CBD COP11: Human wellbeing is the core reason for conservation

CBD COP11: Human wellbeing is the core reason for conservation

Rio Conventions Pavilion TV, CBD COP11 (15/10/2012) – Julia Marton-Lefèvre, Director General of IUCN, explains that the conflict between development and environment need not be as controversial as it has become.

Marton-Lefèvre explains that we all depend on land for food, water and clean air, so we must protect it, but we also seek development for our own comfort – she say we are now beginning to understand how to strike a balance between the two.

Marton-Lefèvre laments that those that understand, for example, that a tree is more valuable standing than felled are rarely in contact with those felling the trees. She is eager to connect the differing knowledge held by different people across the globe to create a more holistic approach to biodiversity.

Marton-Lefèvre also emphasises that organisations like her own need to communicate more simply. She says that IUCN is about nature based solutions to human development – that they seek human wellbeing and see conservation of the planet’s natural wealth as a key part of that.