During the midway point of the 17th UN Biodiversity Conference held in Yerevan, Federal Minister for the Environment Carsten Schneider (SPD) is campaigning for improved funding and greater inclusion rights for indigenous peoples. Schneider told the “Rheinische Post” that nature is urgently in need of a recovery period. He stressed that to achieve international conservation goals by 2030, it is now crucial to effectively halt the worldwide loss of biological diversity found in forests, seas, and soils after decades of intensive use.
Achieving this global commitment requires greater international dedication to biodiversity, a consensus that has emerged among many nations at the Yerevan conference. However, Schneider, who is leading the German delegation, noted that several significant negotiating hurdles remain, specifically concerning financing and the participatory rights of indigenous peoples and local communities.
In the second week of the conference, he plans to focus on driving concrete progress toward establishing a broader financial base, incorporating both public and private funds, and ensuring stronger input from the communities that are actively safeguarding nature on the ground. He confirmed that Germany, alongside the EU, intends to contribute meaningfully to these efforts.
