Date: 2010/01/12
Officially launch of the International Year of Biodiversity
Montreal, 12 January 2010 - Launching the International Year of Biodiversity in Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged the world to take the necessary steps to protect the biological diversity of the Earth. "The conservation of biological diversity has the same dimension as climate protection. We need a trend reversal - not at some point in the future, but immediately", said German Federal Chancellor Merkel, speaking on behalf of the current Presidency of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention, in addressing more than 400 participants from the diplomatic corps, government, civil society, international organizations, scientists, business, and media at the celebration held in the Museum of Natural History in Berlin, Germany.
The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity to coincide with the deadline adopted by Governments in 2002 to achieve a significant reduction in the rate of loss of the diversity of species and ecosystems of the planet. According to scientists, the rate of loss due to human activities is as much as 1,000 times higher than the background rate. During the year, people will celebrate the diversity of life on the planet, and its contribution to human well-being, while working to take the steps needed to combat its loss. At the ceremony in Berlin, political leaders urged the issue of biodiversity protection to be elevated to a level with other issues such as climate change and economic development.
"Worldwide, political decision-makers are increasingly recognizing that biodiversity protection is immensely important for human well-being, global economic development and combating poverty. The time has now come to ensure that these insights are followed by deeds", Federal Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen stated. These sentiments were echoed by Abdul Rahman Fadhl AlIryani, the Environment Minister of Yemen, the current President of the Group of 77 and China, representing 132 countries, who said that, "Preserving the rich biodiversity of Yemen and the Arabian Peninsula, in all of its beauty is a priority for us and should be a priority for all."
Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive
Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the body
responsible for organizing the United Nations International Year,
underlined the importance of biodiversity as a global issue, stating
that: "Climate change is indeed a problem, and biological diversity is
part of the solution and is therefore a full component of the
multilateral political ecology. This is what the International Year of
Biodiversity is all about; this is why we are here today in Berlin."
In a video message to participants, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed that "Business as usual is not an option," and that new targets and a new vision is needed.The urgency of the task at hand was echoed by Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme. “The urgency of the situation demands that as a global community we not only reverse the rate of loss, but that we stop the loss altogether and begin restoring the ecological infrastructure that has been damaged and degraded over the previous century or so. ”During the year, scientists will report on the status and trends of biodiversity loss.
The third CBD assessment report, the Global Biodiversity Outlook, will
be published in May, providing the latest data on status and trends, as
well as policy recommendations on the best ways for Governments to press
forward with the post-2010 biodiversity targets. These recommendations
will contribute to the global discussions of a new strategic plan for
combating biodiversity loss, and a new set of targets to be adopted by
the global community at the Nagoya Biodiversity Summit in Japan in
October. “The International Year of Biodiversity is a critical year
because we can all share a common idea that we
need to reverse biodiversity loss and restore biodiversity. This will
lead us to concrete actions,” said Issei Tajima, Senior Vice-Minister of
the Environment for Japan, the incoming President of the tenth meeting
of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention to be held in
Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from 18-29 October 2010. “In such a remarkable
year, Japan will host the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties
to the Convention on Biological Diversity. I express our determination
to make that meeting a success. ”The launch of the year, under the
slogan “Biodiversity is Life, Biodiversity is Our Life,” is just the
first in a series of global events and celebrations that include the
observance of the International Day for Biological Diversity on 22 May
under the theme Biodiversity for Development and Poverty Alleviation, a
special high-level meeting of the General Assembly of the United Nations
on biodiversity in September, and others.
“It becomes crystal clear that the problems of our planet are highly
interlinked - without combating climate change we will fail to stop the
loss of biodiversity, without protecting ecosystems with their carbon
storing capacity it will be extremely difficult to meet climate change
targets. And without both of them we will fail in our efforts to fight
hunger in the world,” said Jochen Flasbarth, President of the German
Federal Environment Agency. Brazil, Thailand, India, and other countries
also held launching events in the first week of January. The United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is
organizing a high-level event for the year on 21-22 January in Paris,
with the participation of Heads of State and Government and a scientific
conference to follow. A Facebook page to celebrate the year, recently
created, has gathered thousands of fans who are expressing their hopes
for the year.
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The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Opened for signature at the
Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the Convention on Biological
Diversity is an international treaty for the conservation and
sustainable use of biodiversity and the equitable sharing of the
benefits from utilization of genetic resources. With 193 Parties, the
CBD has nearuniversal participation among countries committed to
preserving life on Earth. The CBD seeks to address all threats to
biodiversity and ecosystem services, including threats from climate
change, through scientific assessments, the development of tools,
incentives and processes, the transfer of technologies and good
practices and the full and active involvement of relevant stakeholders
including indigenous and local communities, youth, NGOs, women and the
business community. The headquarters of the secretariat of the
Convention are located in Montreal. For additional information, please
contact: David Ainsworth on +1 514 833 0196 or at
david.ainsworth@cbd.int; Johan Hedlund on + 1 514 287 6670 or at
johan.hedlund@cbd.int
IYB website: www.cbd.int/2010
Facebook fan site: www.facebook.com/iyb2010
The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) is a global organisation that harmonises the principles, policies, practices and strategy of over 1,300 leading zoos and aquariums. WAZA is the unifying representative of the global zoo and aquarium community and works in partnership with IUCN, national governments and non-governmental organiations to ensure high standards of animal welfare and to achieve conservation in zoos and aquariums (ex situ) and in nature (in situ).