The inaugural Global Biodiversity Alliance Summit opened today at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre with President Irfaan Ali warning that globally, biodiversity is in crisis.
The President underscored the need for strengthening the international commitment to protecting the world’s biodiversity.
Addressing global and regional leaders, including President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader; Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley; and Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Raphael Gonsalves, President Ali said the summit is taking place at a time of urgency. He said biodiversity is under siege.
“Across the globe, biodiversity is under siege. Every year, we lose an estimated 10 million hectares of forest. One million species face extinction. Wetlands are vanishing three times faster than forests. And we are approaching irreversible tipping points in key ecosystems – from coral reefs to savannahs to rainforests. These changes are not remote or abstract. They are real, immediate and devastating,” the Guyanese Head-of-State said as he painted a vivid picture of the situation.
The impact on the world, he said, is grave.
“They affect the water we drink, the food we eat, the air we breathe. They affect our jobs, our health, our economies, our culture, our peace. They affect our very survival. And yet, the destruction continues – not due to ignorance but due to invisibility. Because too often, the true value of biodiversity is ignored in national accounts, absent from financial statements, and invisible in boardrooms and budget,” President Ali said.
Then two-day Biodiversity Summit is being seen as an opportunity for countries to consolidate their efforts and strengthen the global movement to protect the living fabric of the planet.
Noting that the challenges cannot be confronted in silos, President Ali stressed the need for countries and institutions to build strong, resilient, sustainable partnership.
He said Guyana is pleased to host the Summit, and serve as the foundational leader of the Global Biodiversity Alliance.
“We sit at the heart of the Guiana Shield, one of the last intact tropical forest ecosystems on Earth. But we are more than stewards—we are pioneers. Guyana has long stood at the forefront of global environmental leadership, championing sustainable development and protection of the world’s natural heritage. As early as the 1990s, Guyana made an unprecedented commitment by setting aside nearly one million acres of pristine forest for the Iwokrama International Centre. A model for sustainable forest management – this bold move was followed by the establishment of a National Protected Areas System, safeguarding some 18,000 square kilometers of key ecosystems across the country,” the President said.
He said the country further cemented its leadership through the development of the Low Carbon Development Strategy, under which it forged a landmark forest partnership with Norway.
He noted that Guyana continues to lead with the implementation of a revised and expanded Low Carbon Development Strategy 2030 which builds on past successes to advance climate resilience, forest conservation and a diversified low carbon economy for all Guyanese.
“Guyana’s ecosystems provide over $15.2 billion per year in ecosystem services. An overwhelming 96% of that value comes from non-market services – those invisible benefits we all rely on but never pay for. Genetic resources alone – from plant compounds with medicinal potential to unique species traits – are worth $8.4 billion annually. Existence and bequest values – what our people are willing to pay to preserve nature – amount to $3.6 billion per year,” the President disclosed.
President Ali said now with the Global Biodiversity Alliance, Guyana is taking its leadership to a new level as it lobbies to advance the global goal of conserving at least 30% of land and oceans by 2030, incorporate biodiversity in national and corporate planning, and unlock innovative finance, including biodiversity credits, green bonds and debt-for-nature swaps.
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