Closing remarks by Ahmed M. Saeed, ADB Vice-President, Operations 2, at the Integrating Ecological Protection and Nature-Positive Recovery in PRC’s 14th Five Year Plan, 30 June 2020
I would like to thank all panelists for sharing their knowledge and insightful presentations. There are three key messages that I would like to highlight from today’s discussions:
- Despite the challenges and delays due to COVID-19, advancing the ecological roadmap under the 14th FYP is still the central government’s priority toward achieving the PRC’s vision of an ecological civilization. Water and ecological security are top of the political agenda with a geographic focus on key river basins, such as the Yangtze and the Yellow rivers.
- The five policy recommendations submitted to the State Council are a steppingstone towards a vision of ecological civilization moving forward. First, climate adaptation and mitigation measures should be mainstreamed across natural resource management to enhance on-ground impacts and policy coherence. Second, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity 15th Conference of the Parties (“COP 15”), to be held in Kunming in 2021, should be used as a forum to promulgate multilateral cooperation and leverage policy dialogue to protect nature, human and environmental well-being with a One-Health approach. Third, incentive-based mechanisms and circular economy models should be to be promoted to enhance resilience of marine ecosystems, oceans’ health, and plastic reduction. Fourth, natural capital accounting, eco-compensation policy mechanisms and green finance innovation should be scaled up in the Yangtze River and Yellow River basins. Lastly, biodiversity conservation should be mainstreamed and incorporated into the PRC’s framework for green finance.
- The Natural Capital Lab is a promising way forward to implement innovative approaches and build partnerships by incubating, accelerating and scaling up: (i) national capital accounting, (ii) eco-compensation and regulatory frameworks to improve environmental governance and (iii) innovative financing mechanisms blending private and public finance to increase the impact of natural capital investments. As a living and virtual knowledge sharing platform, the lab will nurture the development of knowledge and pilot the design of innovative green funds for watershed protection, sustainable agriculture, and green development. The lab will also be pivotal for upstream preparation activities in the lead up to COP15, postponed due to COVID-19, to be now held next year in Kunming, where the platform will be launched as an ADB-wide initiative.
I take this opportunity to thank Academician Wang Jinnan, the Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning and the CCICED SPS team for their leadership and support. I also express my gratitude to the close cooperation and collaboration with the University of Oxford, the China Green Finance Committee, Stanford University, and the Nature Conservancy on this important webinar and ADB hopes we can continue to collaborate as partners in the lab initiative.
The challenges we are facing ahead in our diverse geographies require equally integrated solutions to bring about transformational change. I hope today’s discussions will enrich mutual and cross-sectoral learning and carve out a sustainable pathway for nature-positive recovery that will be embedded in the 14th FYP.
Thank you.
Speaker
