Ursula Heinen-Esser, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Environment Ministry, opened the 6th Trondheim Conference on Biodiversity in Norway earlier today. Until next Friday experts will discuss targets for the global protection of biological diversity after 2010. Ursula Heinen-Esser stated: “Although we are committed to combating the loss of biological diversity at the regional, national and international level, the wealth of our planet continues to disappear at an alarming rate. We must now chart the political course for the period after 2010 in order to reverse this trend.”
The Trondheim Conference is organised by the Norwegian Environment Ministry in cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). “Trondheim Conferences have always successfully stimulated international debates on important issues. I am convinced that this will also be achieved at this meeting”, said Ursula Heinen-Esser. Germany is currently holding the CBD Presidency.
The United Nations has declared 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity. The international community will review the progress made towards reaching the global biodiversity target adopted for 2010 – a significant reduction of the current global rate of loss of biological diversity. Moreover, decisions have to be made on objectives to be pursued in international nature conservation policy post 2010. The next meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD will be held in Japan in October this year.
In addition to the CBD parties, numerous UN organisations and international experts from science, business and politics are dealing with this topic.