Holly Shrumm and Harry Jonas (Natural Justice) were involved in the drafting group of the NGO statment that was given in plenary on Friday afternoon. Excerpts include: “The CBD is about Social and Environmental Justice. Without a radical new approach in the second week, this COP will fail to achieve its aims. It will be Biodiversity’s Copenhagen. Similar to Copenhagen, we feel the main reason this COP is heading for failure is that Northern governments refuse to take on legally binding commitments in line with the third objective of the Convention, (ABS), and to comply with their financial commitment. We call on governments to adopt a legally binding ABS Protocol that has strong enforcement and compliance measures, that stops biopiracy, respects and protects the rights of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities as enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples… Dear delegates, each of you has the moral and legal duty to implement the CBD, by ensuring rights to dignity and well-being, of present and future generations… Mother Earth is not for Sale. No to the greed economy. Yes to equity, justice and biodiversity.”
