Montreal,
12 January 2010 – Launching the International
Year of Biodiversity in Berlin yesterday,
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.
Notes to editors:
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
IYB website: www.cbd.int/2010
Facebook fan site: www.facebook.com/iyb2010
