Europe Will Miss 2010 Biodiversity Protection Target

While some progress has been made in halting the decline of plant and animal species, the original target is unlikely to be met, concluded the high-level gathering that included Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis and Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

Barroso told the delegates that the European Commission has been at the forefront of the battle against climate change, and now must put urgent effort into the related issue of biodiversity protection.

"The success of our climate change policy will also be measured by the success of our efforts in stopping the loss of biodiversity," Barroso said. "These issues – like so many of the challenges that we face – are irrevocably interrelated, just as the link with energy and energy security has helped to develop our understanding of the importance of climate change."

The Commission called the conference, Biodiversity protection beyond 2010: priorities and options for future EU policy, to examine ways of improving its biodiversity protection. It was attended by scientists, politicians, economists and academics from all EU member states, and by representatives from civil society and business.

The Critically Endangered Iberian lynx (Photo courtesy Programa de Conservación Ex-situ del Lince Ibérico)

"Biodiversity is life – beautiful, precious and fragile," said EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas, who organized the conference. "But is also the basis of our economic and social well-being. This is not widely enough recognized and valued. As a result, it is in serious decline."

"The fact is that biodiversity loss poses a threat every bit as worrying as climate change," Dimas said.

"The message from Athens underlines that biodiversity needs to become a universal political priority, because only then will we have a realistic chance of stopping biodiversity loss," he said.

The conference concluded that there is an urgent need to improve communication about biodiversity loss and its consequences. Delegates agreed on the importance of thinking about ecosystem protection rather than species protection, and the need to ensure that available funds are channeled towards nature protection projects.

Scientists acknowledge that biodiversity is in crisis around the world, and that too little is being done to protect it.

Globally, the authoritative IUCN Red List now includes 44,838 species, of which 16,928 are threatened with extinction - 38 percent. Of these, 3,246 are in the highest category of threat, Critically Endangered, 4,770 are Endangered and 8,912 are Vulnerable to extinction.

Twentieth century European extinctions include the Caucasian wisent, Bison bonasus caucasicus, a bison species last seen in 1927, which inhabited the Caucasus Mountains; the Majorcan hare, Lepus granatensis solisi, last seen in the 1980s, which inhabited the island of Majorca, Spain; and the Pyrenean ibex, Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica a subspecies of goat, last seen in 2000, in the Pyrenees Mountains of France and Spain.

Many new ideas were discussed at the conference, leading up to the Message from Athens issued today.

In his speech to the conference, President Barroso articulated the main points of the Message.

"First, we must develop a clearer global understanding of "why biodiversity really matters." he said. "To do this, the Commission will build on the findings of the study on The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity. We will work to improve on existing indicators. And we are in the process of launching a communication campaign worth €3 million."

"Second, we need to improve our scientific understanding," Barroso said. "The Nobel-winning work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has shaped the political response to climate change. A similar initiative is needed with regard to biodiversity – particularly since the drivers for biodiversity loss are more complex than for climate change, and the direct impacts are harder to measure."

"Third, we need a fully functioning network of protected areas. The Commission will work with Member States to complete the Natura 2000 network, including marine areas, as soon as possible," the President said. "Given the threat of climate change we will also need to improve the connectivity between sites."

"Fourth, we should not limit our attention to protected areas. If we do we will be left with a patchwork quilt - pockets of nature in a desert of destruction. We need to identify and promote synergies between biodiversity protection and other policies," he said. "This is very clearly the case with climate change, as I have just mentioned, where mitigation and adaptation measures need to be fully compatible with policies for protecting nature. But we should also include biodiversity concerns when we make the shift to more resource-efficient economies."

"Fifth, to protect global biodiversity, there are many actions that need to be followed through the work of the UN Convention on Biodiversity, but the priority should be developing practical measures to stop global deforestation. This is where international action can have the biggest and most immediate impact," Barroso said.

"Finally," he concluded, "the level of financial resources allocated to nature protection remains relatively small - especially when compared to the welfare benefits that ecosystem services provide. We need to look at the current systems of funding, and if they are not working properly then they should be reviewed, whilst remembering that resources, particularly public funds, are uniquely scarce at the current time.

The ringed plover, Charadrius hiaticula, is threatened by petroleum pollution and wetland drainage for irrigation in its migratory stop-over habitats on the Baltic Sea coast. (Photo by Tony Morris)

In reaction to the Message from Athens, BirdLife International welcomed the strong calls made by key decision makers to stop the loss of animal and plant species, and the sense of urgency reflected in the discussions. BirdLife is pleased that the fundamental role, and the successes, of the EU Birds and Habitats Directives and of the Natura 2000 network are emphasized in the conference conclusions.

Still, BirdLife sees "a huge gap between aspirations and real action," and said today in a statement that the Message "remains vague and not ambitious enough regarding needed policy reform."

For instance, it only talks of "reviewing" impacts of EU policies instead of changing these policies, and it asks to "reform" harmful subsidies, instead of ending them.

"We welcome President Barroso's strong opening speech in Athens," said Clairie Papazoglou, BirdLife's Regional Director for Europe, who also spoke at the conference. "But if he gets re-appointed, we expect him to significantly improve the Commission's environmental performance especially in sectoral policy reform – otherwise we will never be able to stabilize our ecosystems."

BirdLife said in December that the populations of animal and plant species in the EU continue to decline because their habitats are fragmented by motorways, lost to agricultural intensification, or taken over by developers.

While 90 percent of Europe's citizens have stated they are "very concerned by the loss of biodiversity" six governments - Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovakia and Luxembourg - did not even respond to the Commission's questions when the mid-term report of the European Commission on the EU Action Plan to halt the loss of biodiversity was compiled. The report was released on December 16, 2008.

"Decision makers have to wake up," said Dr. Papazoglou. "In the 21st century short-term economic advantages and vested interests cannot rule policy. Otherwise we won't cope neither with the economic, nor the environmental crisis."

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