Embargoed:
Not for Release Before 2:00 pm US Eastern
Time (18:00 GMT) Thursday, 29 April 2010
- Cambridge (United Kingdom), 29 April 2010-
World leaders have failed to deliver commitments
made in 2002 to reduce the global rate of
biodiversity loss by 2010, and have instead
overseen alarming biodiversity declines.
These findings are the result of a new paper
published in the leading journal Science
and represent the first assessment of how
the targets made through the 2002 Convention
on Biological Diversity (CBD) have not been
met.
Compiling over 30 indicators
– measures of different aspects of biodiversity,
including changes in species' populations
and risk of extinction, habitat extent and
community composition – the study found
no evidence for a significant reduction
in the rate of decline of biodiversity,
and that the pressures facing biodiversity
continue to increase. The synthesis provides
overwhelming evidence that the 2010 target
has not been achieved.
"Our analysis shows
that governments have failed to deliver
on the commitments they made in 2002: biodiversity
is still being lost as fast as ever, and
we have made little headway in reducing
the pressures on species, habitats and ecosystems",
said Dr Stuart Butchart, of the United Nations
Environment Programme World Conservation
Monitoring Centre and BirdLife International,
and the paper's lead author.
"Our data show
that 2010 will not be the year that biodiversity
loss was halted, but it needs to be the
year in which we start taking the issue
seriously and substantially increase our
efforts to take care of what is left of
our planet."
The indicators included
in the study were developed and synthesised
through the 2010 Biodiversity Indicators
Partnership – a collaboration of over 40
international organisations and agencies
developing global biodiversity indicators
and the leading source of information on
trends in global biodiversity.
"Since 1970, we
have reduced animal populations by 30%,
the area of mangroves and sea grasses by
20% and the coverage of living corals by
40%", said the United Nations Environment
Programme's Chief Scientist Prof Joseph
Alcamo. "These losses are clearly unsustainable,
since biodiversity makes a key contribution
to human well-being and sustainable development,
as recognised by the UN Millennium Development
Goals."
The results from this
study feed into Global Biodiversity Outlook
3, the flagship publication of the CBD,
to be released in Nairobi on May 10th, when
government representatives from around the
world will meet to discuss the 2010 target
and how to address the biodiversity crisis.
"Although nations
have put in place some significant policies
to slow biodiversity declines, these have
been woefully inadequate, and the gap between
the pressures on biodiversity and the responses
is getting ever wider", said Dr Butchart.
The study recognised
that there have been some important local
or national successes in tackling biodiversity
loss, including the designation of many
protected areas (e.g. the 20,000 km2 Juruena
National Park in Brazil), the recovery of
particular species (e.g. European Bison)
and the prevention of some extinctions (e.g.
Black Stilt of New Zealand).
But despite these encouraging
achievements, efforts to address the loss
of biodiversity need to be substantially
strengthened, and sustained investment in
coherent global biodiversity monitoring
and indicators is essential to track and
improve the effectiveness of these responses.
"While many responses
have been in the right direction, the relevant
policies have been inadequately targeted,
implemented and funded. Above all, biodiversity
concerns must be integrated across all parts
of government and business, and the economic
value of biodiversity needs to be accounted
for adequately in decision making. Only
then will we be able to address the problem",
said Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary
to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Notes to Editors:
Journal article: Butchart
S et al (2010) "Global Biodiversity:
Indicators of Recent Declines" Science
Vol XXX Pages XXX.
The coauthors represent
the following institutions: United Nations
Environment Programme World Conservation
Monitoring Centre, BirdLife International,
Institute of Zoology (Zoological Society
of London), Statistics Netherlands,, The
University of North Carolina, IUCN, Conservation
International, United Nations Environment
Programme Global Environment Monitoring
System, IUCN Species Survival Commission,
IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group,
Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations, Secretariat of the Ramsar
Convention on Wetlands, European Commission
Joint Research Centre, Center for Applied
Biodiversity Science, Global Footprint Network,
University of Virginia, Institute for Environmental
Protection and Research Environment – ISPRA,
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds,
European Bird Census Council, University
of Queensland, University of Cambridge,
National Center for Atmospheric Research,
WWF International, Centre for Invasion Biology
and Cape Research Centre (South African
National Parks), UNESCO, TRAFFIC International,
University of British Columbia, National
Centre for Biological Sciences (Tata Institute
of Fundamental Research), The Nature Conservancy,
USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center,
American Bird Conservancy, Stellenbosch
University, University of Bath, and the
Al Ain Wildlife Park & Resort.
The 2010 Biodiversity
Indicators Partnership (www.twentyten.net)
is a global initiative to track progress
towards achieving the "2010 biodiversity
target" to significantly reduce the
rate of biodiversity loss by 2010. It is
co-ordinated by the United Nations Environment
Programme World Conservation Monitoring
Centre (UNEP-WCMC), based in Cambridge,
UK, with funding from the Global Environment
Facility (GEF). The 2010 BIP is a collaboration
of over 40 international organisations and
agencies developing global biodiversity
indicators and is the leading source of
information on trends in global biodiversity.
The three main objectives of the 2010 BIP
are: to generate information on biodiversity
trends that is useful to decision makers;
to ensure improved global biodiversity indicators
are implemented and available; and to establish
links between biodiversity initiatives at
the regional and national levels to enable
capacity building and improve the delivery
of the biodiversity indicators. 2010 BIP
Partners are Biodiversity International,
BirdLife International, CITES Secretariat,
Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations (FAO), Fisheries Centre,
University of British Columbia, Global Footprint
Network, Global Invasive Species Programme,
International Nitrogen Initiative, International
Union for the Conservation of Nature and
Natural Resources (IUCN), Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD),
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
(RSPB), The Nature Conservancy, TRAFFIC
International, United Nations Global Environment
Monitoring System Water Programme (UNEP
GEMS/Water), United Nations Environment
Programme World Conservation Monitoring
Centre (UNEP-WCMC), United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO),
University of Queensland, Wetlands International,
World Health Organization, WWF, Zoological
Society of London. Associate Indicator Partners:
Alliance for Zero Extinction, Conservation
International, International Livestock Research
Institute (ILRI), NatureServe, Royal Botanical
Gardens Kew, Sapienze Universita di Roma,
Terralingua. Affiliates: ASEAN Centre for
Biodiversity, Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring
Programme (CBMP), Columbia University Center
for International Earth Science Information
Network (CIESIN), Countdown 2010, ECORA,
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Land
Degradation in Drylands (LADA), Nordic Biodiversity
Indicators 2010 (NordBio 2010), Streamlining
European 2010 Biodiversity Indicators (SEBI2010),
Tebtebba Foundation, The Economics of Ecosystems
& Biodiversity, Tour du Valat, United
Nations University Institute for Water,
Environment & Health (UNU-INWEH), Water
Footprint Network.
UNEP World Conservation
Monitoring Centre is the biodiversity assessment
and biodiversity policy support arm of the
United Nations Environment Programme, the
world's foremost intergovernmental environmental
organisation. The Centre has been in operation
for over 25 years, providing objective,
scientifically rigorous products and services
to help decision makers recognise the value
of biodiversity and apply this knowledge
to all that they do. The Centre's core business
is locating data about biodiversity and
its conservation, interpreting and analysing
that data to provide assessments and policy
analysis, and making the results available
to both national and international decision
makers and businesses.
BirdLife International
is a global alliance of conservation organisations
working in more than 100 countries and territories
that, together, are the leading authority
on the status of birds, their habitats and
the issues and problems affecting them.
United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) , established in 1972,
is the voice for the environment within
the United Nations system. UNEP acts as
a catalyst, advocate, educator and facilitator
to promote the wise use and sustainable
development of the global environment. To
accomplish this, UNEP works with a wide
range of partners, including United Nations
entities, international organisations, national
governments non-governmental organisations,
the private sector and civil society.
Global Environment Facility
(GEF) , established in 1991, unites 178
countries in partnership with international
institutions, non-government organisations
and the private sector to address global
environmental issues while supporting national
sustainable development initiatives. Today
the GEF is the largest funding organisation
of projects to improve the global environment.
An independent financial organisation, the
GEF provides grants for projects related
to biodiversity, climate change, international
waters, land degradation, the ozone layer,
and persistent organic pollutants. Since
1991, GEF has achieved a strong track record
with developing countries and countries
with economies in transition, providing
US$8.3 billion in grants and leveraging
US$33.7 billion in co-financing for over
than 2,200 projects in more than 165 countries.
Convention on Biological
Diversity (CBD) Opened for signature at
the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992,
and entering into force in December 1993,
the Convention on Biological Diversity is
an international treaty for the conservation
and sustainable use of biodiversity and
the equitable sharing of the benefits from
utilization of genetic resources. With 193
Parties, the Convention has near universal
participation among countries committed
to preserving life on Earth. The Convention
seeks to address all threats to biodiversity
and ecosystem services, including threats
from climate change, through scientific
assessments, the development of tools, incentives
and processes, the transfer of technologies
and good practices and the full and active
involvement of relevant stakeholders including
indigenous and local communities, youth,
NGOs, women and the business community.
2010 International Year
of Biodiversity The United Nations declared
2010 the International Year of Biodiversity
(IYB) to raise awareness about the crucial
importance of biodiversity, to communicate
the human costs of biodiversity loss, and
to engage people, particularly youth, throughout
the world in the fight to protect all life
on Earth. Initiatives will be organized
throughout the year to disseminate information,
promote the protection of biodiversity and
encourage countries, organizations, and
individuals to take direct action to reduce
biodiversity loss. The focal point for the
year is the Secretariat of the Convention
on Biological Diversity. www.cbd.int/2010/welcome/
