🔶 Biodiversity; Yerevan hosts a meeting the Earth was waiting for

In 2022, the global community in Montreal signed the “Global Nature Pact” and set 23 targets for itself by 2030.

The most important of these was a goal known as “30 by 30,” under which, by 2030, at least 30% of land and seas must be placed under protection.

It was also decided that harmful environmental subsidies, such as government financial support for fossil fuels, would be reduced by up to $500 billion per year.

A report published shortly before the Yerevan summit described the environmental situation as worrying.

The report emphasizes that without a serious acceleration in implementing commitments, it will not be possible to reach these goals by 2030.

Negotiations at the UN biodiversity conference (COP17) in Yerevan were difficult and prolonged, to the point that the final session continued until early Saturday, October 31 (8 Aban).

At the end of the proceedings, the participating countries reached agreement on an “action plan” to speed up implementation of the “Nature Pact.”

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) called the agreement the “most important achievement” of the summit. Greenpeace, however, criticized that the Yerevan agreement does not match the scale of the crisis.

Catherine Weller from the “Fauna & Flora Conservation” organization also said, while stating that she was not satisfied with the content of the agreement: “In any case, it’s good that countries reached an agreement at all.”

A commitment to redirect harmful subsidies, mobilizing more financial resources to protect nature, and improving coordination between climate protection and biodiversity policies are among the summit’s achievements.

Iran is one of the countries grappling with a biodiversity crisis.

Lake Urmia, once one of the largest salt lakes in the world, has shrunk dramatically over recent decades.

The Hyrcanian forests in northern Iran, which are registered on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, are under pressure.

Species such as the Iranian cheetah, whose numbers have fallen to fewer than 15 individuals, are on the verge of complete extinction.

Iran is a member of the Global Nature Pact, but its implementation faces serious obstacles due to the government’s lack of attention to these issues, and in the context of sanctions and economic crises.