News
World Governments Must Make Conservation a Priority: Knight
28th March 2006
Jim Knight will tell a major international conference today that governments around the world need to show leadership and commitment in making biological diversity a real priority.
"If governments and all sectors of society make the conservation and sustainable use of our natural resources a real priority, we can ensure a new and sustainable relationship between humanity and the natural world for generations to come," Mr Knight said.
The UK Biodiversity Minister is participating in the High Level Segment of the eighth meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity Conference of the Parties (COP 8) in Curitiba, Brazil.
"Many people associate biodiversity with majestic animals such as the panda or tiger, but biodiversity is not just about individual species. While the loss of individual species catches our attention, no species can survive if its habitat is destroyed.
"Biodiversity underpins the vital services on which humanity depends - food, fuel, medicines, soil fertility, climate regulation, and cushioning the effects of natural disasters - to name just a few.
"The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment found that the single most significant cause of biodiversity loss on land was land use change leading to habitat loss. It is the fragmentation, degradation, and outright loss of forests, wetlands, and other ecosystems that poses the gravest threats to terrestrial biological diversity.
"There are many items we are negotiating on at this ministerial meeting which will go a long way to reducing these threats around the world, and the UK is well placed to share its expertise in these areas."
Setting out some of his priorities for the COP, Mr Knight listed:
* Improving commitment to mainstreaming of biodiversity, particularly in poverty reduction strategies and overseas development aid;
* Increasing business engagement on biodiversity;
* Agreeing a set of global biodiversity targets and indictors to monitor progress towards the 2010 target;
* Progressing negotiations of an international regime on access and benefit sharing from genetic resources;
* Progressing towards a global network of protected area systems by 2010 for land and 2012 for marine; and
* Moving toward measures to protect marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
"One of the most important ways of moving towards these goals is the mainstreaming of biodiversity, especially in relation to poverty reduction strategies and official development assistance.
"We need to focus on integrating biodiversity into policies, plans and poverty reduction strategies at all levels - contributing to sustainable livelihoods in line with developing countries' own priorities.
"EU commitments on official development assistance are rising. The EU will almost double by 2010 (compared to 2004) levels to over US$80 billion.
"However, project and programme funding for biodiversity from overseas development co-operation is declining. Developed countries should not dictate the priorities for overseas development co-operation and assistance to developing countries. The solution is the mainstreaming of biodiversity.
"It is imperative that we all work together to help ensure the world's biodiversity is protected and used in a sustainable manner for all to benefit from, now and for future generations."
