China Daily Global / 2021-04 / 20 / Page013
Close the funding gap By NIU HONGWEI | China Daily Global | Updated: 2021-04-20 00:00 China s environmental protection budget can be increased by drawing more investment from the private and civil sectors A report released by the Paulson Institute estimated that financial flows into global biodiversity conservation were $124 billion to $143 billion in 2019, only 0.12 percent to 0.14 percent of the global GDP. To reverse the decline in biodiversity by 2030, the report suggests that, globally, we need to spend $722 billion to $967 billion each year over the next 10 years. That puts the biodiversity financing gap at an average $711 billion per year, and current spending only accounts for a meager 15 percent of the finance needed.
January 11, 2021
Bali needs little introduction. It is the most famous of the 17,508 islands that make up the Indonesian archipelago. Since the opening of its international airport in the late 1960s, the island has been a sought-after tourist destination for backpackers, honeymooners and families alike. I was one of 6.3 million foreign tourists lucky enough to set foot on Bali’s shores in 2019, before Bali indefinitely closed its doors to foreigners in March 2020. With 80% of people in Bali directly or indirectly reliant on tourism, economic loss has hit this island hard. However, mass tourism has also bought ethical and environmental issues to Bali that have come to the forefront of international attention in recent years. These plague Bali’s pristine reputation, and may be even more detrimental to its tourism sector in the long-term.