On this 6th December 2022, at Palais des Congrès de Montréal, participants from all over the World are gathered for the opening ceremony for the 15th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity.

What do we need to take home from this important event ?

I. According to Prime Minister of Canada, Right Hon. Justin Trudeau:

1. The entire world is concerned by the loss of biodiversity
2. There is a need for urgent and concert actions to curb the extension of biodiversity
3. Canada supports international efforts for biodiversity protection
4. Canada is more committed than before. By 2030 we must halt and reverse biodiversity loss, 30% of land and waters should be protected: 30% because, according to science, it represents the critical threshold to avoid extinction risk but also to ensure food  and economic security. 30% is achievable and this should be the target for each country.
5. Indigenous people must be brought on board in all the efforts for biodiversity conservation
6.  CBD COP 15 reason is to make sure that nature remains for generations to come
7.  Nature is under threat and is under attack but the job that the world is doing is not good enough
8.  We are facing a real and a dangerous biodiversity crisis comparable to the climate change crisis. to deal with it is a priority because we are all linked to the nature, we need water, wetlands protect our communities against inondations, …thousands of billions of dollars depend on nature, so it is important to take action now
9. Progress, protection and Partnerships are key words to build one in this task ahead of us
10. Canada committed 350 million dollars to be injected into the international biodiversity fund in addition to one billion dollars for climate change fund.
11. We can’t guarantee the future for our kids if we can not ensure cleanness of air and waters until we agreed that forest , grassland, and jungles, must be  protectected to avoid biodiversity extinction. Nothing else matters.
12. It is not a time to ask ourselves if we should take action, is we should be ambitious,  it is rather time to ask ourselves how are we going to do it. We are a magnificent and remarkable planet and it is time to focus on what we are going to accomplish together to ensure its future.

II. According to the Secretary General of United Nations- Antonio Guterres:

1. Nature is Humanity’s best friend, without nature, we have nothing without nature we are nothing
2. Nature is our life support system, it is the source of air we breathe, the food we eat, the energy we use, the jobs and economic activities we count on, the species and landscapes we call our homes but yet we are waging war on nature. This call is for the urgent task for making peace
3. Disertification, deforestation are creating wastelands. Our lands and waters are poisoned by chemicals and pesticides and plastics
4. Today 1/3 of land is degraded making it hard to feed the growing populations
5. Plants,  mammals reptiles, amphibians,  fish, and invertebrates are all at risk
6. Humanity has become a weapon for mass extinction,
7. Nature and biodiversity loss comes with a human cost: jobs loss, diseases and deaths
8. This conference is our chance to stop this destruction
9. Those ones causing this destruction are the first to feel the impact but they are never the last. There is a need to tackle the drivers of this destruction, which include   land and sea use change, overexploitation of species,  climate change, pollution and invasive no native species
10. No excuses, no delays, promises made must be promises kept
11. Nature-friendly food protection must be upheld
12. The private sector must understand that production and protection go together
13. The important lesson to share with our siblings is to be fully responsible for their actions, what example do we give to them when we fail at this very simple challenge? It is for us to take action to resolve issues we have caused, not to ask to our children to do it on our behalf.
14. Let us forget the daydreaming of some billionaires that there is a planet B, let us work for the nature, for the biodiversity, for humanity. Together, let us adopt the ambitious plan to make a better sustainable world,  very green with a blue sky,  let us have a peace pact with the nature and convey it to our children

Greater Virunga Transboundary Collaboration appreciates these inspiring words and commits its full support.