COP 15 Biodiversity in Montreal (Canada) / High Level Segment
Cameroon defends the urgency of a special financing mechanism for Biodiversity and the need for capacity building for all.
In front of the members of Governments from all over the world present today at the High Level Segment of the second part of the COP 15, the Minister of Environment, Protection of Nature and Sustainable Development, HELE Pierre, representative of the Cameroonian Government, delivered a 3 minute speech which was followed with great attention.
After thanking China and Canada, the host country, Mr HELE Pierre summarised Cameroon's position at this meeting. He highlighted the country's remarkable results in terms of biodiversity conservation: «Cameroon has created protected areas representing a total of 22% of its national territory, a coverage well beyond the Aichi target set at 17%".
Referring to the often thorny issue of resource mobilisation, the Minister of Environment stated from the outset: "If we want to preserve tomorrow, we must invest today", calling for more financial sacrifices for the implementation of this ambitious Global Framework for the post-2020 period, the Central Objective of the countries party to the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity, gathered at this COP 15. "Cameroon joins its voice to that of other countries that support the establishment of a Global Fund dedicated to Biodiversity, in accordance with Article 21 of the Convention, as a complement to the Global Environment Facility (GEF)," he reiterated.
The same is true of COMIFAC (Commission Interministérielle des Forêts de l'Afrique Centrale), which is taking part in the working groups. Among the Cameroonian delegates of COMIFAC, Senator Fon LEKUNZE NEMBO Andreas is taking part in the negotiations in his capacity as a member of GTBAC and representative of the Network of Parliamentarians for the Protection of Central African Forest Ecosystems.
Whether at the level of the Technical Working Groups, the side events or the Negotiating and Lobbying Groups, two concerns are at the heart of the debates in Montreal: the urgency of a Biodiversity Fund with access mechanisms favorable to developing countries, and the need to increase capacity building for all, in particular developing countries. Both aspects are necessary for the efficient implementation of an ambitious Post-2020 Framework.
