Swedish International Biodiversity Programme (SwedBio)
Aichi targets
1.
AICHI TARGETS
At the COP10, delegates agreed 20 new targets for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity for
the next ten years, and developed a vision for 2050. The Strategic Plan of the Convention on Biological
Diversity ‐‐ also known as the 'Aichi Target', named after the Aichi Prefecture of Japan in which Nagoya is
located ‐‐ adopted by the meeting includes 20 headline targets, organized under five strategic goals that
address the underlying causes of biodiversity loss, reduce the pressures on biodiversity, safeguard
biodiversity at all levels, enhance the benefits provided by biodiversity, and provide for capacity‐building.
The new targets include increasing the area of protected land across the world to 17 per cent and
protected oceans to 10 per cent, as well as the challenge to ‘mainstream biodiversity information’ across
all levels of society, from the general public to schools and businesses. As part of these targets, COP‐10
agreed to at least halve and where feasible bring close to zero the rate of loss of natural habitats including
forests. Countries have also agreed to draw up national biodiversity plans to protect fish stocks from over‐
fishing, reduce alien invasive species.
It was agreed that Governments will restore at least 15 percent of degraded areas through conservation
and restoration, and will make special efforts to reduce the pressures faced by coral reefs. The COP‐10
parties further pledged a substantial increase in the level of financial resources in support of
implementation of the Convention.
The 'Aichi Target' will be the overarching framework on biodiversity not only for the biodiversity‐related
conventions, but also for the entire United Nations system. This overarching international framework is to
be translated into national biodiversity strategy and action plans within two years.
The Aichi Biodiversity Targets are a set of 20, time‐bound, measureable targets agreed by the Parties to the
Convention on Biological Diversity in Nagoya, Japan in October 2010, that are now being translated into
revised national strategies and action plans by the 193 Parties to the Convention. Achievement of the
targets, which were welcomed at the sixty‐fifth session of the United Nations General Assembly, will
contribute to reducing, and eventually halting, the loss of biodiversity at a global level by the middle of the
twenty‐first century.
Achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets requires the active engagement of all stakeholders without
exception, as well as the global commitment of their partners. It is for that reason, so many agencies and
organizations have agreed to join forces and support the translation of the Aichi Targets into a vibrant
reality.
The Aichi Biodiversity Targets will provide a strategic orientation for countries as they seek to advance the
implementation of the convention and translate the Nagoya biodiversity compact into reality. The GEF
stands ready to support countries as they embark on this effort over the next decade.
The commitment sets the stage for better coordination and communication between organizations as they
support implementation of the Strategic Plan at global and national levels during the United Nations
Decade on Biodiversity, which runs concurrently with the period of the Strategic Plan – 2011 to 2020.
The first meeting of the task force will be held in October 2012 in Hyderabad, India, in conjunction with the
high‐level segment of eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological
Diversity, and will be preceded by a meeting of “sherpas” in early 2012.
Additional Information:
Japan has set the pace for conservation by creating a $2 billion fund for the key ‘Aichi Target' of halving the
rate of biodiversity loss. But much more funding will be necessary to encourage developing countries to
stop the degradation and unsustainable exploitation of forests, wetlands, and coastlines. It must be borne
in mind that the CBD has admitted to failing in its original goal, which was to reduce loss of biodiversity
significantly by 2010 (This '2010 Biodiversity Target' was adopted by governments in 2002 at the 6th
Conference of the Parties (COP 6) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The world largely failed
6.
IMPLEMENTATION, MONITORING, REVIEW AND EVALUATION
For related information, see also the summary of activities COP‐10 urges countries to undertake
towards the achievement of the 2011‐2020 Strategic Plan and its Aichi Biodiversity Targets
Means for implementation: The Strategic Plan will be implemented primarily through activities at the
national or subnational level, with supporting action at the regional and global levels. The means of
implementation for this Strategic Plan will include provision of financial resources in accordance with
respective obligations under the Convention, taking into account Article 20 of the Convention.
Programmes of work: The thematic programmes of work of the Convention include: biodiversity of inland
waters, marine and coastal biodiversity, agricultural biodiversity, forest biodiversity, biodiversity of dry and
sub‐humid lands, mountain biodiversity and island biodiversity. Together with the various cross‐cutting
issues, they provide detailed guidance on implementation of the Strategic Plan, and could also contribute
to development and poverty reduction.
Broadening political support: for this Strategic Plan and the objectives of the Convention is necessary, for
example, by working to ensure that Heads of State and Government and the parliamentarians of all Parties
understand the value of biodiversity and ecosystem services.
Partnerships: Partnerships at all levels are required for effective implementation of the Strategic Plan, to
leverage actions at the scale necessary, to garner the ownership necessary to ensure mainstreaming of
biodiversity across sectors of government, society and the economy and to find synergies with national
implementation of multilateral environmental agreements.
Reporting by Parties: Parties will inform the Conference of the Parties of the national targets or
commitments and policy instruments they adopt to implement the Strategic Plan, as well as any milestones
towards these targets, and report on progress towards these targets and milestones, including through
their fifth and sixth national reports.
Review by the Conference of the Parties: The Conference of the Parties, with the support of other
Convention bodies, in particular the Ad Hoc Open‐ended Working Group on Review of Implementation of
the Convention, will keep under review implementation of this Strategic Plan, and support effective
implementation by Parties ensuring that new guidance is informed by the experience of Parties in
implementing the Convention, in line with the principle of adaptive management through active learning.
SUPPORT MECHANISMS
Capacity‐building for effective national action
Clearing‐house mechanism and technology transfer
Financial resources
Partnerships and initiatives to enhance cooperation
Support mechanisms for research, monitoring and assessment