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2 - Targets for Biodiversity and Deforestation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 May 2018

Anil Markandya
Affiliation:
Honorary Professor of Economics, University of Bath, UK and Distinguished Ikerbasque Professor of the Basque Centre for Climate Change in the Basque Country, Spain
Bjorn Lomborg
Affiliation:
Copenhagen Business School
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Summary

Background

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), set up in 2000, tracked a number of indicators for sustainable development to 2015. Some of the goals, such as halving the poverty rate, have been met, and considerable progress has been made on others. Overall they are seen as a successful way of focusing attention and mobilizing resources to address the major gaps in human development, including those relating to the environment. The post-2015 agenda seeks to replace the MDGs with new goals that “move beyond meeting basic human needs and promote dynamic, inclusive and sustainable development” (CIGI, 2012).

Biodiversity and deforestation are primarily covered in proposed Goals 14 and 15, dealing with marine and terrestrial resources, respectively. These targets draw significantly on the Aichi Targets that were adopted as part of the Convention of Biological Diversity's (CBD's) Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020, in Nagoya, Japan, in 2010 (see Table 2.1). However, there are differences between the two sets: the Aichi Targets include more quantitative values than the Sustainable Development Goals, and the SDGs cover a broader range of topics. Because the SDGs in this area are not quantitative and so cannot be adequately costed, this chapter looks in detail at the Aichi Targets and estimates the net benefits of those that are able to be evaluated in monetary terms.

The Aichi Targets

In this section the full set of 20 targets is discussed and a qualitative assessment made of the net benefits they provide (Table 2.1).

The CBD and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) have grouped the targets into five strategic goals:

  • A. Address the underlying causes of biodiversity loss be mainstreaming it across government and society (Targets 1–4)

  • B. Reduce the pressures on biodiversity and promote sustainable use (Targets 5–10)

  • C. Improve status of biodiversity by safeguarding ecosystems, species, and genetic diversity (Targets 11–13)

  • D. Enhance benefits to all from biodiversity and ecosystem services (Targets 11–16)

  • E. Enhance implementation through participatory planning, knowledge management, and capacity building (Targets 17–20)

  • Type
    Chapter
    Information
    Prioritizing Development
    A Cost Benefit Analysis of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals
    , pp. 38 - 49
    Publisher: Cambridge University Press
    Print publication year: 2018

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    • Targets for Biodiversity and Deforestation
      • By Anil Markandya, Honorary Professor of Economics, University of Bath, UK and Distinguished Ikerbasque Professor of the Basque Centre for Climate Change in the Basque Country, Spain
    • Edited by Bjorn Lomborg, Copenhagen Business School
    • Book: Prioritizing Development
    • Online publication: 30 May 2018
    • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108233767.006
    Available formats
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    • Targets for Biodiversity and Deforestation
      • By Anil Markandya, Honorary Professor of Economics, University of Bath, UK and Distinguished Ikerbasque Professor of the Basque Centre for Climate Change in the Basque Country, Spain
    • Edited by Bjorn Lomborg, Copenhagen Business School
    • Book: Prioritizing Development
    • Online publication: 30 May 2018
    • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108233767.006
    Available formats
    ×

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    To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

    • Targets for Biodiversity and Deforestation
      • By Anil Markandya, Honorary Professor of Economics, University of Bath, UK and Distinguished Ikerbasque Professor of the Basque Centre for Climate Change in the Basque Country, Spain
    • Edited by Bjorn Lomborg, Copenhagen Business School
    • Book: Prioritizing Development
    • Online publication: 30 May 2018
    • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108233767.006
    Available formats
    ×