Swift action needed to protect earth’s wealth by 2010!
15 October 2008, Barcelona (Spain). The 4th IUCN World Conservation Congress urged the international community to act to ensure a future to our planet. The conservation of biodiversity was at the heart of the discussion: “Biodiversity underpins the well-being of human societies and their economies” said Julia Marton-Lefèvre, Director General of IUCN at the Congress closing ceremony. 8,000 participants representing the world’s conservation community gathered in Barcelona to trace the way for nature conservation in the forthcoming years.
With 800 days to the end of 2010, the debate on the 2010 biodiversity target and post 2010 process could certainly not be left aside. Countdown 2010 led the discussion on the target in its three major events: “Local 2010 Action for Biodiversity: The ignored solution?”; “Meeting the 2010 biodiversity target! A contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of life on Earth” and “A vision for Nature in 2010 – and beyond”.
Countdown 2010 together with ICLEI, the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and other partners launched the Global Partnership for Cities and Biodiversity which reinforces local and regional authorities’ role in the conservation of nature and biodiversity in urban environments. Moreover, the Congress passed three resolutions concerning municipal conservation areas, IUCN membership of local governments and increased cooperation with the Union and its members for managing biodiversity protection.
The post 2010 process was also tackled with special interest. The three IUCN presidential candidates shared and compared their views on what the international community should do once the 2010 target has expired. The lively debate – involving also representatives from the business, civil society and public sectors – led to the conclusion that a new time-bound objective would keep people engaged in saving biodiversity.
As to monitoring of governments’ progress towards the 2010 biodiversity target, the Countdown 2010 Secretariat released its the Readiness Assessment Study. Neeraj Khera and Jorge Ventocilla – who led the project – presented the results of the research at a dedicated event showing that governments are reporting a “medium to low performance” as to the policy responses to reach the 2010 target.
At such a huge gathering of people concerned by the fate of our planet, Countdown 2010 could not lose the chance to involve new actors in its efforts. Along with Ecsite – the European network of museums and science centers – and the Cambridge Centre for Landscape and People, the City of Barcelona and the French Presidency of the European Union decided to showcase their commitment to biodiversity at the event by signing the Countdown 2010 Declaration.
The economic value of biodiversity was one of the key issues discussed at the Congress. The TEEB report by Pavan Sukhdev – of which we heard during our Partners’ Assembly in Bonn last May – keeps increasing in popularity among nature conservationists. The world community seems now to agree that economics and conservation of nature must go hand in hand to ensure action is taken rapidly and efficiently.
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species released the latest findings of its studies reporting that at least 1,141 of the 5,487 mammals on Earth are endangered. More catastrophic ratios apply to amphibians and plants. Luckily, there are also some good news with five percent of currently threatened mammals showing signs of recovery in the wild. The Congress also took substantial decisions on high seas legislation and biofuels regulations and stressed the need to integrate biodiversity conservation into climate change policies.
Finally IUCN Members’ Assembly – from 10 to 14 October – adopted some 150 resolutions, a renewed IUCN programme and elected a Council along with a new President. As newly elected President, Ashok Khosla, chairman of a Delhi-based social enterprise promoting commercially-viable and environmentally-friendly technologies for rural communities will guide the Union for the next four years.
Check out what the others have written about Countdown 2010:
