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The European Commission has marked the opening of the International
Year of Biodiversity with a paper setting out future options
for biodiversity policy.
Despite past efforts, species extinctions are continuing
at alarming rates and a new vision is required to halt these
losses. The Communication sets out a vision and outlines four
possible targets to reach it, with different levels of ambition.
The aim is to launch and facilitate a debate between Member
States with a view to developing a post-2010 biodiversity
policy framework for the EU before the end of the year. New
targets are needed, as the current EU and global biodiversity
targets expire after 2010.
The Communication adopted proposes a long-term (2050) vision
for biodiversity, with four options for a mid-term (2020)
target - an essential step along the way towards reaching
the vision. In this vision, biodiversity and the ecosystem
services we get for free from nature are preserved, valued
and, insofar as possible, restored for their intrinsic value
- enabling them to support economic prosperity and human well-being
and averting any catastrophic changes linked to biodiversity
loss.
Four levels of ambition are proposed
for a mid-term (2020) target to turn the vision into reality
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- Option 1
Significantly reducing the rate of loss of biodiversity
and ecosystem services in the EU by 2020.
- Option 2
Halting the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services
in the EU by 2020.
- Option 3
Halting the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services
in the EU by 2020 and restoring them as far as possible.
- Option 4
Halting the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services
in the EU by 2020 and restoring them as far as possible
- and stepping up the EU's contribution to averting global
biodiversity loss.
The vision and target will allow
the EU to build a strong common position ahead of the upcoming
international negotiations on a new global post-2010 biodiversity
vision and target, which will be held in Nagoya, Japan in
the autumn.
The paper also describes the
extent of the biodiversity crisis and the status of biodiversity
in the EU and globally and highlights the main drivers of
biodiversity loss and its implications for the environment,
the economy and for society as a whole. It outlines the main
achievements and shortcomings of the current policy and makes
the link to the international negotiations.
Background
Global biodiversity is under severe threat, with species being
lost at 100 to 1000 times the normal rate. More than one-third
of species assessed are threatened with extinction and an
estimated 60% of the Earth's ecosystem services have been
degraded in the last 50 years. Human activities are causing
this loss - through land-use change, over-exploitation, unsustainable
practices, pollution and the introduction of invasive species,
which lead to habitat and species destruction, fragmentation
and degradation. Climate change is also a factor.
In 2001, the EU set out to halt
biodiversity loss in the EU by 2010. Despite considerable
efforts, however, there are clear indications that the target
will be missed.
The implications of biodiversity
loss range from micro-level changes to the collapse of entire
ecosystems and services - such as the provision of food and
water and climate regulation - compromising our future prosperity
and well being.
Biodiversity is also vital for
the achievement of other policy objectives - in particular,
food security and climate change - and sustains livelihoods
in such diverse sectors as farming, fisheries and tourism.
As highlighted in a recent study on The Economics of Ecosystems
and Biodiversity (TEEB), losses in the natural world have
direct economic repercussions that are widely underestimated.
Biodiversity and ecosystem services are natural assets with
a key role to play in future economic strategies seeking to
promote growth and prosperity. For these reasons, a new target
for biodiversity beyond 2010 is urgently needed.
Thorough discussions with Member
States, European institutions and other stakeholders will
now follow. These discussions will be launched at a high-level
European conference on the 'Post-2010 Biodiversity Vision
and Target' hosted by Spain in Madrid on 26-27 January
2010 and will continue with the aim of reaching a high level
agreement in the months to come.
Based on this agreement and further
work, the Commission will present, by the end of the year,
a new EU biodiversity strategy aimed at reaching the agreed
target.
For further information
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