India all set to host its 1st UN biodiversity summit CMS COP-13

India is all set to host its first UN's biodiversity summit from Monday, February 17, in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The 13th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS COP13) will bring see around 1,200 delegates from over 110 countries coming together to deliberate on the alarming decline of migratory species and their habitats globally. The theme of the UN Conference this year is -- 'Migratory species connect the planet and together we welcome them home'. It will conclude on February 22.

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According to the sources, Indian species like the Asian elephant, the great Indian bustard, and the River Ganges dolphin are likely to be discussed on priority during the biodiversity conservation talks. The UN Biodiversity Conference in India will also flag-off the 'super year' for biodiversity, which will see the adoption of a new global biodiversity framework in China's Kunming later during the year in the 5th UN Biodiversity Conference in October 2020.

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Linear infrastructure — 'A threat' 

The summit also calls for special attention to the effect of massive infrastructural development on the wildlife habitat especially that of the migratory animals. The Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) has previously as well called on for the need to conserve the migratory animals' habitat and has advised countries on how to avoid linear infrastructure threats through the Convention's Central Asian Mammals Initiative.

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Another major area of concern is the rapid construction of roads and railways across Central Asia, which can have adverse effects on grasslands and wildlife habitats. Targeting threats from the construction of linear infrastructure in the form of the building of roadways and railways is also a major part of conservation measures that Central Asian Mammals Initiative (CAMI) states are expected to adopt at COP13 for the period 2021-2026.

(With Agency Inputs)

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