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Governments Pledge to Reverse Modern Extinction Crisis KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, February 20, 2004 (ENS) - Environment ministers and other officials from 123 governments across the globe reaffirmed their pledge Thursday to establish a worldwide network of protected areas on land within six years and by 2012 in the world's oceans. Declaring themselves "alarmed that biological diversity is being lost at an unprecedented rate as a result of human activity," the delegates closed the 10 day conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity with promises to do more to stem the losses. One achievement of the conference was agreement on "a more quantitative approach to reducing the rate of biodiversity loss by the year 2010," said Klaus Toepfer, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which provides the secretariat for the Convention.
UNEP Executive Director Klaus Toepfer addresses ministers in Kuala Lumpur. (Photos courtesy IISD/Earth Negotiations Bulletin except where noted)“By adopting measurable indicators and specific goals for the overall 2010 target, this conference has empowered governments to more accurately monitor progress – or the lack of it – in reversing the modern extinction crisis,” Toepfer said.The participating governments unanimously endorsed the 13 point Kuala Lumpur Declaration, a document which Convention president, Malaysian Science, Technology and Environment Minister, Datuk Seri Law Hieng Ding said reflects their political commitment to implement the 10 year old treaty.
Convention president, Malaysian Science, Technology and Environment Minister, Datuk Seri Law Hieng Ding addresses delegatesThe Declaration commits the signatory governments to develop an effective international regime on access to biological resources, and to the sharing of benefits from their development. Such a regime would enable countries to control private companies that seek wealth from the patenting of plant, animal or human genetic material.By granting an international company or other organization access to its genetic resources, such as plants that can be used to produce new pharmaceuticals or fragrances, a country or local community would in return receive a fair share of the profits or other benefits. "An effective international regime on access and benefit sharing would need to protect the interests of indigenous and local communities, commercial firms, consumers and all other key stakeholders,” said Hamdallah Zedan, executive secretary of the Convention. “By giving biodiversity rich countries a greater stake in protecting their valuable biological resources, this future regime could make an enormous contribution to the goals of the Convention on Biological Diversity,” he said. Meanwhile, the governments agreed to strengthen the partnership between the public and private sectors to promote benefit sharing.
Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity Hamdallah Zedan addresses the ministerial delegates.In the contentious area of biotechnology, governments agreed to support the transfer of environmentally sound technology, and to remove barriers in the exchange of key technologies for the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). "We must keep in mind that while certain technologies present real opportunities to add value to the use of genes, species and ecosystems for development, there are also risks involved, Zedan told government ministers at the opening of the high-level segment of the conference on Wednesday. "The risks and benefits must be assessed carefully by individual countries when making their own decisions," he said.And, most important, the governments agreed to provide adequate financial resources to make their national commitments a reality.
Cape Tribulation National Park, Tropical rainforest Queensland. Australia. (Photo courtesy WWF)Whether they can make good on that pledge remains to be seen. WWF head Dr. Claude Martin earlier this week called "pitifully small" the level of current global spending on protected areas such as national parks and reserves. "These areas cover 12 percent of the Earth's surface, but, according to the World Conservation Monitoring Centre, total government spending on them is only around US$3.2 billion per year," Martin said, one-fifth of what governments spend on fishing subsidies.On the international level, Law expressed the hope that the Global Environment Facility (GEF) would provide more financial support for environmentally sound biodiversity projects. The next GEF Council meeting takes place in May. The signatory governments agreed to support the building of institutional and technical capacity in developing nations so that they are able to meet their obligations to protect the biological diversity in their own territories and to participate in the international effort to build the network of protected areas. They committed to the establishment of a regional center of excellence to assist developing countries in exchanging experiences.
Indigenous delegates confer in Kuala Lumpur.The role of indigenous and local communities in the conservation and sustainable use of biological resources was confirmed in the Kuala Lumpur Declaration.For its part, the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity stressed that the establishment of protected areas requires the free and prior informed consent of indigenous and local communities on whose land they are established. Indigenous delegates said they had not been permitted to follow the negotiations on tourism, and that the guidelines are not in accordance with the Convention on Biological Diversity since they fail to safeguard cultural diversity and sustainability. Voluntary guidelines on biodiversity and tourism development were adopted here, as it was recognized that environmentally sustainable tourism can generate jobs and revenues, providing an incentive for preserving natural areas. The 2010 target for cutting the current the rate of biodiversity loss was adopted in 2002 by ministers at the previous Convention on Biological Diversity conference and by the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg.
Projects to protect vulnerable biodiversity can get financial help from the UK through the Darwin Initiative, UK Environment Minister Elliot Morley told delegates. (Photo courtesy IISD)Sub-targets agreed here include conserving at least 10 percent of each type of ecosystem, protecting those areas that have a particular importance for biodiversity, stabilizing populations of certain species now in decline and ensuring that no species of wild plants or animals are endangered by international trade.But environmental groups said that while the targets adopted in the Kuala Lumpur Declaration may look good on paper, no strong commitment has been made to immediately implement or fund the work needed to make them a reality. "The plan to establish a global network of protected areas is commendable and provides governments with a strong set of tools to stop the deaths of many species and the destruction of forests and the depletion of our oceans," said Martin Kaiser of Greenpeace. "But unless national governments take this seriously at home and provide the financial support needed to make all of this work, it's like being given the toolbox and refusing to open it." Still, the delegates agreed to undertake new work programs on protected areas and on mountain biological diversity. And throughout the deliberations, they made new efforts to pin down the numbers, an effort that is especially important because biodiversity is "notoriously difficult to quantify," Toepfer said.
Leaf insect, Tai National Park, Ivory Coast. (Photo courtesy WWF)While some 1.75 million species of all kinds have been scientifically described, highly uncertain estimates suggest the real total could be as many as 14 million. Estimates of the global extinction rate for species also vary widely.Governments are identifying indicators that lend themselves to accurate measurement, Toepfer said, such as numbers of invasive alien species and the related economic costs, the acreage of forests under sustainable management, the degree to which related ecosystems are connected or fragmented, or water quality in aquatic ecosystems.
Annapurna Conservation Area, Machapuchre Mountain, Nepal (Photo courtesy WWF)Governments agreed to review the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment this year and set up a mechanism for a continuing scientific assessment of the convention.The United States came under some criticism from delegates and environmental groups for its decision to stand aside from the Convention. Without mentioning names, the Kuala Lumpur declaration urged all governments to ratify the convention. Greenpeace said the United States was wrong for "turning up despite their refusal to ratify the Convention, then working behind the scenes to influence the outcomes." The declaration urged all governments to ratify the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, which opens its first meeting here Monday. The Seventh Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 7) to the Convention on Biological Diversity was attended by some 2,000 participants, including 80 ministers. COP 8 will be held in Brazil in 2006. Equator Prize Winners Named Seven tropical community groups won the 2004 United Nations Equator Prize Thursday for extraordinary work conserving their biological wealth while reducing community poverty. The winners were announced at an awards ceremony in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and each received a $30,000 check. The winners are:
A panel of eight distinguished international panelists chose the seven from 26 finalists, who were themselves selected from among 340 entrants. View their projects online at: http://www.undp.org/equatorinitiative/secondary/2004-winners.htm |
