Cooper said a major task for governments is how to redirect subsidies from activities that harm biodiversity toward activities that protect nature, which will take time.
He added that many such subsidies are also given for social reasons – such as fertilizers for farmers – and that removing them would require open and transparent dialogue to ensure “appropriate change”.
“Getting that right will be challenging,” Cooper said, adding that fertilizers are being used excessively in some countries, so reducing them could yield broad benefits.
Another major objective should be to “get off the pesticide treadmill,” because while they are an inherent part of food production, they often kill natural insect enemies as well, he said.