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Save Biodiversity 06/07 - Update from Countdown 2010

In this Issue

^ Dear Countdown 2010 Partners, dear Readers,

Are we meeting the 2010 biodiversity target? The European Environmental Agency answers with a clear ‘no’ in its latest report, and presents grim figures on species loss and threats. Yet, 90% of governments claim that they have the right policies in place to protect species and ecosystems.

So, how do we measure biodiversity loss? On the global, regional and national level organizations are pulling together their criteria for reporting on the 2010 biodiversity targer. Countdown 2010 has just presented first results of its readiness assessment to answer: How are governments doing on their way to 2010? This newsletter is designed to give you an overview on the state of assessment towards the 2010 biodiversity target.

But assessment is not the only thing going on: The 6th Ministerial Conference “Environment for Europe” in Belgrade last month reconfirmed the 2010 biodiversity target for the pan-European region, the governments of Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia and Slovenia joined Countdown 2010, and local authorities met in Belgrade, Gland and Zagreb to coordinate their activities on biodiversity.

We’ve also done some background work on our website: You can now easily navigate all partners by country and group, and access their commitments to Countdown 2010. This will make it easier for you to link up with likeminded organizations – so please take a moment to check your organization’s data (and send corrections to office@countdown2010.net). 

Enjoy reading!

Sebastian Winkler

Sebastian Winkler
Head of Countdown 2010
November 5, 2007

^ Halting the loss: How Europe measures biodiversity

Unless considerable additional efforts can be mobilized, the 2010 biodiversity target of halting biodiversity loss in the pan-European region by 2010 will not be achieved. At the same time, biodiversity decline continues to be a major concern, and pressures from climate change and alien invasive species are increasing. These are the conclusions of the fourth Assessment 'Europe's environment' . The report – published by the European Environmental Agency at the Ministerial Conference ‘Environment for Europe’ in Belgrade – confirms concerns that Europe’s governments are not taking all necessary actions to meet the 2010 biodiversity target.
To improve the quality of the available data and make comparisons easier, the European Environmental Agency works on streamlining European Biodiversity Indicators. The set of 26 indicators presented last month will be used for an indicator based report in 2008.

The European Commission adds to this in monitoring the implementation of the EC Biodiversity Action Plan by Member States and Commission and assesses the value of ecosystem services. A midterm report to 2010 will be presented next year.

^ Global Progress on 2010 Indicators

With efforts being made globally to achieve the 2010 biodiversity target, and 2010 rapidly approaching, initiatives are now gearing up to assess and communicate progress towards the target - using indicators.

The 2010 Biodiversity Indicator Partnership (2010BIP) has been established to assess and communicate progress towards the target using indicators. With funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the 2010BIP is promoting the application of existing indicators, such as the Red List Index based on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and the development of new indicators for reporting on the different aspects of the 2010 biodiversity target, such as sustainable use, and threats to species and habitats. The UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Centre coordinates the partnership, which includes forty organizations ranging from various UN agencies, IGOs, NGOs, scientific institutions, Multilateral Environmental Agreements, to representatives of national governments.

Some of the 2010BIP indicators will also be used to report on progress on the environmental goals within the Millennium Development Goals framework. These include the proportion of land area covered by forest, the proportion of fish stocks within safe biological limits, the proportion of areas protected and the proportion of species threatened with extinction.

^ National reporting on the 2010 biodiversity target

On the national level, all parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity are required to report on the implementation of the convention. This includes a self-assessment on progress towards the 2010 biodiversity target and the seven focal areas established under it within the convention. The third national reports – prepared by 130 countries – are the first to give an overview on progress towards 2010. According to countries’ own assessment, 9 out of 10 countries have incorporated targets for the protection of species, genes and ecosystems by 2010 into national policy. However, targets on threats like alien invasive species and climate change have not been adopted in nearly half of countries. In addition, countries appear to struggle to address aspects of traditional knowledge and benefit sharing. The fourth and final national reports for the 2010 biodiversity target are due in early 2009, and will then feed into the Global Biodiversity Outlook to be published in 2010. The Global Environment Facility has just approved funding to ensure that the reports allow for stakeholder dialogues at the national level. Countdown 2010 supports this process by providing input to the Steering Committee and assisting with consultations nationally.

^ The Countdown 2010 Readiness Assessment

Countdown 2010’s Readiness Assessment provides a rapid analysis of the basic steps that each of the pan-European countries must take in order to meet the 2010 biodiversity target. The results of this assessment were presented at the Sixth Ministerial Conference "Environment for Europe" in Belgrade last month. Combining the results of interviews with CBD focal points with an online expert survey and a desk study, this assessment identifies whether countries have made a public statement concerning the 2010 biodiversity target, have assessed the requirements to meet the target in their region and whether the necessary actions have been identified and implemented.

The final assessment work - an official Category II document of the Belgrade conference has been published in English and Russian and is downloadable from the Countdown website.

The second – more detailed – version of the assessment will be presented at the 9th CBD Conference of the Parties; 2010 will see a comprehensive assessment presented at CBD COP 10 in Japan. The Environment for Europe process meets again in 2011 to herald the new European commitments on biodiversity – well informed through the assessment work done for 2010.

^ State of Biodiversity: European conservation works

First qualitative study on European Birds Directive reveals clear progress

If it comes to biodiversity conservation legislation in the EU, two Directives stand out in importance: The Birds Directive (1972) and the Habitats Directive (1992). A paper published in Science revealed their effectiveness for bird populations in Europe. The Birds Directive has clearly helped those species considered to be most at risk, partly through the designation of Special Protection Areas (SPAs). Now binding law for all EU countries, it requires special conservation measures for a number of listed species.Taking into account the fifteen Member States for which sufficient data were available, the research showed that the populations of threatened birds not only fared better, on average, than other bird species in the European Union, but also that the same species perform better within the EU than in European countries outside. BirdLife – sponsor of the analysis – hopes this evidence will now encourage governments to comply with the Birds Directive, especially in the new Member States of the EU.

^ Down to Earth: Local Action for Biodiversity

2007 is the first year where more people live in urban than in rural areas. Urban biodiversity thus becomes an increasingly important topic. In the project ‘Local Action for Biodiversity’ (LAB), twenty cities representing 54 million citizens create and implement 10-year Biodiversity Action Plans. The project supports participating cities with two workshops where representatives have the possibility to exchange experiences and best practices, and a ‘toolkit’ of successful urban biodiversity instruments (case studies, guidelines etc.). Participating cities have to, among others, develop reports on the respective biodiversity status, draft and implement a 10-year Biodiversity Action Plan and carry out five new and tangible biodiversity interventions in the course of the project. The project will lay the foundations for an expanded ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability biodiversity initiative. Countdown 2010 is a LAB project partner and part of the project’s steering committee. LAB was pioneered by the Cities of Cape Town and eThekwini in South Africa. The other cities were Sao Paolo, King County (Seattle), Edmonton (Canada), Ile-de-France (Paris), Barcelona, Johannesburg, Seoul, Liverpool Council (Sydney), Leicester, Waitekere (Auckland), Joondalup (Perth), Tilburg, Ekhuraleni, Walvis Bay, Nagoya and Amsterdam.

^Internal: IUCN Pan-European Programme 2009-2012

The World Conservation Union (IUCN) is the largest and most important conservation network. Its four-year programmes provide the framework for the conservation work undertaken by its expert commissions and the secretariat. The upcoming 2009-2012 programme will focus on five priority areas:

  1. Conserving the diversity of life - ensuring sustainable and equitable management of biodiversity from local to global levels
  2. Changing the climate forecast – integrating biodiversity considerations and opportunities into climate change policies and practice;
  3. Naturally energizing the future – implementing ecologically sustainable, equitable and efficient energy systems;
  4. Managing ecosystems for human well-being – improving livelihoods, reducing poverty and vulnerability, and enhancing environmental and human security through sustainable ecosystem management;
  5. Greening the world economy – integrating ecosystem conservation values in economic policy, finance and markets.

Hosting the Countdown 2010 initiative is an important part of IUCN’s strategy to ‘conserve the diversity of life’ by 2010. European members and stakeholders of IUCN are invited to contribute their ideas and visions for nature conservation in Europe through an online consultation in November 2007.

Focus on... European Habitats Forum

The European Habitats Forum (EHF) is a group of 16 European nature conservation NGO networks that work together to positively influence the development and implementation of European nature conservation policy and legislation.

The main focus of the EHF’s activities is the implementation of the EU Birds and Habitats Directives and the establishment of the Natura 2000 network of protected areas.

IUCN’s Regional Office for Europe in Brussels holds the Secretariat of the group and organises biannual meetings for all the members, as well as with DG Environment. The forum enables nature conservation NGOs to work with the EU institutions in a coordinated way by lobbying on shared issues, undertaking joint projects and sharing information. The EHF also represents NGOs at key European fora, for example, the European Commission Habitats Scientific Working Group, the Biodiversity Expert Group and the Bern Convention Standing Committee. It also enables information and experiences from NGOs working at the field level to be brought to the attention of policy and decision makers.

In addition to IUCN, the following organizations are members of EHF: A Rocha International, BirdLife International, Butterfly Conservation, Central and Eastern European Working Group for the Enhancement of Biodiversity (CEEWEB), European Environmental Bureau (EEB), EUCC – The Coastal Union, Euronatur, Eurosite, EUROPARC, Fedenatur, International Mire Conservation Group (IMCG), Planta Europa. Societas Europea Herpetologica, Wetlands International and WWF.

Upcoming Events

12-13 November
EU Presidency Conference on European Business & Biodiversity (Lisbon, Portugal)

27 November
Countdown 2010 Advisory Board Meeting (Brussels, Belgium)

18-22 February 2008
CBD Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (Rome, Italy)

19-30 May 2008
9th Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity (Bonn, Germany)

21-24 May 2008
Urban Biodiversity & Design (Erfurt, Germany)

25-27 May 2008
Mayors’ Conference: Local Action for Biodiversity (Bonn, Germany)

5-14 October 2008
World Conservation Congress (Barcelona, Spain)

News from Countdown 2010

29 October 2007 Trondheim: Countdown 2010 partner city hosts high-level conference on biodiversity

18 October 2007 The Andean Community of Nations (CAN) and Bolivia sign the Countdown 2010 Declaration

17 October 2007 Local Action on Biodiversity connects Cities from all continents

16 October 2007 Slovenia: A green leader of the European Union

11 October 2007 Local and regional authorities: enthusiasm is priceless

11 October 2007 Environment for Europe: Building bridges without sustainable foundations

10 October 2007 Environmental Agency: 2010 Biodiversity Target will not be met

8 October 2007 Countdown 2010: A global initiative goes local

4 October 2007 Argentina signs the Countdown 2010 Declaration and becomes IUCN member

12 September 2007 Extinction crisis escalates: Red List shows apes, corals, vultures, dolphins all in danger

7 September 2007 Chinese organizations start Countdown to save nature by 2010

More news

New Partners

Countdown 2010 would like to welcome its new partners:

You want to join as well? See here or speak to the Secretariat!

For more information please contact info@countdown2010.net or visit www.countdown2010.net

This newsletter is issued bi-monthly by Countdown 2010. We welcome comments and feedback to Wiebke Herding. Previous issues of this newsletter can be found at www.countdown2010.net/article/newsletter.

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