CBD COP15 will determine a new set of policies for what has been an anti-climatic run for the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). Area-based conservation efforts, such as Protected Areas (PAs), have been at the center for years. Human rights violations in PAs reflect its downfalls in effectively addressing ecological and management crises. Area-based conservation has mostly focused on the quantitative aspects such as 30X30 with no attention to the qualitative approaches. Many questions as to how 30X30 will be implemented in order to effectively transform and turn the tables for biodiversity and Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) remain unanswered. 

This Side Event is being organized to explore these questions and to present the outcomes of a multi-stakeholder workshop organized by GYBN and UNESCO in March 2022 as well as the results of a youth consultation and capacity-building training on area-based conservation.

The side event will discuss current gaps in the GBF and challenges for a numeric target to deliver on quality goals, as well as existing practices and frameworks that could support the implementation of the ABC target. Critical discussions and dialogues with stakeholders (Governments, NGOs, IPLC, women and youth), exchanges of successful stories, and crucial findings from the Youth Position Paper will also be presented during the session. The summary and results from the side event will be shared with a wider community on the importance and need to integrate a rights-based approach to area-based conservation to make its implementation a successful process.