By Syed Mohazri Syed Hazari

Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF)

The end of 2022 saw the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) after more than three years of negotiations mainly halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Kunming-Montreal GBF includes four Goals for 2050, and 23 Targets to be achieved by 2030. Although the GBF is global in nature, its implementation is at the national level via the biodiversity policy of all Parties, including Malaysia.

As we proceed with the “whole-of-society” approach towards “Living in Harmony with Nature”, it is important that the implementation of this GBF at the national level also includes the active participation of the business and private sector community, especially in a megadiverse country like Malaysia. It is worth noting that for the first time in the history of CBD, the Kunming-Montreal GBF strongly recognises the role of non-state actors, including businesses and financial institutions in delivering the Convention’s objectives.

Parties to the CBD have been given two years to interpret the GBF into their national-level biodiversity policies or National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans (NBSAPs). As a Party to the CBD, Malaysia started to update its NBSAP i.e., the National Policy on Biological Diversity (NPBD), in October 2020 which was based on the GBF Zero Draft document. Since the Kunming-Montreal GBF is now adopted, the finalisation of the updated NPBD for a period from 2022 to 2030 is expected to be completed for the Cabinet’s approval by the fourth quarter of 2023. To ensure that the Targets of the GBF are successfully implemented, it is important that the business and private sector community is engaged and participates in the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal GBF at the national level. Business participation is essential to drive the agenda in a direction that is aligned with business expectations, experiences, and realities, and to drive ambitious domestic actions to achieve the level of action the biodiversity crisis demands.

Blueprint for Accelerating Biodiversity Action: A Strategic Roadmap for the Business and Private Sector in Malaysia

It is important to note that the business-as-usual scenario with fragmentation and lack of effective engagement between policymakers and businesses has thus far prevented the transformational change needed. For this purpose, a Strategic Roadmap entitled Blueprint for Accelerating Biodiversity Action: A Strategic Roadmap for the Business and Private Sector in Malaysia is currently being drafted by the Malaysia Platform for Business and Biodiversity (MPBB) as a framework for the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal GBF by the businesses in Malaysia. The draft Strategic Roadmap was prepared with an aim to provide a coherent policy direction for all business and private sectors in Malaysia to take a unified and collective approach in addressing biodiversity loss, and to mainstream biodiversity by translating global ambition into national policy. The Strategic Roadmap is part of a project in collaboration with Business for Nature and supported by the generous funding of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) with Conservation International (CI) as the GEF implementing agency.

The main highlight of the Strategic Roadmap is the 11 Goals (“The Road to 2030”) in the Strategic Roadmap to be fulfilled by 2030. These Goals can be implemented by any company, business, or commercial entity, but will be dependent on several factors, such as type of industry, company size, business models, operating activities and internal policies, guidelines, planning and development processes. Once endorsed, the Strategic Roadmap will be incorporated into Malaysia’s NPBD (2022-2030) as an Annex.

Webinar Session

A webinar entitled Implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) at the National Level by Malaysian Business and Private Sector Community – “For Business, By Business” was held on 6 July 2023, hosted by the Malaysia Platform for Business and Biodiversity (MPBB) with an intention to introduce the draft Strategic Roadmap to the business and private sector community in Malaysia. The webinar was attended by more than 90 participants.

The Senior Undersecretary of Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change (NRECC), Norsham Abdul Latip, who gave the opening remarks, highlighted the role that NRECC is currently undertaking to streamline the biodiversity conservation agenda at the national level, the role MPBB is expected to undertake, and the importance of the business and private sector’s inclusivity for the successful conservation and sustainable utilisation of biodiversity. She emphasised that “NRECC believes that the business and private sectors should be considered as partners in the conservation of biodiversity particularly in megadiversity countries like Malaysia. It is thus necessary to actively engage the business and private sectors to support the successful implementation of the biodiversity conservation agenda, especially mainstreaming biodiversity at both national and global levels.”

Reactions on the Strategic Roadmap were also received from companies during the Webinar. The key takeaways from these reactions are:

• The draft Strategic Roadmap produced outlines the roles and priorities of Malaysian businesses in supporting the global and national effort to preserve and conserve biodiversity. The document clearly specifies the Goals and pathways to be met, thus enabling the businesses to map out potential impacts that their operations and supply chains have on biodiversity. Dr Surina Ismail, Group Head of Sustainability of IOI Corporation Berhad, said: “It is important that the whole supply chain be understood, because … there are many (business) sizes and many challenges being faced by not only us, as a big corporation, but also, more than anything, the small and medium corporations because these are the corporations that will not have the kind of resources, awareness and capability, and there is a need for us to understand this and make sure that we are not going through a solution that seems to fit for all.”

• The importance of nature and biodiversity conservation is acknowledged by committing to having a net positive impact on the planet. Several companies, like Sime Darby Plantation, are already committed to extending beyond compliance and reporting needs. This is mainly done through initiatives such as supporting public policies on nature and biodiversity, rehabilitation of deforested areas, partnerships/ collaborations, and empowering local communities. Rashyid Redza Anwarudin, the Head of Group Sustainability of Sime Darby, said: “Globally, for Sime Darby Plantation, we have more than 45,000 ha of conservation set-aside areas and areas of high conservation value that we manage. We are also implementing a large reforestation programme and implementing nature-based solutions in unplantable reserves in our concession areas where to date we have planted more than 1.9 million additional trees where some of them are endangered, rare, and threatened species that are planted, and we are now identifying more areas that we want to rehabilitate.”

• Similarly, the financial sector has a significant role to play in reducing harm. Initiatives that have been implemented to address biodiversity loss, including the implementation of sector policies such as no deforestation, peat, and exploitation (NDPE) commitments, conducting high conservation value (HCV) assessments, actively engaging clients exposed to biodiversity risks to discourage harmful activities and supporting nature-based solution and blue carbon projects.

In summary, the business and private sector community affirms their responsibility as an agent of change and as a steward of biodiversity. They will catalyse the implementation of the Strategic Roadmap through the mobilisation of broad support at all internal organisational levels with enhance collaboration, cooperation, and engagement between the business and private sector community and relevant stakeholders, particularly the Government and Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLC), in line with their respective mandates.

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Syed Mohazri Syed Hazari is Interim Chair of the Malaysia Platform for Business and Biodiversity (MPBB).