Source: WWF-UK
The UK government has pledged support for Brazil to help them protect biodiversity and halt deforestation. DEFRA secretary Caroline Spelman made the commitment on a trip to Brazil, building on the progress made at last October’s Convention on Biological Diversity conference.
UK environment secretary Caroline Spelman went to Brazil last week to pledge support for the species-rich country’s conservation plans. This included offering £90,000 to help Brazil’s government kick off a new roadmap that follows up on objectives agreed at last year’s Convention on Biological Diversity conference in Nagoya, Japan.Brazil’s environment minister, Izabella Teixeira, stressed that this is an important moment of cooperation on biodiversity conservation, and the first step along a solid path from Nagoya.
At Nagoya, governments from across the world agreed the principles of protecting the planet’s threatened wildlife, and of financing vital conservation initiatives around the world. Targets proposed included a concerted effort to reach zero net deforestation globally by 2020.
Brazil is now aiming to establish a new law that enshrines the international objectives, as well as an action plan for implementing national targets.Last week’s visit by the UK minister clearly showed the joint political will, and was supported by representatives from Brazilian civil society and the private sector. We hope other countries will now follow Brazil’s example.
While in Brazil, Caroline Spelman spoke of her admiration for the beauty of the country, and her awareness of the importance of protecting vital natural environments like the Amazon rainforest and the Cerrado savannah.