Ahmed Djoghlaf
Dr. Ahmed Djoghlaf is the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity established by the United Nations. An Algerian national, Dr. Djoghlaf has pursued a impressive diplomatic career that has included postings with the government of Algeria and UNEP. Prior to joining the United Nations, Dr. Djoghlaf held a variety of important posts in the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was advisor on environmental issues to the Prime Minister of Algeria and, prior to that, to three Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Algeria. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Nancy, France, as well as four other post graduate degrees including Master of Arts, Government and Politics from St. John’s University, New York and a Law degree from the University of Algiers.
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IUCN : Created in 1948, the World Conservation Union or International Union for the Conservation ofr Nature (IUCN) brings together 81 States, 120 government agencies, 800 plus NGOs, and some 10,000...
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Business as usual is no longer an option for biodiversity
12/05/2010 11:08 am
In 2002 the Heads of State and Government attending the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development agreed to substantially reduce the rate of biodiversity loss worldwide by 2010 – the so-called 2010 Biodiversity Target. However, today biodiversity is being lost more quickly than ever. The current rate of extinction is estimated to be up to 1,000 times higher than the natural rate. If this trend does not change, it is expected that an area of 1.3 billion hectares worldwide – about 1.5 times the United States – will completely lose its original biodiversity levels by 2050.
In 2002 the Heads of State and Government attending the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development agreed to substantially reduce the rate of biodiversity loss worldwide by 2010 – the so-called 2010 Biodiversity Target. However, today biodiversity is being lost more quickly than ever. The current rate of extinction is estimated to be up to 1,000 times higher than the natural rate. If this trend does not change, it is expected that an area of 1.3 billion hectares worldwide – about 1.5 times the United States – will completely lose its original biodiversity levels by 2050.
It is no exaggeration to say that our quality of life and prosperity will suffer tremendously as we lose more and more biodiversity. Our food, fuel and medicines, and much of our fibre and building material all have biological origins. Moreover, ecosystems provide human beings with a range of services that would be extremely costly or impossible to replace. These include the purification of air and water, the detoxification and decomposition of wastes, the stabilization and moderation of the Earth's climate, and the pollination of wild plants and crops.
Because of the importance of biodiversity for human wellbeing, preserving it is absolutely central to sustainable development strategies. The economic value of biological goods and ecosystem services simply cannot be overlooked. Approximately half of synthetic drugs have a natural origin, including 10 of the 25 highest selling drugs in the United States of America. Coral reef recreation has been estimated at US$ 184 per visit globally, at US$ 231-2,700 per hectare per year in Southeast Asia and at US$ 1,654 per hectare per year in the Caribbean. Global coastal capture fisheries yields are estimated to be worth a minimum of US$ 34 billion annually. In the long term, continued biodiversity loss will deal a severe blow to global economic productivity.
Preserving biodiversity is also essential for effectively tacking climate change. For example, deforestation is currently estimated to be responsible for 20 percent of annual human-induced CO2 emissions, making maintaining and restoring forest ecosystems a top priority. In addition, healthy ecosystems can provide natural buffers to the impacts of climate change. The sustainable management of river basins, aquifers, flood plains and their associated vegetation can improve water storage and flood regulation. Restoration of coastal habitats such as mangroves can protect against storm surges, coastal erosion and flooding. And the sustainable management of grasslands and rangelands can reduce soil erosion and desertification and enhance pastoral livelihoods.
Despite the great importance of biodiversity to human wellbeing, the far-reaching consequences of biodiversity loss are unknown to the general public and to policymakers. That is why the United Nations General Assembly declared 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity. This is a historic event in the life of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the international treaty devoted to the conservation and sustainable use of our biological resources. The goals the International Year are to raise awareness about the importance of biodiversity, to communicate the human costs of its ongoing loss, and to get people, and in particular youth and children, involved in efforts to conserve and sustainably use our natural heritage
At the official launch of the International Year in Berlin in early January, the Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel stated: “The conservation of biological diversity has the same dimension as climate protection. We need a trend reversal - not at some point in the future, but immediately”. Two key events this year stand out as important occasions to bring about the required change. In New York in September, the 65th session of UN General Assembly will for the first time ever convene a high-level segment on biodiversity with the participation of Heads of State and Government. And in October in Nagoya, Japan, the CBD’s tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) will make a final assessment of progress toward the 2010 Biodiversity Target, and create new targets for 2020 and 2050 as part of a post-2010 strategic plan for stopping biodiversity loss in the future.
The new strategic plan will set the course for the next ten years as well as beyond. Guided by the post-2010 targets, it will address the direct and indirect drivers of biodiversity loss, "tipping points" for irreversible ecosystem damage, as well as climate change. Moreover, it will be created using a bottom-up approach, with the participation and input of a broad range of stakeholders, including inter alia youth, local and indigenous authorities, parliamentarians, cooperative agencies and the private sector.
All of us must do our part to play an active role during the International Year of Biodiversity. With the future wellbeing of our children at stake, business as usual is no longer an option. The required changes will not come from others; they will have to come from each and every one of us. As the slogan of the International Year reminds us, “Biodiversity is life. Biodiversity is our life.”
Business as usual is no longer an option for biodiversity
by Ahmed Djoghlaf Executive Secretary of Convention on Biological Diversity
Text courtesy of the author
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