the importance of conservation and protection operations for the marine environment as a guarantor of a sustainable future for future generations.
Fouad explained that Egypt, at the international level, was a pioneer in integrating the biodiversity dimension into the climate change file during Egypt's hosting of the COP27, which included the launch of the ENACT initiative for nature-based solutions in cooperation with Germany and in cooperation with the International Union for Conservation of Nature as a growing network of more than 18 partners from countries across continents.
The partnership issued its inaugural report on the status of nature-based solutions goals at the sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly in March 2024.
At the Arab level, the Minister of Environment indicated that Egypt, during its current presidency of the Board of Trustees of the Regional Authority for the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden (Persga), is contributing significantly to reconsidering how to advance natural resource conservation paths and the necessary measures for protection in the Red Sea, such as activating the Red Sea decision as a special area, in addition to Egypt hosting the Peace Center in Hurghada to ensure dealing with oil spills in the region.
Fouad further stressed several important messages, most notably the importance of funding, which is still limited compared to the goals and targets set by the Global Biodiversity Framework, and countries, members and donors to carry out their responsibilities in supporting financing the implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework to halt and reverse the decline of biodiversity by 2030 and restore ecosystems by 2050.
She also called for enhancing synergy between efforts to confront climate change, biodiversity and desertification, and working to develop innovative methods from all sources, including innovative financial mechanisms and international cooperation to enable the implementation of the updated ambitious plans for biodiversity. The Minister of Environment also pointed out the need to integrate biodiversity with climate change.
