Jabalbina supports United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity

With Jabalbina’s support, Eastern Kuku Yalanji Elder Chrissy Grant has been attending meeting of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) since 2011. She said outcomes of the Convention which apply to the EKY Rainforest Bama, such as traditional knowledge and heritage matters around land and sea Country, as well as consulting on Invasive Alien Species on our traditional estate, have been incorporated into Jabalbina’s work wherever possible. As a member of the CBD’s International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB) and the Regional Coordinator for Australia & the Pacific Region, Chrissy recently organised and coordinated a webinar for her colleagues from as far afield as Hawaii. “The idea was to gain the input and ideas of the Indigenous peoples on the targets of the CBD’s Global Biodiversity Framework from 2020 to 2050,” she said. “There are milestones to be met by 2030 in regard to the protection of the biodiversity and ecosystems, the contributions of Indigenous peoples to maintaining and reducing the loss of species, and how Indigenous peoples will be impacted if the targets do not meet their needs. “We had an update from the Secretariat of the CBD on the process and an overview from the IIFB on the targets. There was great input from New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii and other participants asking questions from Australia to the far north of the Pacific as well.” She said the information was passed on to the Executive Director of the CBD as well as the seven global IIFB Regional Coordinators and the Co-Chairs of the Global Biodiversity Framework so it could be considered in the next draft of the Strategy for 2020-2050.