Last week, Team AWC attended the Global Nature Positive Summit (GNPS), followed by the Private Land Conservation conference. Imagery from the week is available on our social media channels; however, I thought I'd provide a brief summary of the GNPS, given its potential importance in driving change for nature conservation.
The GNPS gathered over 1,000 stakeholders from government, industry, Indigenous groups, and conservation organizations, all aiming to address biodiversity loss and promote a "nature positive" future. Key themes included the integration of Indigenous knowledge and leadership into environmental solutions, aligning biodiversity goals with net zero targets, and the critical need for investment in natural capital to ensure ecosystem resilience. However, despite these discussions, the summit was marked by limited new commitments and a lack of a concrete action roadmap-highlighting that substantial progress toward reversing biodiversity loss is still urgently needed.
Tim Allard/AWC With Australia and other nations at a crucial juncture for biodiversity, the summit underscored the need for clear metrics and frameworks to assess and promote nature-positive initiatives. While Australia has made strides, most speakers agreed that scaling up practical, on-the-ground conservation work remains essential. Unfortunately, the summit provided little in terms of significant new funding or actionable plans for implementation. This lack of decisive action underscores the gap between aspirational goals and tangible measures, reinforcing the urgency of direct conservation efforts to address biodiversity loss.
In contrast, AWC is already advancing conservation goals at scale with a science-driven, adaptive management approach. AWC's focus on measurable outcomes through fire management, invasive species control, and ecological monitoring exemplifies the type of impactful conservation needed globally. While the summit highlighted challenges, AWC is actively working to provide solutions. We're proving that large-scale, data-informed conservation can not only protect but also recover and restore Australia's unique biodiversity, underscoring our role as a leader in pragmatic, effective conservation. Our leadership in developing partnerships built on trust and deep relationships is broadening our influence and opening doors to new opportunities.
In short, while the summit provided useful networking opportunities and a strong platform for Indigenous leadership, there were no announcements of new funding or actionable plans for 'what's next.' Given how challenging it is to secure funding for nature, it was a very disappointing use of $5,000,000.
This is our call to action: our work; the work you support, is now more critical than ever. If the government can't lead the way, then we must.
Tim Allard
CEO, Australian Wildlife Conservancy
