Countdown 2010 at the Convention for Biological Diversity
13 March 2007, Montreal, Canada. The Head of Countdown 2010 and his team paid its first visit to the Secretariat on the Convention on Biological Diversity to discuss collaboration for achieving the Johannesburg biodiversity target.
Launched in 2004, Countdown 2010 is an innovative network comprising 205 partners and is instrumental in raising public awareness of the 2010 biodiversity target adopted at the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg in 2002. One year before, at the Gothenburg Summit, the Heads of State of the European Union agreed to halt the loss of biodiversity by 2010. Fourteen European countries have currently signed the Countdown 2010 Declaration.
On the occasion of this visit, a memorandum of understanding aimed at raising public awareness and mobilizing stakeholders, in particular business and local authorities, was discussed and is expected to be signed in Berlin during the celebration of World Environment Day on 5 June.
“The 2010 target is at the heart of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Partners of Countdown 2010 worldwide are working actively to achieve this target. In this sense, it is high time that Countdown 2010 joins forces with the Convention, and we are very happy to have established this partnership as a means to move closer to the target,” said Sebastian Winkler, Head of Countdown 2010.
The achievement of the 2010 biodiversity target calls for partnerships with all relevant actors. To this end, Countdown 2010 has made a significant contribution in mobilizing the international community for achieving this strategic target.
“I am very pleased that the relationship between this powerful network and the Convention on Life on Earth will be enhanced at a time when the Convention is actively engaged in the preparation for the ninth meeting of the conference of the parties to be held 2008 in Bonn, Germany,” said Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Mr. Djoghlaf added that partnerships and networking with organizations such as Countdown 2010 are crucial for achieving the three objectives of the Convention.
Countdown 2010 is also a partner of the Secretariat for the preparation and implementation of the meeting on Cities and Biodiversity, to be held 26-28 March in Curitiba, Brazil. The meeting will focus on biodiversity challenges specific to urban
environments.
