International Year of Biodiversity Officially Launched
Without combating climate and without protecting ecosystems we will fail in our efforts to fight hunger in the world.
GERMAN CHANCELLOR Angela Merkel and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon officially launched the International Year of Biodiversity on 11th January. Launching the International Year of Biodiversity in Berlin, the German Chancellor 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 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.
In 2010, people from different parts of the world are expected to celebrate the diversity of life by performing and organizing different events and projects.
"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."
"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, "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.
It is important for all of us to be concerned about the biodiversity loss. Biodiversity loss means loss of culture and many things. It is the responsibility of each and every one of us to act and preserve the bio diversity around us; else the future will be not sustainable. Different organisations are taking initiatives to protect the rich bio diversity in different parts of the world, and it is important for us to extend our support in the conservation effort.
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