Fourth edition of the One Planet Summit: a summit for biodiversity

On 11 January, the fourth edition of the One Planet Summit dedicated to the stakes of biodiversity protection was held in Paris. During the meeting co-organised by France, the UN and the World Bank, several actions groups were determined: the protection of sea and land areas, the promotion of agro-ecology, the financing of biodiversity and a last theme more prominent in the present days: the protection of tropical forests, species and human health.

For the fourth edition of the One Planet Summit, the French president gathered at the Elysée Palace “decisionmakers from all over the world ready to boost international action in favour of nature, and to concrete actions to fight against the loss of biodiversity”, as the website of the government states. The summit was presided by Emmanuel Macron and saw the participation of a dozen of Heads of States and government, but also representatives of international organisations, financial institutions, the economic sector and NGOs.

Concrete actions

Participants of the One Planet Summit made a point of offering concrete actions in relation with four major themes included in the Summit programme. 

So, in regards with agro-ecology, various partners of the initiative committed to raise over 14 billion euros for the accelerator of the “Great Green Wall in Sahel”, which is the implementation of a “stripe between Sahel and Sudan through the spread of agroecological practices”.

For the second aspect, the protection of land and sea ecosystems, more than fifty States mobilized for the Mediterranean area and the development of protected areas, considering among others the creation of a “Coalition for an exemplary Mediterranean Sea”.

As for the financing of biodiversity part, which is the third aspect of the Summit, a new “Alliance for investment in the natural capital” should gather “stakeholders of finance who want to increase their investments in the restauration of biodiversity”. Eventually, 10 billion dollars could be raised for nature over the next two years. 

The PREZODE initiative

The fourth aspect is the protection of tropical forests, species and human health. This is a very current question: how to protect forests, species, and most of all, the human health? Thanks to the PREZODE initiative (PREventing ZOonotic Diseases Emergence) launched by three French research institutes (INRAE, CIRAD, IRD) in concertation with a dozen of other research organisations in France, Germany, and the Netherlands to prevent future pandemics.

The project already mobilises more than 1,000 researchers in 50 countries over 5 continents in the fields of human, animal and environmental health at international level, and will be a unprecedented cooperation between stakeholders of research and health vigilance networks, including for the prevention of new pandemics originating from animal reservoirs.

More precisely, this initiative, developed under the leadership of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Research, will combine research projects and operational actions at international level to prevent risks of zoonotic emergence and pandemics and will strengthen existing cooperation with the regions of the world that are most confronted with these risks.

To know more: 

- General presentation of the summit

- The PREZODE initiative

 Photo credit: faithie - stock.adobe.com