Governments Gather in
Busan, Republic of Korea for Third Meeting
on an Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform
on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
Busan, 7-11 June 2010
-The past 50 years have witnessed unprecedented
economic growth which has made many people
in the world richer and lifted millions
out of poverty.
But equally it has led
to an accelerating decline of the biodiversity
and the ecosystems that underpin all life
on Earth?ecosystems include forests and
freshwaters to soils, coral reefs and even
the atmosphere.
Currently more than
65 per cent of ecosystems and their multi-trillion
dollar services are classed as degraded.
According to some estimates, the world is
witnessing a sixth wave of extinctions of
animals, plants and other organisms which
are the building blocks of ecosystems.
Between 7 and 11 June,
governments, researchers and experts will
meet in Busan, Republic of Korea to agree
whether to establish an Intergovernmental
Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity
and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).
The meeting comes two
days after the UN's World Environment Day
under the theme Many Species, One Planet,
One Future and half way through the UN's
International Year of Biodiversity.
Supporters of a new
such Platform believe it could bridge the
crucial gap between scientists and policy-makers:
thus catalyzing a more comprehensive local
and global response to the decline of biodiversity
and ecosystems.
Such a Platform could
also assist in plugging knowledge gaps.
For example science still does not know
how many species need to disappear from
an ecosystem before the system collapses.
An IPBES could also
serve as an early warning mechanism. Some
experts are convinced that many scientific
discoveries, from the identification of
new lower life forms to the fast disappearance
of others, can often remain within the corridors
of research institutes and universities
for many years before they reach the wider
world
By that time is may
be too late to act to either conserve or
protect the species concerned whereas early
warning might have put the species on the
political radar giving it a better chance.
Meanwhile controversial
issues can often be discussed in research
papers for several decades before hitting
the headlines.
Some kind of scientifically
credible body, able to give an authoritative
and peer reviewed early warning of such
issues, could catalyze debate and an improved
policy response long before such developments
become polarized in terms of public opinion.
The decision to hold
this third and final meeting was made at
the United Nations Environment Programme's
(UNEP) Governing Council/Global Ministerial
Environment Forum held earlier this year
in Bali, Indonesia. Media are welcome to
attend the event.
For More Information Please Contact:
Nick Nuttall, UNEP Spokesperson/ Head of
Media
The third and final
intergovernmental and multi-stakeholder
meeting on IPBES will be held at the Busan
Exhibition and Conference Center in Busan,
Republic of Korea, from 7-11 June 2010.
An opening Press Conference
is scheduled on 7 June, Room 202 at the
Busan Exhibition and Conference Center (BEXCO).
The time of the Press Conference is yet
to be confirmed.
Journalists seeking
accreditation should contact Ji-hyun MIN
(Program Officer, Ministry of Environment
of the Republic of Korea)
