12 January 2010, Berlin (Germany). The International Year of Biodiversity was launched yesterday by the German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Germany will hold the Presidency of the Convention on Biological Diversity until October when Japan will take over.
Chancellor Merkel urged the world to increase efforts for biodiversity and said “The question of preserving biological diversity is on the same scale as climate protection,” and “we need a sea change. Here, now, immediately — not some time in the future”.
Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director, underlined that nature is closer than what it seems to humans by stating that “The words biodiversity and ecosystems might seem abstract and remote to many people. But there is nothing abstract about their role in economies and in the lives of billions of people”.
For the occasion, Ban Ki-Moon stated that the General Assembly will hold a special high-level meeting on the subject next September. The event will give the international community an opportunity to demonstrate “much needed leadership” in advance of the Nagoya Biodiversity Summit, which will adopt a new strategic place for implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Julia Marton-Lefévre, IUCN Director General, who will be present at the UNESCO launch of the International Year of Biodiversity in Paris, France on 21 January, commented on the event by stressing the importance of managing the environment well: “Well managed natural resources are crucial to sustainable development, supporting peaceful communities, encouraging well-balanced economic growth and helping reduce poverty. Protecting biodiversity protects valuable assets that are vital to the global economy.”