Government of Guyana praised for leadership in advancing global biodiversity goals

The Government of Guyana has received high commendation for its strategic role and leadership in hosting the first Global Biodiversity Alliance Summit in an effort to create a more resilient planet.

The Global Biodiversity Alliance Summit opened on Wednesday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) in Liliendaal. Leaders from several countries, along with stakeholders, are engaged in a collective conversation aimed at generating ideas and plans to stem the erosion of the world’s biodiversity.  

During a virtual address, Head of Science, Policy and Governance, Secretariat of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD), Sakhile Silitshena, described the summit as a critical catalyst in global efforts to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. 

“The alliance is focused on knowledge sharing, bringing attention towards the biodiverse-climate nexus and [promoting] innovative financing that seeks to enable new initiatives and scalable solutions to address biodiversity loss in a way that reinforces the ambitions of the GBF [Global Biodiversity Framework],” she said during the plenary session titled, ‘Overcoming Biodiversity Loss – An Imperative’.

Silitshena called on participants at the summit to accelerate efforts to implement the Global Biodiversity Framework and translate commitments into tangible and people-centred results.  

Meanwhile, Co-Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Concordia, Matthew Swift, also commended President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali’s vision and practical approach to environmental issues. 

He reiterated Guyana’s integral part in the Concordia Amazonas Summit. This forum aims to unite leaders from diverse sectors and industries to develop solutions for preserving the Amazon rainforest.

“I want to commend him [President Ali] for the approach that feels different from so many other engagements that I have either convened or listened to from heads of state when talking about this issue and the element of private sector engagement to it, I think, is very strong and very important and very relevant for this time,” Swift said. 

The three-day summit will strengthen international commitments to biodiversity conservation to preserve 30 per cent of the planet’s lands and oceans by 2030.