IEEP newsletter - spring 2010
Will 2010 be a True 'Year of Biodiversity'?
By David Baldock
In what sense will 2010 prove to be the Year of Biodiversity? Insofar as we can measure change on a European scale, it is clear that the goal of halting biodiversity loss by this date has been missed by a larger margin than is worth calculating. To reinforce the point it has been estimated that only 17 per cent of those species and habitats considered of greatest conservation importance in Europe can be considered to have a ‘satisfactory’ conservation status. Grasslands, wetlands and coastal habitats are under most pressure.
Turning this round will not be easy. It requires a new awareness and commitment at almost every level from the personal choice of foods and garden products to strategic European policies about agriculture, trade, fisheries and transport. Valuing nature and giving it much greater priority in private and public sector decisions implies a major shift in consciousness and political culture, accompanied by the mobilisation of substantial resources - very much like what is being recognised as necessary to combat climate change. The biodiversity challenge is more difficult to grasp and to measure than the carbon metric because of the myriad different species, ecological webs and individual places involved. Yet it does not require the same revolution in the structure and efficiency of industrialised economies or even a battery of new legislation.
If the title bestowed on 2010 is not to be embarrassing, real appreciation of the task and evidence of serious intent are needed this year. Since January there has been progress. There is a new target to halt the loss of biodiversity and the degradation of ecosystem services in the EU by 2020, now a popular date for European policy commitments. More detailed targets and specific priorities will be set; investment in the science and the monitoring of progress will increase. Some gaps in the legislative framework may be filled. Work on the value and economics of ecosystems is progressing (see article below on ‘How much for biodiversity?’) and the debate on the role of the EU budget in providing resources lies ahead. This is all welcome. It must be hoped that the impetus created within the Environment Council can now be lifted to the core European agenda - and the parallels with the climate agenda understood.
In this issue
- How much for biodiversity?
- Launching the Manual of European Environmental Policy
- Delivering biofuel sustainability requirements
- Weighing up habitat banking in the EU
- Counting the cost of adaption
- CAPRI model helps to assess CAP impacts
- The impacts of land use change on key ecosystem services
And also...
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