Involve local groups in protecting biodiversity, conservationists urge

The worldwide effort to combat critical levels of biodiversity loss will fail without far greater involvement from local communities, according to an international declaration.

The “Edinburgh declaration”, published on Monday, urges leaders to work more closely with sub-national governments, indigenous peoples, national parks, local councils and wider society in meeting 20 biodiversity goals set out in the Aichi accord, signed in Nagoya, Japan, 10 years ago.

Those targets were due to have been met by 2020. None of them were, leaving global biodiversity in a parlous state, the statement says.

“The current approach is bust,” said Prof Des Thompson, principal science adviser at NatureScot, Scotland’s conservation agency, which contributed to the declaration process run by the Scottish government. “What we need to do is work with local communities, local governments and local communities – that’s how we’re going to meet those targets.” continued reading The Guardian