Luxemburg commits Euro 50 million to biodiversity
Manternach, Luxemburg 21 May 2007 – With a day prior to International Biodiversity Day, Luxemburg marks its commitment to the 2010 biodiversity target.
Minister for Environment and Transport, Mr. Lucien Lux signed the IUCN Countdown 2010 Declaration with concrete and tangible commitments by launching its National Plan for the Conservation of Nature. This Plan foresees 41 measurable action items with a budget of up to Euro 50 million for the coming 5 years.
Minister Lux emphasized “…actions have to be concrete, measurable and carried out in partnership. This national plan provides the means for Luxemburg to respond to its international commitments and to move towards the 2010 biodiversity target”.
Like many countries in Europe, Luxemburg has experienced a loss of biodiversity since the 1960s of 80% of its wetlands and 35% of its chalk grasslands. It is the second most fragmented country in Europe. Their Countdown 2010 commitment is about reversing this trend, by having established a national platform of all relevant stakeholders and a national observatory which will monitor the progress toward implementing the national plan. The observatory is composed of a multi-stakeholder consortium, including universities, union representatives and NGOs, which will allow for a balanced and neutral assessment of the progress toward 2010.
Sebastian Winkler, Head of the IUCN-hosted Countdown 2010 Secretariat, concluded that, “…Luxemburg is the seventieth state to join the growing movement of partners working toward this ambitious target. It is only together that we will come closer in achieving the 2010 target .The annual stock-taking consultations among the respective stakeholders provide an ideal vehicle to adjust or increase the necessary action to achieve the targets outlined in the national plan for nature conservation”.
