CBD CoP16 Side Event of the Collaborative Partnership on Sustainable Management of Wildlife: Developing Indicators for Targets 4 and 5: Human Wildlife-Conflict and Sustainable Use and Trade of Wild Species
Introductory Remarks by CITES Secretary-General Ivonne Higuero
21 October 2024, Cali, Colombia
Distinguished delegates, partners, and friends,
Warm welcome to today’s side event on Developing Indicators for Targets 4 and 5: Human Wildlife-Conflict and Sustainable Use and Trade of Wild Species.
I am Ivonne Higuero, CITES Secretary-General and Chair of the Collaborative Partnership on Sustainable Management of Wildlife.
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework has set ambitious goals for safeguarding our biodiversity, and Targets 4 and 5 are crucial for ensuring the sustainable use of wildlife resources for the conservation of biodiversity. To measure progress towards these targets where complex, multidimensional challenges exist, careful monitoring and good indicators play a critical role.
During this session, we will hear from experts who will present their insights on developing indicators for both human-wildlife conflict and the sustainable use of wild species. These indicators will help guide us toward balanced solutions that not only conserve wildlife but also safeguard the well-being and livelihoods of people, especially those who depend on wildlife resources.
Before doing that, let me briefly introduce the Collaborative Partnership on Sustainable Wildlife Management, the CPW, and our indicator-related joint initiatives.
Established in 2013, the CPW is a partnership of 13 international organizations, including the Secretariats of three biodiversity- related conventions, IGOs, NGOs and research bodies, each of which have differing but complementary mandates and programmes on the sustainable use of wildlife resources.
CPW provides a platform for addressing wildlife management issues that require national and supranational responses, but what does this mean in practice and how can we ensure that by working together the CPW creates valuable synergies and our efforts make 1+1 add up to more than 2!
CITES, CBD, CMS, UNEP, FAO, who also hosts the CPW’s Secretariat, CIC, CIFOR, IIED, IIFB, ITC, IUCN, IUFRO, OIE and TRAFFIC form the CPW and many of the representatives are here today.
For the CPW, the development of these indicators is significant as it directly aligns with five thematic objectives:
- Support countries to ensure that the use and trade of wildlife is legal, sustainable and safe
- Raise awareness of the links between sustainable use of wildlife, food security, livelihoods and well-being, culture and the integrity of landscapes
- Promote the prevention, management and reduction of human-wildlife conflict and enhance coexistence
- Embed the sustainable use and management of wildlife in the One Health agenda
- Advocate for sustainable and inclusive wildlife economies
On the margins of the 25th meeting of the SBSTTA last year, the CPW published its Work Plan that sets out eleven joint initiatives aligned with five CPW thematic objectives with a strong emphasis on collaboration, between CPW partners but also with other organisations.
The two joint initiatives that will be presented by CPW partners today are an important contribution as we develop the monitoring framework for the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework:
- Involvement in the Human-Wildlife Conflict Component Indicator development, and
- Contribution to development of methodology for Sustainable Use of Wild Species Indicator for Target 5 of the Framework.
Monitoring and indicators are of fundamental importance in addressing biodiversity loss, as recognized in Article 7 of the CBD. It is through monitoring and adequate indicators that we can assess the effectiveness of policy and management decisions.
While several targets of the framework address the need for sustainable wildlife management, including managing HWC for coexistence in Target 4, and ensuring sustainable, safe, and legal harvesting and trade of wild species in Target 5, comprehensive ways to measure progress towards achieving these targets are currently lacking.
Given their scope, the joint initiatives to develop adequate and feasible indicators to address this gap have been undertaken by several partners, as well as with external partners such as UNEP-WCMC and University of Oxford.
In conclusion, I wish to reiterate how critical these discussions are for CPW’s mission. By using strong indicators that link directly to our thematic priorities, we can ensure that our collective work has the greatest possible impact, ultimately safeguarding both wildlife and the communities that depend on it.