The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF)
In December 2022, a historic agreement was reached at COP15 held in Montreal, Canada. That is the "Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF)."
This is a global common goal in the biodiversity field, comparable to the "Paris Agreement" for climate change.
23 Targets by 2030
The GBF sets 23 specific targets to be achieved by 2030, in order to realize a "world living in harmony with nature" by 2050. The most important among these is "30by30."
Target 3: 30by30
"Conserve at least 30% of land and sea by 2030"Until now, protected areas covered only about 17% of land and about 8% of oceans. This ambitious goal aims to significantly expand this and protect one-third of the Earth.
However, this cannot be achieved simply by increasing off-limits protected areas. This is where OECM (Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures) comes in. These are "areas that are not protected areas but effectively contribute to biodiversity conservation." Examples include properly managed satoyama, corporate-owned forests, and shrine groves.
Target 15: Impact on Business
"Take measures for large enterprises and financial institutions to assess and disclose biodiversity-related risks, dependencies, and impacts"This sent shockwaves through the business world. "We didn't know" is no longer an excuse. Companies are now obligated to make visible how they affect nature throughout their entire supply chain.
The World Moves from "Net Zero" to "Nature Positive"
Until now, environmental measures have focused on "reducing negatives (Net Zero)." However, what the GBF aims for is a world of "stopping the negatives and turning positive (Nature Positive)."
Restoring lost forests, purifying polluted rivers, bringing back endangered species. This is not just about reclaiming the beautiful Earth of the past, but an urgent challenge to protect the survival foundation of humanity.
The World IKIMON Aims For
Now that the world is steering toward "Nature Positive," we at IKIMON are trying to realize "biodiversity that everyone can participate in."
Taking a photo of a flower found during a walk. Having someone tell you its name. Pressing "like." Such casual actions become valuable data for achieving 30by30 and lead to discovering OECMs.
Realizing monitoring at a scale that experts alone cannot keep up with, through citizen power. That is the world IKIMON aims for.