Address to the special session of the UN General Assembly on biodiversity
Today, Federal Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen called for increased efforts to combat the worldwide loss of biological diversity. At a special session of the 65th UN General Assembly on biological diversity he mentioned in particular the destruction and overexploitation of habitats and species, environmental pollution and climate change as the main reasons for this biodiversity loss. "The loss of species and habitats has been continuing at a dramatic pace in the International Year of Biodiversity, too. Therefore, one thing is undeniable: we need a reversal of this trend - as soon as possible. We will only achieve this if we combat the causes of this destruction of nature decisively, and include questions of biodiversity in all areas of policy and in all political measures, strategies and programmes", Röttgen said in his address to the special session. He noted that the upcoming meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 10) in Japan in October 2010 offers the international community the opportunity to set the course to halt the loss of biodiversity in the next decade.
The Federal Environment Minister pointed out that the target set by heads of state and government in 2002 to significantly reduce the global loss of biodiversity has not been reached. "But biological diversity is the basis for our own survival. Every day we make use of the services provided by nature without even thinking about it: clean air and water, fertile soils, construction materials and fuels, medical substances, CO2 storage in forests, bogs, soils and oceans, are just some examples. Therefore preserving biological diversity is not a luxury but a necessary investment in our own future", Minister Röttgen stressed. In view of the upcoming COP 10 in Japan, he called upon the special session to set an example and forge a global alliance for the benefit of biological diversity. “The worldwide conservation of biological diversity requires perseverance and patience. And it also requires the consistent, committed and lasting cooperation of the international community,” continued Minister Röttgen.
With this special session during the International Year of Biodiversity the United Nations is underlining the importance of this topic for the international political agenda. The Federal Environment Minister was one of the speakers of the opening plenary session, alongside the President of the General Assembly, the UN Secretary General, the Deputy Prime Minister of Yemen as the representative of the Group of 77, the President of the European Commission, the Brazilian Environment Minister and the Foreign Minister of Japan. Röttgen stressed: "Political decision makers all over the world are increasingly recognizing the value of conserving biodiversity for human well-being, global economic development and the fight against poverty. Now the time has come to walk the talk."
In roughly three weeks time, on 18 October, the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) will start in Nagoya in Japan. By 29 October, COP 10 aims to take decisions on a new global biodiversity target, an international biodiversity strategy for the following ten years and a protocol on access and benefit-sharing with regard to the use of genetic resources.