Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Ms Barbara Creecy, will host a national stakeholder consultation on Tuesday, 29 November 2022, ahead of the upcoming international talks on biological diversity next month.

The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity’s 15th Conference of Parties (UNCBD COP15) will be hosted in Montreal, Canada from 7-19 December 2022. This year’s meetings are being held under the theme “Ecological Civilization-Building a Shared Future for All Life on Earth”.

The upcoming meetings are set to focus on key agenda items which are of strategic importance for South Africa. These include amongst others: mainstreaming of biodiversity within and across sectors; resources mobilisation and the financial mechanism; climate change as well as socio-economic considerations relating to living modified organisms.

The aim of the stakeholder consultation is to consolidate South Africa’s position for the negotiations at UNCBD COP15 and raise awareness around biodiversity and related response efforts.

Source: Government of South Africa