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At the start of this year, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon declared 2010 the "International Year of Biodiversity".
In May, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) released it's third report since 2002, "Global Biodiversity Outlook 3", which reported an accelerating decline of biodiversity and the erosion of healthy ecosystems throughout the world, and noted the complete failure of efforts undertaken in the decade since 2002 to stem the tide.
In July, another UN report warned that biodiversity loss posed a greater threat to business than climate change, and that the vast majority of firms are "ignoring risks associated with biodiversity loss and environmental degradation, despite the fact that they pose a serious and growing threat to their operations". (UNEP, The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) (report pdf))
In October, a further UN report warned "The financial risks posed by the loss of species and ecosystems have risen sharply and are becoming a greater concern for businesses than international terrorism." (UNEP FI BESWS: Demystifying Materiality pdf)
The Nagoya Protocol and Bio-Piracy 'The accord was clinched after a last-minute breakthrough on an 18-year stand-off over "fairly" sharing the benefits and knowledge of genetic resource riches that are found mostly in developing countries. Brazil, home to much of the Amazon basin and its global treasure trove of resources, had insisted throughout the summit that it would not agree to the 20-point strategic plan unless there was also a deal on genetic riches. Brazil and other developing countries argued powerful nations and companies should not be allowed to freely take genetic resources such as wild plants to make medicines, cosmetics and other products for huge profits. They had been battling developed countries- where most of the drug and other companies that enjoy the benefits of genetic resources are based- over the issue since the CBD was formed at the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit in 1992. The European Union led developed nations in finally agreeing to the so-called Access and Benefits Sharing Protocol to ensure success on the 20-point strategic plan. The legally binding protocol will ensure countries with genetic resources enjoy some of the profits of the assets' commercial development. However many details of the protocol, such as how much this may cost pharmaceutical companies and developed nations, were left for later negotiations.' (AFP TerraDaily) |
At the end of October, delegates from the 193 countries signatory to the CBD met in Nagoya, Japan to adopt a new accord. For a while it looked like progress would be derailed by disagreement between rich and poor countries, particularly regarding benefits-sharing of genetic and biological resources, but at the last minute delegates agreed on a number of important steps. The agreement on bio-piracy, the "Nagoya Protocol", intends to prevent resource exploitation and set up a process to compensate the biodiverse poorer countries for those resources.
(Unfortunately, pharmaceuticals and others will have a few years to grab what they can before the protocol comes into effect in 2020.)
Delegates also agreed: to protect 17 per cent of land and inland waters (currently 13%) and 10 per cent of the oceans (currently 1%) by 2020.
These measures are part of a 20-point plan calling for, among other things, habitat conservation, reductions in pollution and an end to "perverse subsidies" for environmentally destructive practices. (ref)
Some observers were less than enthusiastic though, regretting the lack of enforceable targets and deadlines. George Monbiot called the agreement a sham for that reason.
(Guardian, Monbiot. "We've Been Conned . . ")
Nevertheless, Ahmed Djoghlaf, the Convention on Biological Diversity's Executive Secretary, said in the press release: "History will recall that it was here in Nagoya that a new era of living in harmony was born and new global alliance to protect life on earth was established . . "
World Bank to Value Ecosystem Services
Also at the conference, World Bank president Robert Zoellick announced a new World Bank initiative called the Partnership for Green Accounting, with ten nations to take part in the pilot phase, including India and Columbia.
"We know that human well-being depends on ecosystems and biodiversity. We also know they're degrading at an alarming rate. One of the causes is our failure to properly value ecosystems and all they do for us - and the solution therefore lies in taking full account of our ecosystem services when countries make policies . . . biodiversity is not an add-on. Preserving ecosystems and saving species are not luxuries for the rich. Conservation and development can go hand in hand. Our habitat and our planet deserve nothing less.
"I want the World Bank Group to show what can be done. We will increase financing of ecosystem and biodiversity services through our projects in a wide range of sectors, including infrastructure, agriculture, climate change, and lending operations."
-Robert Zoellick, World Bank. (ref)
An audio of Zoellick's statement can be found in this BBC report.
Here is the World Bank's video announcement of the Partnership for Green Accounting:
Note that the USA is not a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Convention on Biological Diversity Nagoya Conf: Outcomes
Download PDF documents mentioned in this brief:
CBD Global Biodiversity Outlook 3 (PDF)
UNEP FI BESWS: Demystifying Materiality: Hardwiring Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services into Finance (PDF)
UNEP, The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) (PDF)
related: Towards a Green Accounting: What's Externalized Could Kill Us
