Halting biodiversity loss by 2010 - an EU action plan

The Convention on Biological Diversity defines biodiversity as "the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems".

It also defines ecosystems as "a dynamic complex of plant, animal and micro-organism communities and their non-living environment interacting as a functional unit". Biodiversity is the life of our planet. Yet, there are some who are still convinced that man does not form part of this ecosystem and what happens to biodiversity cannot happen to man.

Others unbelievably label as eco-fundamentalists all those who try hard to ensure the survival of biodiversity, i.e. the survival of our plant. Stravos Dimas, Environment Commissioner, underlined the fact that "the extinction of plants and animals is an irreversible loss to humanity.

"We need to be investing in sustaining the variety of life, in sustaining the health of the ecosystems that in turn underpin our prosperity and well being. We know what needs to be done. The Communication on halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010 will help us pull all the actors and resources together so that we meet our commitments."

The EU, as far back as February 4, 1988, initiated a Biodiversity Strategy to halt biodiversity loss, when the European Commission adopted a Communication on a European Biodiversity Strategy. The aims of this strategy were to anticipate, to prevent and to address the causes of significant reduction or loss of biodiversity at source.

Concrete measures were intended to be taken to reverse the trends in the reduction or loss of biodiversity and to place species and ecosystems, including agro-ecosystems, at a satisfactory conservation status. Such an aim was not intended just for the territory of the European Union, but also beyond.

This Communication was presented by Ritt Bjerregaard, the Environment Commissioner at that time, who described this initiative as "a model case for integration of environmental policies into key policy areas".

During the last decade, the reduction and losses of biodiversity have accelerated dramatically, not only at the regional level, but also on a global scale. This led to the conclusions that the existing measures had proved to be insufficient to reverse present trends, and revealed that the best way forward was for actors in the relevant policy areas to assume the responsibility for the impacts of their policies on biodiversity.

With this strategy in mind, the EU reinforced its leading role in the efforts to find solutions for biodiversity within the framework of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The EU was also committed by its heads of state or government to halt biodiversity loss by 2010.

In 2002, a year later, the contracting parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity and 130 world leaders pledged to significantly reduce the rate of the loss of biodiversity on a worldwide scale, also by the end of the decade, i.e. 2010. The UN-sponsored Millennium Ecosystem Assessment concluded that globally an unprecedented effort was required to significantly reduce the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010.

The Convention on Biological Diversity embraces a Precautionary Principle, emphasising: "...where there is a threat of significant reduction or loss of biological diversity, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing measures to avoid or minimise such a threat..." On the basis of this principle, and in particular risk assessments and risk management, which are to be applied in development and implementation of Community instruments, specifically addressing biodiversity issues, another Communication was adopted by the Commission on February 2, 2000.

A White Paper on Environmental Liability was adopted by the Commission on February 9, 2000. The Community proposed a regime on environmental liability, covering, inter alia, damage to biodiversity, and concluded that a Community Framework Directive should introduce such a regime.

The EU Environment Ministers gave broad support for establishing a framework directive on environmental liability at an orientation debate on the White Paper in March 2000.

Since 2001, four biodiversity action plans had been adopted on a wider EU biodiversity strategy agreed in 1998. These four action plans, which were the basis for halting biodiversity loss by 2010, related to the conservation of natural resources; agriculture; fisheries and economic and development co-operation.

Other horizontal initiatives included the further development of environmental impact assessment and strategic environmental assessment, as well as voluntary instruments, such as eco-labelling and eco-audit. Another step forward was definitely the regime on environmental liability, covering damage to biodiversity. The aims of the biodiversity strategy also took in consideration instruments on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and chemical substances.

Both the Environment Impact Assessment and the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) have been further developed by the EU since the adoption of the Communication on Biodiversity Strategy in 1998. These directives oblige member states when determining whether or not to carry out an EIA, to take into account, inter alia, the criteria on the use of natural resources, the environmental sensitivity of the area likely to be affected and in particular areas, such as wetlands, coastal zones, nature reserves, parks and Natura 2000 sites, which are all important for conserving and halting biodiversity loss.

On the other hand the Common Position with regards to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), which is a system of incorporating environmental considerations into policies, plans and programmes, was finalised in March 2000.

This Common Position requires inter alia an obligatory SEA for plans and programmes that are likely to affect Natura 2000 sites. The SEA Directive was adopted by member states, who had to transpose it to their own national legislation by July 21, 2004.

Biodiversity is the source for the supply of ecosystem goods and services (food, fuel, fibre, air quality, water flow and quality, soil fertility and cycling of nutrients). Despite our indispensable dependence on it, some two-thirds of ecosystem services worldwide are in decline.

Within the EU, such loss can be seen in the collapsing fish stocks, the widespread damage to soils, the costly flood damages and the disappearing wildlife. The loss of biodiversity can be regarded as a greater threat than climate change. Degraded ecosystems can reach a point of no return; the extinction of species is forever.

Besides the two-thirds decline in worldwide ecosystems, the biodiversity threatened within the EU include 42 per cent of mammals, 43 per cent of birds, 45 per cent of butterflies, 30 per cent of amphibians, 45 per cent of reptiles and 52 per cent of freshwater fish.

On May 22, 2006, the EU Commission, Malta, now a member state and participating in such fora, unveiled a new action plan to halt biodiversity loss by 2010, while recalling the objective established by the European Council in Gothenburg in 2001 to halt the loss of biodiversity by 2010 within the EU, as reaffirmed in the Lisbon Strategy relaunched in March 2005 and in the renewed EU Sustainable Development Strategy of June 2006.

The EU Action Plan is in response to the Convention on Biological Diversity's call to prioritise actions to 2010, and is intended as a complement to the EU Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans. Member states are to adjust their own National Biodiversity Strategy and action plans according to the four priority areas which the EU Action Plan identifies, namely:

• Greater commitment to propose, designate, protect and effectively manage sites protected under the Natura 2000 network, taking also into account the EU Common Agriculture and EU fisheries action plans;

• The need for more coherence and synergies between trade and development co-operation, and the promotion and more effective implementation of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and other related agreement, which are directed towards the conservation and halting biological loss;

• Addressing climate change according to the obligations of the Kyoto commitments, and minimising potential damage from new wind farms or biomass energy crops; and

• Strengthening research area, its international dimensions, research infrastructure, and the connection between science and policy and improving comparability of biodiversity data.

To be concluded