Save Biodiversity 04/08 - Update from Countdown 2010

In this Issue

• Feature: Local Action for Biodiversity
  • ICLEI + IUCN = LAB
  • Local authorities as partners of Countdown 2010
• Internal: Countdown 2010 at the World Conservation Congress
• Do it yourself: Host the “Nature –Our Precious Web” exhibition!
• State of biodiversity: The 2010 Readiness Assessment
• Focus on... Herdade do Esporão
  

^ Dear Countdown 2010 Partners, dear Readers,

Welcome back from your well-deserved holiday break! This issue of the Countdown 2010 Newsletter will give you the ins and outs on the role of local and regional authorities in achieving the 2010 biodiversity target. Indeed, the world is merely the sum of millions of communities addressing issues locally. Local action is fundamental to tackle problems at global level.

The battle to save biodiversity will be lost or won in the cities! This is why Countdown 2010 works with hundreds of municipalities on the way to 2010. According to U.N. projections, 85% of world population growth between 2000 and 2010 will be in urban areas. Cities are where the voters, the political institutions, the media, the opinion-shapers, the corporate headquarters are concentrated. We can and must do better than we are doing.

Next month, the City of Barcelona – a Countdown 2010 partner – will host the World Conservation Congress. Countdown 2010 will present a calendar of events for 2010, the results of the latest 2010 Readiness Assessment and expert debates on the 2010 biodiversity target and beyond. While 2010 is drawing closer, more efforts are foreseen to show progress on biodiversity. The European Commission will publish its 2010 interim report this autumn, and Countdown 2010 will continue measure countries’ progress with its Readiness Assessment tool.

Over the last few months, the Countdown 2010 Secretariat has contacted partners to ask an update on their latest activities. We are now in the process of adding the information received. To see the results, just browse our partners' database online (example). Contact us if would like to showcase your new initiatives! We would also love to hear your opinion on how your country is doing on its way to 2010.

We look forward to seeing you in Barcelona for the IUCN World Conservation Congress in October! If you haven’t registered for the Congress, do it now!

Enjoy reading!

Sebastian Winkler
Head of Countdown 2010
September 4, 2008

^ Feature: Local action for biodiversity

Cities cover 3% of the planet, are home to more than 50% of the world’s population and consume up to 75% of its resources. Urbanization is proceeding at high speed in different parts of the world and is affecting the environment at all scales. Most will occur in developing countries, placing increased pressures on vulnerable social and ecological systems and jeopardizing the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. No longer in regular contact with nature, city dwellers tend to know less about natural systems and interrelationships than their rural compatriots.

The conservation community is increasingly working on local biodiversity action. We are planting the seeds towards a global biodiversity partnership, similar to the climate change protection network of cities. A successful Mayors' Conference took place during the CBD CoP9 in May this year and the World Conservation Congress will witness a high-level Sustainability Dialogue with ministers and mayors paving the road towards 2010.

Urban Biodiversity. Even though the idea of urban biodiversity sounds almost like a paradox, cities are host to a diverse array of species. More than 5,200 species of insects, 160 species of vertebrates, 140 species of birds and 26 mammals can be found within the area of the main motorway surrounding the city of Rome, for example. Urban biodiversity faces a multitude of threats including habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation, over-exploitation of natural resources, invasion of alien species, pollution and climate change. Cities are responsible for managing and preserving it. At the same time, cities are the main hubs of knowledge, resources and innovations and already working hard to offer solutions to environmental challenges and problems. Some are pioneering new strategies and approaches to manage and preserve their biodiversity.

• Countdown 2010 website on Local and Regional Authorities

^ICLEI + IUCN = LAB

Local Action for Biodiversity (LAB) is a global urban biodiversity initiative launched by ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability with a strong support from Countdown 2010 in 2006. LAB works with a selected group of 21 cities from around the globe - representing over 54 million inhabitants and a variety of different ecosystems. LAB aims to improve biodiversity management at the level of local government, in recognition of their enormous potential for contributing locally to conserving the global common good of biodiversity.

Based on the work done by the 21 pioneer cities, LAB aims to engage all the local and regional governments that have signed the Countdown 2010 declaration in their biodiversity projects.

ICLEI and IUCN are preparing LAB’s future by designing various components of action and training manuals along with factsheets. All LAB cities will sign the Durban commitments during the second LAB workshop in Durban, South Africa (8-11 September). In doing so, they also show their support for Countdown 2010 and the importance of meeting the 2010 biodiversity targets. Drawing on the experiences of the pioneer project, ICLEI and IUCN aim to set up a LAB expert network for consultancy, offering their services to local and regional governments upon request. LAB also aims to facilitate improved cooperation between science and local action through the transfer of research knowledge into cities and towns as well as active participation of local implementers in research projects.

• Local Action for Biodiversity Initiative

^Local authorities as partners of Countdown 2010

Countdown 2010 is working with more than 230 small and big municipalities, including several large cities worldwide to step up the efforts towards the achievement of the 2010 biodiversity target at the local level. They have already achieved a lot.

Tilburg initiated the trend of Countdown 2010 cities and Noord-Brabant followed suit in setting the stage for regions to engage in the 2010 journey. They launched the Oisterwijk Appeal and are now establishing a network of committed regions.

As an example of actions undertaken at local level, the small municipality of Tineo, in the west of Asturias, is working for the regeneration and conservation of the rivers in its territory which are under increasing pressure due to agricultural activities and the impact of climate change. They have opted for an integrated approach which pays attention to:

• environmental management and conservation,
• ethnographic regeneration and
• landscape management.

On the other hand, the City of Barcelona, the host of the next IUCN World Conservation Congress, has been leading the way in terms of sustainable policies for several years now. The City is engaged in several initiatives and it is now very active in the management and conservation of their urban biodiversity. Through the LAB process, the city has now committed to implement the following five activities in addition to their normal conservation activities:

• the creation of a green urban corridor Ciutadella-Collserola development;
• the protection of the Montjuïc cliff;
• the protection of urban bird populations;
• biodiversity dissemination actions; and
• an international commitment to biodiversity.

You might want to check them out on these commitments while you attend the Congress in Barcelona. The complete list of Countdown 2010 cities and regions includes their commitments and recent updates.

^Internal: Countdown 2010 at the World Conservation Congress

The IUCN World Conservation Congress is the world’s largest and most important conservation event. This year, it takes place from 5-14 October in Barcelona (Spain) and features hundreds of events on “A new climate for change”, “Healthy environments – healthy people” and “Safeguarding the diversity of life”. The 2010 biodiversity target and Countdown 2010 will be visible throughout.

The Countdown 2010 Secretariat is organizing a number of side events for the World Conservation Congress:

• 7th October at 09:30–11:00: "Communicating biodiversity: what works, what doesn´t";
• 7th October at 16:30–18:00: “Sustainability Dialogue” on the role that Local and Regional Authorities can play in reducing human impact on the loss of biodiversity;
• 8th October at 09:30–11:00: “Meeting the 2010 biodiversity target! A contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of life on Earth”;
• 9th October at 14:30–16:00: “A vision for Nature in 2010 - and beyond”.

Countdown 2010 is also co-organizing Sailing to Barcelona, a special event which will take place in Barcelona's Harbour. A fleet of sailing boats, research vessels and environmentally-friendly ships will host numerous events showcasing coastal and marine protection.

In addition, the Congress will see the launch of a “2010 Events Calendar” – a database containing all events dedicated to biodiversity and the launch of the 2010 Readiness Assessment Survey.

The programme of the WCC is now available online. In the next few weeks, the Countdown 2010 Secretariat will produce a guide for all events related to the 2010 biodiversity target. If you would like your event to be listed, let us know!   

^Do it yourself: Host the “Nature –Our Precious Web” exhibition!

The “Nature – Our Precious Web” exhibition has among its hosts the Ministry of the Environment of Luxembourg, the European Parliament - Brussels (Belgium), GEO Magazine Headquarters - Hamburg (Germany) and IUCN World Conservation Congress - Barcelona (Spain).

Be the next host! Contact David Ainsworth at david.ainsworth@cbd.int. You can find more information on the website or brochure.

^State of Biodiversity: 2010 Readiness Assessment

The 2010 Readiness Assessment will help countries in reviewing their own progress towards achieving the 2010 biodiversity target at an early stage, giving them enough time to take required actions before they submit the fourth national report to the Convention on Biological Diversity in March 2009. The results of the study – presented at the World Conservation Congress in Barcelona – will also help countries in disseminating information on their good practices and success stories in implementing biodiversity-friendly policies.

As part of this project, Countdown 2010 is carrying out a civil society survey on the 2010 biodiversity target. Help us assess how your country is doing on the way to the 2010 biodiversity target!

• Take part in the survey
• Countdown 2010 Readiness Assessment

^Focus on: Herdade do Esporão

Herdade do Esporão is an estate in Alentejo (Portugal) whose boundaries’ have remained unchanged since 1267. The estate is dedicated to produce premium wine and olive oil. By signing the Countdown 2010 Declaration in April this year, Herdade do Esporão has committed to combine its high-quality wine and olive oil production with a strong commitment towards the protection of the environment. One of the company main objectives is to develop and publish a Best Practice Code for wine and olive oil production aiming at minimizing the company’s impact on biodiversity loss. By choosing exclusively original genetic varieties of vines and olive trees, Herdade do Esporão ensures both the quality of its products and the protection of local species.

The company has recently formulated a Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) which brings in a variety of activities to reduce biodiversity loss within the Herdade do Esporão Estate. The Estate includes 600 hectares of vineyards, 100 hectares of olive groves and over 1000 hectares of forest, pastures and riparian habitats including the ecological evaluation of the natural vineyard predators, birds, butterflies, otters and amphibians that are present in the area. Moreover, the company is committed to minimize soil erosion and to reformulate the forestry management plan by reducing the pine forest and restoring the traditional ‘Montado’ ecosystem which is a naturally diverse forest. 

• Herdade do Esporão online
• Herdade do Esporão on Countdown2010.net

For more information please contact info@countdown2010.net or visit www.countdown2010.net

This newsletter is issued bi-monthly by Countdown 2010. We welcome comments, feedback and contributions to info@countdown2010.net. Previous issues of this newsletter can be found at www.countdown2010.net/article/newsletter.

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