The Star, Malaysia : Countries endorse programmes to reduce biodiversity loss

Saturday February 21, 2004

Countries endorse programmes to reduce biodiversity loss

BY TAN CHENG LI AND SUSAN TAM

KUALA LUMPUR: The 187 countries which are parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity concluded a two-week meeting here by endorsing numerous programmes aimed at reducing the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010.

They adopted more than 30 documents covering a wide range of topics from mountain biodiversity to equitable sharing of the benefits of genetic resources at the plenary of the Seventh Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP7) which convened at 11pm yesterday.

Among the targets adopted in the work programmes were the conservation of at least 10% of each type of ecosystem, protection of areas of particular importance for biodiversity, and stabilisation of populations of certain species which were now on the decline.

United Nations Environment Programme director Klaus Toepfer said that by adopting measurable indicators and specific goals for the overall 2010 target, the conference had enabled governments to monitor progress more accurately in efforts to reduce biodiversity loss.

The 2010 target for significantly reducing the current rate of biodiversity loss was endorsed in 2002 by ministers at the previous convention and by the World Summit on Sustainable Development.

At COP7, governments also agreed on indicators to measure progress in preventing biodiversity loss, such as by measuring the number of alien invasive species and related economic costs, and the area of forest under sustainable management.

Another outcome of the conference was the launching of talks on how to craft an international regime to determine the rules for companies to access genetic material of resource-rich countries and to share benefits from commercialising these resources.

In his closing remarks, Science, Technology and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Law Hieng Ding said the most important achievement of the conference was an agreement on the terms of reference for negotiating an international regime on benefit-sharing.

Law said the work programme on protected areas would be a landmark for the convention, as all had agreed on the importance of a strong network in achieving the objectives of the convention.

The conference will reconvene next Friday.