Jairam Ramesh Union Minister for Environment and Fores
a signatory to the Geneva Ministerial Biodiversity Call for Immediate Action
ACTION PLAN IS
We, the Ministers responsible for biodiversity of the countries who
have held or will hold the Presidency of the Conference of the Parties
to the Convention on Biological Diversity, having met in Geneva on 3
September 2010, with the kind support of the Government of
Switzerland, affirm that:
Biological diversity plays a key role in maintaining the benign
conditions of our planet that are the basis of the well-being of human
societies and very survival of our species;
Only by conserving biodiversity, using it sustainably, and sharing the
benefits arising out of the utilization of its genetic resources and
associated traditional knowledge will we ensure the continued
provision of the ecosystem services upon which we all depend;
We note with extreme concern that:
The Johannesburg biodiversity target to reduce significantly the rate
of loss of biodiversity by 2010 has not been met in full, and
biodiversity continues to be lost at an unprecedented rate and is
being compounded by climate change;
Implementation of the Convention is constrained by: insufficient
human, technical and financial resources, especially in developing
countries, in particular the least developed countries and small
island developing states, as well as countries with economies in
transition; insufficient integration of biodiversity issues into
broader policies, strategies and programmes; lack of an international
regime on Access and Benefit Sharing; lack of awareness about
importance of biodiversity and incomplete understanding of opportunity
costs and valuation of ecosystem services.
The third edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook published in May
2010 confirms that human actions are putting such strain on the
environment that the ability of the planet’s ecosystems to sustain
future generations can no longer be taken for granted and that the
pressures driving the loss of biodiversity show few signs of easing
and the consequences of current trends are much worse than previously
thought;
As demonstrated by the Global Biodiversity Outlook, if current trends
are allowed to continue over the next decade, several “tipping points”
will be reached before the end of the century with irreparable damage
to the ability of major ecosystems to continue providing their goods
and services;
The fate of biodiversity for millennia to come will be determined by
action or inaction over the next decade or two.
We declare that:
Equal attention must be given to the three objectives of the
Convention: the conservation of biological diversity; the sustainable
use of its components and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits
arising from the utilization of genetic resources
All countries should commit themselves to a common long-term vision
and short-term mission for biodiversity and to global, regional and
national targets to be achieved;
These targets need to be both ambitious and realistic; they need to be
understandable to policy-makers and the public;
National targets should be developed in the light of national
circumstances and capabilities;
Implementation of these the new biodiversity Strategy needs to be
supported by the Strategy for Resource Mobilization for the provision
of adequate and predictable financial resources, and technology
transfer, to developing countries;
The new biodiversity mission requires the full engagement of all
stakeholders and welcome the Business and Biodiversity initiative and
call for the active engagement of the Business community in the
implementation of the post 2010 Biodiversity Strategy;
The issues of climate change and biodiversity loss are inextricably
linked; each can exacerbate the impacts of the other, but at the same
time there are policy options that can address both issues. The
identification of such co-benefits is essential at global, regional
and national levels. In particular the implementation of voluntary
REDD/REDD+ mechanisms should be done to enrich biodiversity.
We call upon all governments to the High-level Meeting on Biodiversity
of the 65th session of the General Assembly to provide participants at
the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention
on Biological Diversity with clear guidance for concluding a Protocol
on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) at Nagoya and for adopting and
implementing the new biodiversity vision for the 21st century that
will reduce and ultimately halt the net loss of biodiversity such that
vital ecosystem services are maintained. We stress that the new
biodiversity strategy for 2011-2020 will provide an overarching
framework for action by all biodiversity partners.
We support the initiative of Japan to recommend that the United
Nations consider declaring 2011-2020 as the International Decade for
Biodiversity.
We also call upon all countries that have not yet done so to accede to
the Convention as soon as possible.
We decide to establish an informal ministerial COP Presidency
biodiversity forum. This forum will meet periodically at relevant
biodiversity-related ministerial meetings to exchange views and
provide leadership in the implementation of the 2011-2020 Strategic
Plan of the Convention as well as during the United Nations Decade on
Biodiversity, if it is declared so by the UNGA. The meetings will be
convened by the country presiding the Conference of the Parties with
the support of the Executive Secretary.
We decide that the Geneva Ministerial Biodiversity Call for Immediate
Action be presented to the High Level Event of the sixty-fifth session
of the United Nations General Assembly to be held in New York on 22
September, 2010 as well as the High Level Segment of the tenth meeting
of the Conference of the Parties to be held in Nagoya, Aichi
Prefecture, Japan on 27- 29 October, 2010.
His Excellency Prof. Dr. Gusti Muhammad Hatta, Minister of
Environment, Indonesia
President COP-2, 1995-1996)
His Excellency Dr. Homero Máximo Bibiloni, Minister of Environment and
Sustainable Development, Argentina
President COP-3, 1996-1998
His Excellency Mr. Zsolt Simon, Minister of Agriculture, Environment
and Regional Development, Slovakia
President COP-4, 1998-2000
His Excellency Mr. John Michuki, Minister of Environment and Natural
Resources Kenya
President COP-5, 2000-2002
Her Excellency Ms. Gerda Verburg, Minister of Agriculture, Nature and
Food Quality, The Netherlands
President COP-6, 2002-2004
His Excellency Dato Seri Douglas Uggah Embas, Minister of Natural
Resources and Environment, Malaysia
President COP-7, 2004-2006
Her Excellency Mrs. Izabella Teixeira, Minister of Environment, Brazil
President COP-8, 2006-2008
His Excellency Dr. Norbert Röttgen, Federal Minister for the
Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Germany
President COP-9, 2008-2010
His Excellency Mr. Sakihito Ozawa, Minister of Environment, Japan
President COP-10, 2010-2012
His Excellency Mr. Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State (Independent
Charge) for Environment and Forests, India
Potential President COP-11, 2012-2014
His Excellency Mr. Moritz Leuenberger, Minister of Environment, Switzerland
Host of the Geneva
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