On the sidelines of the 75th UNGA, the President of the Republic, Mr Danny Faure, participated virtually in the United Nations Summit on Biodiversity themed “Urgent action on biodiversity for sustainable development”.

Delivering his statement for the summit, President Faure highlighted how the COVID-19 pandemic puts the complex relationship between people and nature into sharp relief. He stressed on the need to accelerate action on protecting biodiversity for sustainable development.

“We can no longer afford inaction. Biodiversity is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history. The rate of species extinction is accelerating, with grave consequences for people and their livelihoods around the world. Around 1 million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction, many within a few years. The economic downfall of those losses will be tremendous. It is clear that humans will not win without Nature,” said the President.

“The interlinking between biodiversity and the SDG goals are obvious. We need a new system that simultaneously addresses species loss, biodiversity protection and ecosystem restoration which also allows for sustainable development and supports people’s livelihoods. The post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework being developed by the CBD should be the vehicle for this urgent change,” he said.

The President also spoke about Seychelles’ strategies to safeguard its environment, people and economy. “Mindful of our limited resources we are focusing our efforts in developing our Blue economy as our catalyst for establishing and supporting management of new protected areas; protecting our carbon stocks; and adapting and mitigating against climate change. Similarly, through our marine spatial planning process we are ensuring that economic activities sustain our population, but not at the detriment of nature. We have always believed in protecting to ensure a sustainable future, we are testimony that nature provides greatly if taken care of,” said the President.

He called on all leaders to recognise the need for real and transformative change in the way nature is valued and used, and to commit to take tough decisions to safeguard the environment.