Biodiversity is the foundation of all life on earth, from micro-organisms to plants, animals and human life. Various ecosystems provide humans with clean water, air, fertile soil, food, medicine and climate control. However, this life-supporting safety net is under immense stress. Millions of species are at risk of extinction, and the intensive extraction of certain components of biodiversity has come at the expense of everything else.
With climate change both contributing to and being exacerbated by biodiversity loss, Canada recognizes that biodiversity loss poses a fundamental threat to the planet, people and global economy. If unchecked, biodiversity loss will damage decades of hard-won poverty reduction gains. Significant impacts to food insecurity can be expected as biodiversity loss undermines the capacity of agricultural systems to adapt to changing climate conditions and other shocks, such as outbreaks of pests and diseases.
Gender inequalities and development gaps amplify the effects for women, especially for those who depend on natural resources for their livelihoods. Biodiversity loss worsens existing social inequalities, putting the rights of women and girls at stake.
It also puts the rights of Indigenous Peoples, the original guardians of the land, at stake. Canada recognizes that the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity is also crucial to mitigating and adapting to climate change. However, this international climate finance commitment focuses on climate change, which is only one of the key drivers of biodiversity loss.
The framework addresses the 5 direct drivers of global biodiversity loss: land- and sea-use change, the overexploitation of species, invasive alien species, pollution, and climate change.
