Montreal, Dec 7 (IANS): A giant jenga tower is on display at The Palais des congres de Montreal where the UN biodiversity conference is taking place for COP15 from December 7-19.
The installation made of recycled cardboard boxes resembles the complex web of life and the risk "we all face if we continue with a business-as-usual approach to our relationship with nature".
Each brick nudged out of place represents the precarious position "we put our planet in, with each species lost, ecosystem degraded and livelihood ruined because of human-caused damage to biodiversity".
The jenga tower has been installed by the Nature Positive pavilion, and highlights the call from more than 350 civil society organisations -- representing humanitarian, development and conservation organisations; faith groups; indigenous peoples; business coalitions; artists; youth; and more -- for governments to strengthen the draft global biodiversity framework to secure a nature-positive world by 2030, in support of climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals.
"The jenga tower serves as a stark reminder to delegates in Montreal of the very life support systems we all rely on. By removing the foundational building blocks of nature, we risk destroying our societies and humankind. But there is still time to act. Governments meeting in Montreal this week can set a new course for our future and our children's future," said WWF International Director General, Marco Lambertini.
"COP15 must be the moment the world comes together to secure an ambitious global biodiversity agreement, capable of reversing nature loss and delivering a nature-positive world this decade."
"Unlike a round of jenga, the biodiversity crisis is not a game we can afford to lose. Nature provides everything our societies and economies are built upon, yet we are dangerously close to bringing down this complex, life-sustaining system," said Eva Zabey, Executive Director, Business for Nature.
"This COP offers an unmissable opportunity for governments to agree a Paris-style goal for nature that mobilises all parts of society towards halting nature loss this decade. Business stands ready to play its part, provided ambitious policies are agreed in the coming weeks to steer corporate action. Right now, companies are calling for the political leadership that will empower them to contribute to a nature-positive future."
Andrew Deutz, Director of Global Policy, Institutions and Conservation Finance at The Nature Conservancy, said this jenga represents the dangerous game "we play with biodiversity".
"Leaders must take integrated action at COP15 and secure a transformational agreement to reverse the loss of nature and deliver a just and necessary transition to a world where we live in harmony with nature," added Mark Gough, CEO of the Capitals Coalition.