Unlocking Human Potenal For Biodiv ersity World Environment Day, June 5, 2020 Event Summary

Contents

1. Main topics discussed 4

a) Importance of protecng biodiversity in light of the coronavirus crisis 4

i) Human health benefits 4

ii) Sustainable development benefits 5

iii) Food and agriculture benefits 5

b) Protecng biodiversity 5

i) At the community level 5

ii) At the individual level 7

2. Opportunies and projects to unlock human potenal to foster biodiversity 9

a) Rethink our environment and its development by conserving and reintroducing nature 9

b) Develop compassion, a feeling that can spur people to take acon 9

c) Foster the passing on of knowledge (tradional, scienfic, cultural, intergeneraonal) by means of youth educaon, raising public awareness and quality outreach programs 10

Review of mandate

On the occ asion of W orld En vironment Da y, June 5, 2020, f or which Mon treal w as the North American hos t city , Mon tréal Space f or Lif e and the Secr etariat of the Con venon on Biologic al Diversity (SCBD) held a virtual e vent t o t ake s tock and seek t o under stand the le vers tha t c an be used t o unlock human pot enal t o pr eserve biodiv ersity, g et in t ouch with na ture and de velop a roadmap f or futur e acon.

1. A de tailed acc ount of the discussions

a. Gener al e vent

• Roundtable with dignitaries

• Remarks by Charles-Mathieu Brunelle, Director of Montréal Space for Life

• Panel with guest speakers

• Reacons to workshop chat

b. Ideas shar ed in tw o subgr oup w orkshops

• Montréal Space for Life rapporteurs also took notes in the subgroups

2. A summar y r eport on the e vent

a. Main t opics discussed

b. Analy sis of individual and c ommunity c oncerns

c. Summar y of opportunies and pr oject pr oposals t o be e xplored, de veloped and inia ted

The f ollowing pag es pr ovide a summar y of the e vent.

On June 5, 2020, on the occ asion of W orld En vironment Da y, f or which Mon treal w as the North American hos t city , Mon tréal Space f or Lif e and the Secr etariat of the Con venon on Biologic al Diversity (SCBD) held a virtual e vent t o t ake s tock and seek t o under stand the le vers tha t c an be used t o unlock human pot enal t o pr eserve biodiv ersity, g et in t ouch with na ture and de velop a roadmap f or futur e acon. The t opics e xplored and the ideas and pr oject opportunies discussed in c onnecon with pr otecng biodiv ersity ar e summariz ed in the f ollowing pag es.

1. Main topics discussed

The C OVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing global lock down had c ollateral e ffects on the environment and biodiv ersity (r educon in urban tr affic, less polluon, e tc.). In the e yes of some, the pandemic r evealed na ture’s undeniable r esilience , biodiv ersity’s ability t o bounce back when given fr ee r ein—with some wild animal species e ven beginning t o mo ve ar ound fr eely in urban areas.

Because the pace of human lif e slo wed v ery suddenly , people beg an pa ying mor e a enon and showing gr eater curiosity and w onder about na ture. Lock down a wakened a need f or a closer connecon t o na ture f or man y people, especially those living in t owns and cies.

With this ne w a wareness, people ar e s tarng t o ha ve gr eater appr eciaon f or na ture’s bene fits. That has s trengthened a f eeling of belonging t o a w orld of living beings tha t e xtends be yond humankind, a r ealizaon tha t all living beings ar e part of the same hug e f amily, which includes human beings, and tha t c an pr ovide the c ollecve mov aon t o do things diff erently, f or the well-being of humanity and tha t of the en vironment in which w e liv e.

a) Importance of protecng biodiversity in light of the coronavirus crisis

Through c ontact and pr oximity with na ture, people c ome t o under stand its bene fits and w ant t o protect and pr eserve biodiv ersity. Biodiv ersity pr ovides the things w e need t o sus tain our lifestyles: w ater, air and f ood. Loss of biodiv ersity is a thr eat t o the sur vival of humanity . F or people t o lo ve, r espect and t ake c are of biodiv ersity, the y ha ve t o be a ware of its v alue.

i) Human health benefits

The sour ce of the C OVID-19 pandemic is t o be f ound in the r elaonship be tween humankind and the wild and in the w ay humans des troy ec osystems and ar e c onstantly occup ying mor e and mor e land. In the f ace of this health thr eat, g overnments and people ha ve f ound the mov aon t o act and mak e dr asc decisions tha t ha ve pr ovided mor e r oom f or biodiv ersity. The pandemic has shown tha t g overnments ar e able t o t ake decisiv e acon and tha t people ar e r eady t o mak e sacrifices when human health is endang ered.

If w e c ould sho w e ven jus t a fr acon of this decisiv eness in our e fforts t o pr otect biodiv ersity, combat clima te chang e and t ake c are of the en vironment, w e c ould unlock the pot enal needed to r everse the curr ent tr end.

Similarly, though on a smaller sc ale, cies ar e incr easing social c ontacts be tween people and creang mor e opportunies f or the passing on of tr adional and ec ological kno wledge. On the other hand, living in big ger cies, depriv ed of c ontact with na ture and depending on a mor e industrialized die t, c ontributes t o the de velopment of chr onic illnesses and men tal health problems. R ethinking the design of our cies and allo wing mor e r oom f or na ture w ould ha ve beneficial e ffects on both our health and the pr otecon of biodiv ersity.

ii) Sustainable development benefits

Biodiversity lies a t the heart of sus tainable de velopment and human c ommunies. In the short term, it supports the w ell-being and sub sistence of humankind: it is a t the r oot of the supply of food, fibr e and w ater. Biodiv ersity also help s alle viate the e ffects of clima te chang e and mak e communies mor e r esilient in the f ace of this chang e. It pr ovides job s in agricultur e, fishing , forestry and man y other sect ors.

In the medium and long er t erm, if w e le t our selves be guided b y tr adional and Indig enous knowledge, biodiv ersity c an support mor e sus tainable ec onomic de velopment. Pr eserving biodiversity help s t o maintain harmon y be tween humankind and the c osmos: cultur al div ersity, the memor y of ances tors and c ommunies.

Knowledge about biodiv ersity needs t o be passed on t o futur e g eneraons; and seeds, especially their g enomes, and their na tural e voluon need t o be pr eserved. This pr otecon mus t e xtend t o Indigenous kno wledge and include the oblig aon t o assess the impact of biot echnology r esearch on biodiv ersity.

iii) Food and agriculture benefits

At the s tart of the agricultur al r evoluon, the pr acce of monocultur e w as pr esented as a w ay t o increase agricultur al pr oducvity, but no men on w as made of the f act tha t it also kills insects and bees. Y et an incr ease in yields does not necessarily mean gr eater w ell-being of humankind in general or of f armers in parcular , nor impr oved w ell-being of biodiv ersity. Monocultur e has a direct e ffect on the health of the soil, plan ts, c onsumers and f armers.

Consuming f oods tha t ar e the pr oduct of mono-indus trial agricultur e o en induces chr onic diseases in people, wher eas ea ng f oods pr oduced b y mix ed f arming t ends t o impr ove our s tate of health. T o t ake an e xample, indus trialized f ood pr oducon has incr eased the mort ality risk of COVID-19 pa ents (80% of f atalies ha ve been link ed t o c ases of c omorbidies such as obesity or diabetes). Vie ws t oung the bene fits of monocultur e and its incr eased yields mus t be r eplaced b y arguments pr omong the human and na tural health bene fits of poly culture.

That is wh y it is no w crucial t o think in t erms of “One E arth, One Health” in or der t o cemen t the deep bond be tween the health of biodiv ersity and the health of humankind.

b) Protecng biodiversity

i) At the community level

Nature at the heart of communies

In villag es, biodiv ersity lies a t the heart of the c ommunity. This ensur es gr eater bene fits t o the health of the en re c ommunity. Mor eover, a s trong sense of c ommunity also f acilitates the transfer of kno wledge about biodiv ersity: kno wing one’ s c ommunity means mor e opportunies to shar e and pass on tr adional and ec ological kno wledge.

In the big gest cies, this sense of c ommunity t ends t o wither , which is harm ful t o both human health and the health of biodiv ersity. B y cr eang gr een spaces tha t bring na ture in to the city , this sense of c ommunity and closeness typic al of villag e lif e c an be r ecreated. Wha t is needed is smart urban gr owth tha t inc orporates na ture in to the city as an in tegral part of its de velopment.

Humanity’s salv aon depends on social r elaonships and cr eang bonds. The tr ansfer of knowledge—Indigenous kno wledge and tr adional kno wledge in parcular—has an essen al r ole to pla y in pr otecng biodiv ersity. Social bonds and the sense of c ommunity ar e major f actors in the tr ansmission of kno wledge. In India, f or e xample, Na vdanya, the or ganizaon f ounded b y Vandana Shiv a, has es tablished “ grandmother univ ersies” t o pass on kno wledge fr om one generaon t o the ne xt.

Nature at the heart of local and internaonal commitments

Decades of negoaons to tackle climate change have not led to reduced greenhouse gas emissions, yet in just a few weeks, the pandemic drascally curtailed human acvity and its carbon footprint. The current crisis has shown that governments and people have the ability to rally together and come up with bold soluons. The pandemic has made people aware of the links between protecng our health and protecng biodiversity. But it’s only with the support of the people that we will be able to protect biodiversity and preserve its benefits for future generaons.

The United Naons Convenon on Biological Diversity, the post-2020 global biodiversity framework of which will be negoated in the coming months, is of crucial importance. The framework proposes ambious goals and concrete commitments that have been accepted by all. As a result, governments at all levels—from municipal to naonal—will have a role to play in achieving these goals.

Locally

Governments have a major role to play in the protecon and restoraon of biodiversity, because they oversee land-use planning. The decisions that cies will make in the next few years regarding ecosystem and biodiversity protecon will help not only to migate the effects of climate change, but also to promote the development of the local economy. Designing cies in a way that protects biodiversity means fostering urban dwellers’ contact with nature and educang them about the need to preserve and protect it.

For e xample, the urban w etland pr oject in Da venport, Io wa, which in volves an associa on of 90 mayors of Mississippi Riv er cies and t owns tha t ar e r egularly hit b y flooding , is an e xcellent example of ho w ambious t argets c an be implemen ted as c oncrete pr ojects. Ins tead of building a dam or a dyk e, Da venport has turned the flood-pr one land in to a na ture pr eserve tha t allo ws the river t o o verflow its bank s na turally, but in a c ontrolled w ay. The pr oject thus help s mig ate the impact of clima te chang e, pr omote biodiv ersity and boos t the loc al ec onomy thr ough t ourism.

Similarly, in Mon tréal, the purpose of the Gr and P arc de l’ Ouest pr oject is t o pr otect ecosystems—wetlands, gr een spaces and w ooded ar eas—from r eal es tate de velopment b y creang the lar gest urban park in Canada. This pr oject will also mak e it easier f or Mon trealers t o come in to c ontact with na ture.

Internaonally

Ambious t argets and solid c ommitments under the Unit ed Na ons Con venon on Biodiv ersity will be the demons traon tha t not only loc al, na onal and in ternaonal decision mak ers, but regular people, t oo, ha ve r ealized wha t needs t o be done—tha t w e c annot g o on degr ading and destroying our na tural en vironment, our ec osystems and all the biodiv ersity the y c ontain a t the rate and on the sc ale tha t’s happening no w. F or ins tance, Canada has c ommied itself t o r aising its t argets, v owing t o pr otect 25% of its land and ocean ar eas b y 2025.

ii) At the individual level

Determinants of movaon

During the pandemic, people’ s c oncerns about their o wn health ha ve indir ectly giv en biodiv ersity and na ture a chance t o r eclaim their righ ts and their space. Mos t people’ s mov aon t o act t o preserve the en vironment is not r elated dir ectly t o the en vironment itself , but r ather t o a desir e to be health y, t o ha ve social c onnecons, t o pr otect and de velop themselv es as individuals, t o feel g ood, t o pr eserve their iden ty and t o enhance their sense of belonging .

Focusing on movaon as a way to spur people to acon

Human beings w ant t o liv e in harmon y with na ture and pr otect the en vironment, but some mes their acons indic ate the opposit e. The en vironment is o en seen as a pr oblem t o be solv ed, and not some thing t o be sho wn in a f avourable ligh t. Hence the import ance of cr eang ne w pro-biodiversity narr aves tha t speak t o the fundamen tal and social needs of human beings . The narr ave mus t r efocus on the issues tha t a ffect people mor e dir ectly and then mak e the link between these issues and the en vironment. Mov aon will thus be self -determined and mor e profound. In a sales pit ch, it ’s import ant not t o insis t solely on the en vironment, nor t o put tha t argument fr ont and cen tre.

Giving people choices rather than forcing them to act

People should be le t o mak e their o wn choices, pr ovided the y ha ve the t ools and support the y need t o mak e these choices and tha t the y belong t o a gr oup or c ommunity wher e the y c an create mor e c onnecons. Tha t help s a void a f eeling of helplessness and pr omotes mor e collecve beha viours and ec o-cizen eng agement. R educing ec o-anxiety r equires g eng involved in meaningful c ollecve inia ves tha t de velop a f eeling of c ommunity c ompetency, such as social eng agement in the public spher e, in teracon and a c onnecon with other s. The connecon with na ture is crucial in this r espect, but it is also a v ery s trong mov ator and driv er of awareness of en vironmental issues f or mos t people (especially childr en), and help s pr oduce well-rounded en vironmentally c onscious ciz ens. Wonder

People ar e f earful of C OVID-19 a t the momen t, but the y don’t sense an y immedia te dang er with respect t o the en vironmental futur e of our plane t. Some thing tha t is c ognively mor e po werful is therefore needed t o inspir e people t o t ake and support en vironmental acon. Goodwill and altruism ar e the only tw o c oncepts tha t pr ovide a link be tween short -term (social jus ce), medium-term (need f or self -development) and long-t erm (t aking c are of futur e g eneraons) concerns. These tw o k ey c oncepts c an bring all act ors (specialis ts, decision mak ers, entrepreneurs, eng aged ciz ens) t ogether ar ound the pr oject of building a be er w orld.

Wonder help s t o w eaken individual eg os, unif y iden ty and de velop a f eeling of belonging t o and interdependence with na ture. It mak es us mor e altruis c, while the beauty of the wild mov ates us enormously t o r espect and t ake c are of na ture and t ake acon t o pr otect and pr eserve it.

Compassion

To in vent the w orld of the futur e, it is vit al t o giv e the podium t o people c apable of thinking outside the bo x. As the y ar e not a t the heart of the curr ent ec onomic s ystem, mar ginalized people—which un fortunately includes w omen in mos t c ountries, as w ell as Indig enous peoples—have a be er under standing of wha t it means t o belong t o biodiv ersity and ar e be er able t o speak up on its behalf .

Being closer t o na ture and biodiv ersity, these mar ginalized people ha ve a gr eater sense of compassion. And tha t c ompassion giv es them the c ourage t o act t o pr otect biodiv ersity. Compassion is an e xtremely posiv e human quality tha t s trengthens our c ourage t o act, our potenal f or acon and our altruism.

Like an y other quality or ability , c ompassion c an be de veloped and r aised t o a higher le vel, tha t of goodwill and unc ondional lo ve f or other s, f or na ture and f or biologic al div ersity. W e ha ve t o view biodiv ersity and na ture as if the y w ere part of our f amily. Na ture and biodiv ersity ar e integral parts of the gr eat human, animal and plan t f amily. All living beings on E arth mus t be perceived as parts of a whole.

Courageous c ompassion is r equired if w e ar e t o be success ful in pr otecng biodiv ersity.

2. Opportunies and projects to unlock human potenal to foster biodiversity

A number of opportunies and pr oject pr oposals emer ged fr om the discussions be tween the panellists, but also be tween parcipan ts and fr om the t alks giv en b y polic al decision mak ers, which c ould unlock the individual and c ollecve human pot enal t o t ake acon t o pr omote biodiversity. In the secon belo w, these ideas ar e gr ouped t ogether under thr ee headings: r ethink the urban en vironment and its design, de velop c ompassion and t ake acon, and f oster the passing on of kno wledge.

a) Rethink our environment and its development by conserving and reintroducing nature

– Create pr otected na tural ar eas within t owns and cies, lik e the Gr and P arc de l’ Ouest in Montréal, which is the lar gest urban park in Canada.

– Rethink land use on a municipal le vel in or der t o be able t o mig ate the e ffects of clima te change and pr omote biodiv ersity, as illus trated b y the urban w etland pr oject in Davenport, Io wa, which allo ws the Mississippi Riv er t o o verflow its bank s na turally.

– Create gr een spaces in the city t o r educe the per ceived siz e of the city and ther eby recreate the f eeling of c ommunity belonging typic al of villag e lif e.

– Revitalize the ec onomy b y c ombining job cr eaon with gr een c ommitments, in parcular through gr een in frastructure pr ojects, c onversion t o gr een indus trial pr oducon and the development of ec otourism.

– Set ambious c oncrete g oals on a na onal le vel t o pr otect na tural ec osystems and biodiversity, as illus trated b y the Go vernment of Canada’ s announcemen t tha t it is r aising its t argets and v owing t o pr otect 25% of its land and ocean ar eas b y 2025.

b) Develop compassion, a feeling that can spur people to take acon

– Develop dir ect c ontact with na ture fr om the me childr en ar e in fants so as t o a waken their en vironmental a wareness and help them bec ome w ell-rounded ec o-cizens.

– Create inspir aonal public a wareness c ampaigns, in volving the use of art, imag es and photos of beauful na tural places in or der t o f oster w onder and g oodwill t oward na ture.

– Use art t o r aise a wareness b y appealing t o emoons, in fluence beha viour and spur people to t ake acon t o f oster biodiv ersity.

– Reinforce people’ s a achment t o and disc overy of na ture thr ough pr ojects tha t help them reconnect with it, tha t giv e them an opportunity t o g et their hands dirty .

– Provide assis tance f or c ommunity inia ves tha t s trengthen f eelings of individual and collecve c ompetency and tha t de velop the f eeling of social belonging , lik e the virtual project hiv es f acilitated b y Mon tréal Space f or Lif e and the Secr etariat on Biodiv ersity.

c) Foster the passing on of knowledge (tradional, scienfic, cultural, intergeneraonal) by means of youth educaon, raising public awareness and quality outreach programs

– Facilitate the tr ansfer of kno wledge fr om one g eneraon t o the ne xt, as is being done through gr andmother univ ersies in India.

– Protect and f oster the passing on of tr adional Indig enous kno wledge, which pla ys an essenal r ole in pr eserving biodiv ersity.

– Ensure tha t en vironmental a wareness and ec o-cizenship ar e part of the c ore f ocus of the educaon s ystem.

*This re view was produc ed b y Cop com.