An Analysis Of The Causes For The Unfulfillment Of The Aichi Biodiversity Targets

Biodiversity is an important foundation for the survival of people and lives on earth,which is yet undergoing an unprecedented crisis.In 1992,the adoption of the Convention on Biological Diversity(CBD)marked the beginning of Global Biodiversity Governance.In2010,the launch of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets(ABT)has further established a clear timetable and road-map for international response and national actions,serving as the key guidance of global biodiversity governance for the past decade.However,the official reports in 2020 showed the ABT has failed to be accomplished on schedule at the global level.The thesis plans to analyze the causes for the unfulfillment of the ABT and observe the institutional construction,systematic dilemma and future direction of global biodiversity governance.Adopting the methods of literature study,case analysis and in-depth interview,the thesis mainly proposes four reasons at the perspective of the interactions among international system,international institution and sovereign states.First,the anarchy of international system and the rationality of sovereign states make it inevitable for parties to hold different positions in the negotiation process of setting and promoting the ABT,and even intensify the conflicts of interest on some issues.Second,the asymmetry of international system imprinted in developed countries and developing countries,aggravates the inequalities and inadequacies on capital resources.Even though the CBD has specified the obligations of developed countries and considered the needs of developing countries,it turns out that some developed countries tend to not undertake their corresponding responsibilities,which largely impairs the expectations and implementations of the ABT.Third,the institutional design of the ABT itself lacks binding force and strategic focus,germinating the “implementation deficit” between ABT and national performances.Fourth,the disparity of agenda setting and capacity building among national actors lead to uneven implementation performances,thus affecting the overall progress of the ABT at the global level.On the basis of the development course of Global Biodiversity Governance and the analysis of the ABT’s unfulfillment,the thesis respectively points out that a cautious optimism should be maintained for the future global biodiversity governance,and also discusses about the ongoing debate for the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.As a responsible major developing country and a mega-biodiversity state,China plays a crucially constructive and leading role in the global biodiversity governance and is undertaking its duties to host the15 th Conference of the Parties(COP15)for the CBD.The thesis argues that China will inject its wisdom into post-2020 global biodiversity governance in terms of structure construction,agenda setting,target making,strategy design and publicity support,and make its contributions to fulfill the commitment under the CBD and to establish a shared community of all lives on earth.