Investing in biodiversity is not a luxury
2 July 2010, Brussels. Now is the opportune time for the European Union to take the lead in biodiversity conservation. The conference on “European biodiversity in a global context” highlighted that the EU needs to speak with one voice at the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP10) in October. Critical issues such as financing, indicators, setting appropriate sub targets, and the mainstreaming of biodiversity policy need to be addressed to ensure a successful outcome in Nagoya.
The event – co-chaired by Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Struan Stevenson and MEP Theodoros Skylakakis – took place in the framework of the ongoing discussions in the European Parliament on the Own-initiative report on the implementation of EU legislation aiming at the conservation of biodiversity and the upcoming Resolution on the CBD Conference.
The year 2010 is a milestone for biodiversity – and a great opportunity for the European Union to take the lead in the critical efforts to conserve our natural heritage. The European institutions are working closely together to this end and during the conference reiterated their commitment to step up efforts to halt biodiversity loss.
“We really have not met the target”, stated Dr Jane Smart – IUCN. “This is a massive public failure”, Tony Long – WWF added. Pressures on biodiversity are increasingly causing a deterioration of nature conservation status. “When we lose biodiversity we are not just losing species. We are running down the natural assets on which we and future generations depend on”, stressed Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik.
The on-going international process to adopt a new biodiversity target for the post-2010 period is of paramount importance to try and reverse lthe current trends of biodiversity loss. MEP Jo Leinen – Chairman of the EP Environment Committee, urged the EU to speak with one voice at the CBD COP10 in Nagoya, qualified by Ines Verleye – representing the EU Belgian Presidency as “critical for multilateralism”. Verleye considers financing decisive for a positive outcome of the COP in October. Financial resources are a prerequisite for a successful adoption and implementation of ambitious targets.
Participants underlined the importance of making biodiversity more understandable to the citizens which requires a shift to accessible terminology.
More than 140 participants, including MEPs, representatives from NGOs, academic organizations and the private sector discussed challenges facing biodiversity conservation and the policy steps which will lead to the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP10).
The conference was organized by the Secretariat of the European Parliament Intergroup “Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development”, run jointly of the European Bureau for Conservation and Development (EBCD) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
