Deputy Minister Narend Singh: 16th Conference of Parties to Convention on Biological Diversity

Programme director Distinguished Guests, Ladies and gentlemen, All Protocols observed, It is a great honour for me to be here today at the 16th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. This COP is an auspicious event to celebrate Southern Africa's achievements and launch an important guide.

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which outlines four goals for 2050 and 23 targets for 2030, sets an ambitious pathway toward the global vision of a world living in harmony with nature by 2050.

The guide, entitled "Mapping Biodiversity Priorities," is a valuable resource that has been welcomed by both the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and the Convention on Biological Diversity Secretariat. First published in 2016, this second edition includes important updates that address the targets and indicators of the Global Biodiversity Framework. It serves as a transformative resource for any country working to implement and monitor the Global Biodiversity Framework by providing practical, updated methodologies to help nations integrate biodiversity into their national prioritisation and planning processes.

South Africa has successfully followed the sequential processes of mapping, assessment, prioritisation, and planning using IUCN standards, leading to significant benefits for conservation action and monitoring of key biodiversity indicators. Several African countries, including Namibia, Malawi, and Mozambique, will share their experiences today, along with Rwanda, Botswana, Ethiopia, and Ghana.

Deputy Minister N Singh: Keynote address on practical experience of Mapping Biodiversity Priorities to support national implementation and monitoring of the GBF at the CoP 16, Cali, Colombia

The South African National Biodiversity Institute, in partnership with the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre, has demonstrated remarkable foresight and leadership in producing this guide. It details the sequential approach in a manner that is accessible to all, which is precisely the kind of work S.A.N.B.I. aims to continue as a subregional support centre under the technical and scientific cooperation mechanism of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Resource mobilisation is crucial to ensure the continuity of this work. Today, we also recognise France's contributions through various projects that support this vital work in Southern Africa. This commitment from France towards scientific endeavours that underpin many of the Global Biodiversity Framework's indicators and targets directly supports Target 19, which calls for a substantial and progressive increase in financial resources to implement national biodiversity strategies and action plans.

Capacity building and enhancing the knowledge base for guiding biodiversity action are just as important as resource mobilisation, as reflected in Targets 20 and 21 of the Global Biodiversity Framework. Our scientists and technicians in Southern Africa are demonstrating cooperation and collective learning, which is often all too rare. Peer-to-peer learning, formal training, in-person technical workshops, online resources, and materials such as this guide, are some of the ways we can build the capacity needed to achieve the goals and targets of the Global Biodiversity Framework.

Ladies and Gentlemen, today you will hear how mapping and assessing biodiversity priorities can contribute to biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning, improve access to biodiversity knowledge, and help mainstream biodiversity into decision-making.

I hope to see this approach, which is currently enabling significant achievements for biodiversity in Southern Africa, being applied in other regions around the world.

Together, we can assist each other in stemming the tide of biodiversity loss, ensuring that we leave our children and future generations a better world.

Thank you.

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