This October, delegates from around the world will gather in Yerevan, Armenia, for COP17, the UN’s biennial conference on biological diversity. Though the US has not ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity, approximately 50 American mayors, councilmembers, county leaders, state representatives, and regional officials are going, because they’ve concluded they can’t afford to wait for Washington to close that gap. With support from ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability USA (ICLEI USA), California Global Biodiversity Alliance, and the Alliance for Local Leaders International (ALLIES), Ambassador (ret.) Nina Hachigian, CEO of ALLIES and ICLEI USA Advisor on Local Diplomacy, will lead a delegation of 50 local elected officials from across the U.S. to show that local governments are serious about protecting biodiversity and.
The 17th UN Biodiversity Conference, taking place in October, marks a critical step in addressing the extinction crisis: countries will do the first global check on progress made under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which outlines 23 targets to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. Although the UN’s processes are built for nations, local governments will have a seat at the table during these negotiations through ICLEI, where they can share what’s working, learn from counterparts overseas, and bring proven, practical solutions back home.
“Locally, elected leaders don’t have the luxury of treating biodiversity as a far-off diplomatic abstraction,” said Ambassador Hachigian. “They own the parks, the watersheds, the zoning maps, and increasingly, the balance sheets where the cost of ecological loss shows up. Ensuring a robust representation of American cities and states at COP17 is the first of many steps to guaranteeing an ecologically resilient future that will provide pharmaceutical breakthroughs, economic benefits from fishing to ecotourism, and preserving the wonder of nature for our grandchildren.”
“Cities, states, and regions fought hard to ensure the negotiations for nature recognize their roles as critical ‘doers’ to bring agreements to life on the ground,” said Kale Roberts, Director of Local Diplomacy at ICLEI USA. “Four years ago, ICLEI and our member local governments celebrated Target 12 on local government’s role as the explicit acknowledgement that The Global Biodiversity Framework cannot succeed without us – but now we’re in the implementation era. Our delegation is learning at COP17 to then bring those lessons home. U.S. cities, towns, and counties are walking the talk of COP.”
Stay tuned for an official announcement listing the US delegation.
For more information about ICLEI USA, visit www.icleiusa.org, or contact us at iclei-usa@iclei.org. For more information about the Alliance for Local Leaders International, visit www.allies.net, or contact us at info@allies.net.