Negotiations to develop a new post-2020 global framework for biodiversity are ongoing. We are in transition to the new United Nations Decade 2021-2030 on Oceans Science for Sustainable Development and the United Nations Decade 2021-2030 on Ecosystem Restoration. Finally, this year will also mark the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
 
For Madagascar, while waiting for the official agenda of Biodiversity Week, specialists have just revealed that our large island is one of the 10 countries whose economies would be heavily impacted by the loss of its biodiversity by 2050 if the current trend continues and if we do not take measures to reverse it. Sustainable development requires awareness and the implementation of concrete actions to preserve our natural capital: biodiversity.
 
Biodiversity therefore remains the foundation for a sustainable future.
Nature shows us that if we continue to dry up water sources through deforestation, we risk water scarcity in the future. Firstly, forests absorb CO2 from industrial pollution and greenhouse gases that we ourselves have produced. Reforestation and forest restoration improves natural carbon sequestration and helps to slow global warming. Let us not forget that our oceans are sources of food and contribute to our country's economy through the small fisheries of our coastal communities and industrial fisheries. More significantly for the economy, our exceptional biodiversity contributes to our country's foreign exchange earnings through our tourism.
 
It is clear that nature provides us with priceless services for our well-being, our economy and our survival. Nature-based solutions can help us cope with climate change, secure food and water, and improve people's livelihoods. Access to natural resources is a right, but the conservation of biodiversity and the sustainable management of natural resources in Madagascar is our duty. Everyone is concerned, political leaders, ordinary citizens, farmers, men, women, youth, civil society, etc....
Together everything is possible!