The Web of Life is Being Torn Apart

Edward Norton IPS News 16 Sep 10

SEPTEMBER 2010, 2010 (IPS) - If the world has been reminded of anything through the tragedy of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, it is that biodiversity and the health of ecosystems is not an abstract concept of scientists or the pet project of the 'green' elite.

Biodiversity and healthy ecosystems are the vital underpinnings of human society. Food and energy production on land and from the sea, medicine, tourism, real estate, these industries and many others have been shown to be starkly vulnerable to the destruction of marine and terrestrial ecosystems.

And yet, while the link between biodiversity and human well-being is better understood now than ever before, the news from the front lines of the global effort to preserve the world's biodiversity is bleak.

The web of life that we all rely on for our very survival is being torn apart at an increasingly alarming rate and action to address this global crisis is still distressingly lacking and slow, writes Edward Norton, actor and United Nations Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity.

Our failure to act might be attributed, in part, to the misperception that preserving the world's biodiversity is a legacy issue, one to be addressed in the future. But the conclusions of the third edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO3), a major assessment report issued in May of this year under the Convention of Biological Diversity, put that misapprehension to rest. Drawing on 120 national reports from Parties to this unique legal treaty aimed at protecting life on earth, it soberly warns that without collective action, our earth's ecosystems will approach tipping-points, putting human lives and livelihoods, as well as such irreplaceable services as air and water purification, the renewal of soil fertility, and climate stabilization at risk of irreversible degradation and collapse.

This autumn, there are two important moments in our attempt to create a new paradigm for a global response to the world's biodiversity challenges. On 22 September, in observance of the International Year of Biodiversity, world leaders will have a unique opportunity to provide leadership in shaping and implementing a new biodiversity strategy, calling for the introduction of sustainable practices in land and resource use, an increase in protected areas around the world, and implementing plans to reconcile development with conservation. For the first time at the United Nations, Heads of State and Government and officials from its 192 Member States will meet at a high-level event exclusively devoted to the biodiversity crisis. In October, the Nagoya Biodiversity Summit will take place in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. There, the 193 Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity will adopt a New Strategic Plan for the period of 2011-2020, containing new targets for 2020 and a new biodiversity vision for 2050.

Meaningful success in this effort will require the full commitment of all nations, and here, the United States is sadly short of the mark. As of today, the US is, inexcusably, one of only three countries that have not ratified full acceptance of the Convention.

(*) Edward Norton is United Nations Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity, appointed by Secretary-General of the UN, Ban Ki-moon.