Coalition calls for biodiversity loss to be halted by 2020

TRAFFIC 17 May 10;

Nairobi, Kenya, 17 May 2010 - A coalition of 14 conservation organizations including TRAFFIC has called on the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to amend its mission in light of the failure of the 2010 biodiversity targets and to set firm new measures to be implemented by 2020.

Speaking on behalf of the coalition, Muhtari Aminu-Kano of BirdLife International noted the continuing alarming rate of biodiversity loss as a consequence of a failure to address the underlying causes.

“The capacity of the planet to support an increasing human population at high levels of production and consumption is finite. The sustainability of life on earth is being severely undermined,” noted Aminu-Kano.

“We are at a crossroads. As the Global Biodiversity Outlook warned, without ‘swift, radical and creative action’ we will fast-track destruction of life on earth.”

Aminu-Kano made his comments during an intervention at SBSTTA 14 (the 14th meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice), a key preparatory meeting ahead of the full CBD meeting (CoP10), which takes place this October in Japan.

The joint statement by civil society organizations read out by Aminu-Kano called upon Parties to make a number of commitments, including to halt biodiversity loss by 2020; to address the world’s biodiversity crisis at the highest political levels; to integrate biodiversity processes into economic policy; and to prevent further habitat loss as a matter of urgency.

The proposed amendment to the CBD’s Mission was supported by Malawi, a Party to the Convention, meaning the issue will be further considered at SBSTTA 14.

“TRAFFIC stands ready to support Parties, their national focal points and authorities, civil society organizations and the private sector to achieve those goals outlined in the CBD’s forthcoming new strategic plan,” said Roland Melisch, TRAFFIC delegate to SBSTTA 14 in Nairobi.

“Particularly with regard to the sustainable use of wild living resources and subsequent trade, TRAFFIC can provide expert opinion and advise on the best standards necessary to comply with the principles of the CBD.”

The coalition of civil society and conservation organizations making the statement comprised: BirdLife International, BGCI -- Botanic Gardens Conservation International, Conservation International, EcoNexus, Ecoropa, Forest People’s Programme, Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina, Global Invasive Species Programme, Greenpeace, Plantlife International, TRAFFIC, VAS – Green Environment Society (federation of 50 organisations in Italy), Wetlands International and WWF.

The coalition’s statement (PDF, 100 KB).