Today's guest blog post is from Portland, Oregon based Jeffery Smith, the President of the Forum on Geonomics, and active member of Common Ground Oregon - Washington, the Oregon - Washington chapter of Common Ground USA, an organization promoting legislation that
democratizes use of natural resources and that treats the natural resources of a jurisdiction as a commonwealth for all of the legal residents.
Coverage
of areas specially conserved for biodiversity and ecosystem functions should be increased (at least to the Aichi Target 11
of 17 % terrestrial and 10 % marine area), with systems
of conservation being
democratized and based on integration
of rights and responsibilities; in all kinds
of land / water
uses, activities that are ecologically damaging need to be modified or replaced; high priority should also be given to the regeneration and restoration
of degraded ecosystems and the revival
of populations
of threatened species; equitable access (including through territorial and
resource tenure) must be accorded to
natural resources, with special focus on populations with high and direct dependence on such
resources for their survival and livelihoods.