Nieuws - 16 december 2010

Biodiversity

Exactly one year ago the Copenhagen climate summit ended in downright failure. This was discussed at great length in the media and was well known by the wider public. Another major failure was given much less publicity: Focus 2010. Its purpose was to put a stop to the dramatic decline of biodiversity. It was to this end that 2010 was internationally designated the year of biodiversity.

The year of biodiversity. It should have been a year of jubilation, but if we look at the facts then there is little to be jubilant about. All the reports are equally grim. In the past 25 years the number of species in the world saw a decline of more than 15 percent, while the number of plants and animals under threat increased by at least 50 percent. The fact that 'only' 1.3 million hectares of wood was cut down in the Brazilian Amazon in the 2007-2008 period, is being seen as a success. If measures are not taken, the tiger will have become extinct in the wild within 12 years. And I am not referring here to the spotted brown lime leaf moth, but the tiger. The one listed together with the polar bear, the elephant and the hippopotamus.
This year broad support for nature in the Netherlands has decreased rather than increased. Nature, along with culture, is being shelved as a left-wing hobby. And at this time of government cuts there is no money for hobbies. The focus for meeting biodiversity targets has been shifted to 2020 with Nagoya as the fixed point. The European Union has thought up new strategies to protect the valuable elements on earth. Countdown 2020: I fear the worst.