India marks the beginning of “Super Year of Biodiversity” with CMS COP 13

The year 2020 has been nick named as “Super Year” by global advocacy groups including the United Nations. This has been done to highlight 21 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and their targets.

India marks the “Super Year of Biodiversity” with the Conservation of Migratory Species Conference of Parties 13. The year includes UN summit in September 2020 and will end in UN Biodiversity Conference in the end of 2020.

Super Year

In Super Year, the SDGs of Climate, Ocean, Gender, life below water and land are to be implemented. Several major initiatives to achieve these SDGs were taken by the United Nations. This year all such initiatives are to be given special focus. They are as follows

Gender Equality

• The Beijing Programme of Action marks 25^th anniversary in 2020. It was framed in 1995 at the fourth United Nation World Conference on Women.
• The 64^th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women is to be held in March 2020.

Climate Action

• The COP 26 is to be held in Glasgow in 2020 to address the gaps that were undermined at COP 25 and also harmed the reputation of COP 25.
• The first Global Transport on Sustainable Transport is to be held in May 2020

Life Below Water

• The Strategic Plan for Bio Diversity 2011-20 comes to an end in 2020. It was adopted in 2010 at the convention on Biological Diversity. In 2019, the Inter-governmental Science Policy platform published the Global Assessment of State of Biodiversity and Ecosystem services. It listed 20 Biodiversity Targets. They are now to be taken for implementation in 2020 as the plan end in 2020.
• The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) is to hold World Conservation Congress in Marseille, France in June 2020. It is being organized once on 4 years.

2020-A Decade of Closure (Ocean)

• Apart from a new beginning, the 2020 will also close bio-diversity related agendas. It includes the Decade for Deserts which marked the fight against desertification. This was marked by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification.
• The Second UN Ocean Conference is to be held in 2020. The first was held in 2017 in New York. Since its first conference the community has been working on ocean acidification.

Month: Current Affairs - February, 2020