Governments gathered for a meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) struck an agreement which, when implemented, will set the world on a course to help prevent mass species extinctions and arrest the decline in the world’s valuable nature, according to the WWF.
“The ministers have worked hard over the last three days to forge this agreement. We hope their spirit and determination will be carried into other fora, including the upcoming climate talks in Cancun.” said Jim Leape, Director General of WWF International, which welcomed the adoption of the new 10 year biodiversity rescue plan.
“This agreement reaffirms the fundamental need to conserve nature as the very foundation of our economy and our society. Governments have sent a strong message that protecting the health of the planet has a place in international politics and countries are ready to join forces to save life on Earth,” he added.
Delegates at the meeting managed to overcome the deadlock over an issued that has defied resolution for the 18 years since this convention was signed - Access and Benefit Sharing of genetic resources.
“The Nagoya protocol is an historic achievement, ensuring that the often immense value of genetic resources is more equitably shared.” added Leape.
Governments agreed a target to end overfishing, and a target of 10 percent protection for marine and coastal areas, including the high seas. While WWF recognises the important step to boost protection 10 times more than what the world currently has, the target is still only half what scientists recommend.
“Governments have agreed to protect 10 percent of all the oceans on Earth and to end overfishing – this is great news for the world’s oceans.”
The new biodiversity plan sets out a target of 17 per cent for protection of terrestrial habitats, a modest increase on the current global average at about 12 per cent. Governments also reached agreement on a target to reform harmful subsidies. The new deal also requires countries to ensure biodiversity is incorporated into national accounts - an important political signal which has the potential to set in motion a different approach to economic decision making.
While the host country Japan pledged significant funds this week towards biodiversity, developed countries were unable to mobilise an immediate injection of major new funding. However, governments did reach agreement on a plan to identify the necessary funding by 2012 to implement the plan.
“While significant progress has been made on many fronts, there is still work to do to mobilize the resources that will be required to help the developing world reach their targets,” said Leape.
“We were disappointed that most rich countries came to Nagoya with empty pockets – unable or unwilling to provide the resources that will make it possible for the developing world to implement their ambitious targets.”
UK Environment Minister Caroline Spelman, who was present at the talks, described the agreement as a “historic protocol” to protect the future of the earth's natural environment.
She added: "These have been long and hard negotiations, but we have successfully achieved a new global plan to help protect our natural environment. We have also agreed an historic protocol which has been 18 years in the making, establishing a regime where developing countries will allow access to their genetic and natural resources in return for a share of the benefits for their use.
"The new agreement states we will take effective and urgent action to halt the loss of habitats and species in order to ensure that by 2020 our natural environment is resilient and can continue to provide the essential services that we would otherwise take for granted. This will secure the planet's variety of life, our well being and help eradicate poverty.
"We have also secured an agreement to link climate change, global poverty and biodiversity together in protecting the world's forests, which is essential if we are to achieve our aims in these areas. This was a key objective for the UK and this week I announced £100 million specifically to fund biodiversity projects in forest regions.
"I and my colleagues from other EU member states have learnt the tough lessons from other negotiations and worked tirelessly at this conference to find common ground amongst nations so that this agreement can be reached.
"We will now take this binding framework forward and put the key elements into effect in the Natural Environment White Paper to be published in spring 2011."
In a joint statement, Janez Potočnik, European Commissioner for Environment and Joke Schauvliege, EU President of the Environment Council said the outcome of the COP10 Conference had brought the environment “back from the brink of ecological disaster”.
“The European Union warmly welcomes the agreement in Nagoya on a global strategy to combat biodiversity loss, the mobilization of the necessary resources to implement it and the creation of a Protocol on Access to and Benefit Sharing of genetic resources. The world needs it and failure was not an option.
“These negotiations have been long and at times difficult but they were essential if we are to deal effectively with a problem which threatens all of our futures. Their success shows that the international community is capable of taking collective action to deal with serious global challenges.
“The challenge now is to effectively implement the measures decided upon in Nagoya. The EU will play its role to the full in this respect.
“We will of course continue to implement our own Biodiversity Strategy of halting the rate of biodiversity loss by 2020. And of course we will follow through on all of our obligations under the agreement reached here today.
“The issue of biodiversity loss is too important and too urgent to be allowed to slip down the world agenda. We in the European Union will not allow that to happen. We owe it to our children and to their children.
“Nagoya has been a major step forward. We hope that future generations will come to regard it as the ‘tipping point’ which brought our planet back from the brink of ecological disaster.”
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