Why we need to save and protect it

*David Sheppard



 
The International Year of Biodiversity opened, perhaps rather inauspiciously, in the wake of the less-than-successful United Nations climate talks in December last year in Copenhagen.
  This provides an opportunity to reflect on how well Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) have delivered on another global promise—“to achieve, by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate of biodiversity loss”.
  The 2010 target was agreed by world leaders in 2002 at the World Summit on Sustainable Development as essential for protecting life on earth and for contributing to poverty alleviation.
  Sadly, seven years on, it is clear that we have a long way to go before reaching the 2010 target.
  The theme for the International Year of Biodiversity is Biodiversity is Life; Biodiversity is Our Life. We in the Pacific islands region have chosen to support the International Year with a Pacific variant on the theme: Value Island Biodiversity—It’s Our Life.
  Biodiversity is simply described as the variety of all living things on earth —from the mountains to the oceans.
  It is a word that was coined to refer to all the species, genetic resources and ecosystems on the planet and how they function and interact.
  Biodiversity is the foundation of life and nowhere is this more evident than in our small islands where we rely on our natural systems for our very survival.
  In the Pacific, we recognise that our diverse biological resources are essential for the livelihoods of Pacific people.
  Biodiversity has helped shape our cultures and traditions, thus contributing to the identity and heritage of Pacific peoples.
  Biodiversity in the Pacific is globally significant. For example the Pacific is acknowledged to have the highest marine diversity in the world.
  Our cultural traditions have been determined by what is available in our environment, our traditional medicines have been derived from the natural resources around us and, for many in our region, our livelihoods are fashioned by the surroundings available to us.
  In celebrating the Year of Biodiversity, we thus acknowledge the value of our biodiversity to our way of life, our health, our wealth and our long-term sustainable development.
  Yet, this vital biodiversity is seriously threatened.
  While being of global significance, the biodiversity of the Pacific is also highly at risk. Extinction rates in the region, especially for birds and land snails, are among the highest in the world.
  There are many reasons why the Pacific has so many threatened species, including the vulnerability of small, isolated islands to impacts such as invasive species, loss of habitat and excessive resource exploitation. The threats in the Pacific mirror global trends.
  According to a 2009 IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) update, 70% of plant species assessed are threatened.
  IUCN notes that 1 bird out of 8, 1 mammal out of 4, and 6 marine turtles out of 7 are all threatened with extinction. 
  Seventy five percent of the world’s fisheries are fully or over exploited and one-third of reef-building corals around the world are threatened with extinction.
  Climate change is also likely to have a significant impact—up to 70% of the world’s known species risk extinction if the global temperatures rise by more than 3.5 degrees Celsius. Species loss is forever.
  Biodiversity is vital to Pacific life.  It ensures clean air and water and provides the basic building blocks for sustainable development in the Pacific.
  Our oceans cover more than 70% of the Earth’s surface. Fish provides up to 90 percent of animal protein intake in the rural areas of Pacific islands countries and territories. 
  In the Pacific, most of the fish eaten by rural people comes from subsistence fishing and per capita consumption in rural areas often exceeds 50 kilogrammes of fish per year.
  We need to make a conscious effort to reduce the rate of biodiversity loss around the world so that we can continue to live as we do.
  Now, seven years on since a world commitment was made, it’s time to take stock and see just how far we have come in meeting the 2010 biodiversity targets at the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Nagoya Japan, in October this year.
  Within the Pacific region, 14 Pacific Islands countries have produced National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans which provide the basis for protecting and managing biodiversity.
  At the regional level, the Action Strategy for Nature Conservation in the Pacific Island Region for 2008-2012 provides an important basis for conserving nature.
  The Pacific Islands Roundtable for Nature Conservation is a growing coalition of voluntary conservation organisations and donor agencies created to increase effective conservation action. It was formed in 1997 upon the request of Pacific islands countries and territories and serves as a key forum to help improve collaboration and coordination in the Pacific region for effective conservation action. 
  The foundation for good, solid biodiversity conservation in the Pacific region is in place. 
  All around the world the global community is being called upon to work together to help reduce the rate of biodiversity loss. 
  In the Pacific we are calling upon the commitment of our Pacific people, governments and communities to work towards conserving our biodiversity.
  This Year of Biodiversity provides an opportunity to highlight and promote the importance of biodiversity for our region.
  Remember to Value Islands Biodiversity—It’s Our Life.

*David Sheppard is the director of SPREP and is based in Apia, Samoa.