Target 4

𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝟏𝟖: 𝐑𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐚𝐭 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 $𝟓𝟎𝟎 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐔𝐩 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐁𝐢𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲

🤔 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐲?
This target has two main components. The first is the elimination, phasing out or reform of incentives, including subsidies, that are harmful to biodiversity. The second is the scaling up of positive incentives for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. The target further identifies several elements to accomplish this:

🌿 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐲 – In most countries there will be various incentives, including subsidies, in place with varied impacts on biodiversity. Further, the harmful effects of some incentive measures may or may not be readily apparent and detectable. As such, the first element of this target calls for the identification of incentives that are harmful to biodiversity by 2025. However, this identification step should not preclude immediate action on the elimination, phasing out or reform of harmful incentives where possible.

🌿 𝐄𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 – The target calls for the substantial and progressive elimination, phasing out or reforming of harmful subsidies reaching $500 billion per year by 2030. Both the elimination or phasing out of harmful incentives requires Parties to end support for such incentives. For some types of incentives, it may be possible to eliminate them outright. However, for most incentives a more scaled or gradual approach may be required as different sectors or groups in society have come to depend on them. In some cases, it may not be possible eliminate or phase out harmful incentives as they are deemed important for other societal objectives. In these cases, incentives harmful to biodiversity should be reformed so that their negative impacts are reduced as much as possible.

🌿 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬, 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 – Harmful incentives generally emanate from policies or programmes that induce unsustainable behaviour harmful to biodiversity, often as unanticipated and unintended side effects of policies or programmes designed to achieve other objectives. Types of possibly harmful incentives include production subsidies and consumer subsidies, while policies and laws governing resource use, such as land tenure systems and environmental resource management, can also have harmful effects.

🌿 𝐈𝐧 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭, 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐫, 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 – Different countries have different amounts and types of incentives, including subsidies, that are harmful to biodiversity. Some of these harmful incentives may be deemed necessary in order to reach other societal objectives. The reduction, elimination or phasing out of incentives should take these points into account.

🌿 𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 – The target prioritizes acting on those incentives with the most harmful effects. Past studies have shown that these are not necessarily the ones with the highest financial outlays.

🌿 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 – Positive incentives are economic, legal or institutional measures designed to encourage activities beneficial to biodiversity. Positive incentives can include such things as public or grant-aided land purchases or conservation easements.

To learn more about all 23 Targets, please visit: https://www.cbd.int/gbf/targets