ENB @ COP 9 19-30 May 2008; Bonn, Germany

Earth Negotiations Bulletin - ENB

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Fri 30 & Summary

Ninth Meeting of the Conference
of the Parties

19-30 May 2008| Bonn, Germany

Highlights for Wednesday, 28 May 2008

The CBD COP 9 High-Level Segment opened at the World Conference Center Bonn. An afternoon plenary at the Maritim Hotel heard statements from high-level representatives. Working Group I met in the afternoon and evening to consider conference room papers (CRPs) on protected areas (PAs), invasive alien species (IAS) and biodiversity and climate change. Contact and informal groups on access and benefit-sharing (ABS), Article 8(j), financial resources and mechanism, marine and coastal biodiversity, forest biodiversity, agricultural biodiversity and biofuels, protected areas and the budget met throughout the day.

Above photo L-R: H.E. Srgjan Kerim, United Nations General Assembly President, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and COP 9 President Sigmar Gabriel.

HIGH LEVEL SEGMENT

View of the morning session of the High-Level Segment.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

COP 9 President Sigmar Gabriel, German Minister of the Environment, welcomed delegates to the High-Level Segment, reminding them that protecting biodiversity is a Herculean task and agreement on a roadmap for the ABS negotiations an important step.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, noted the linkages between poverty eradication and biodiversity conservation, and pledged EUR 500 million for protection of forests and ecosystems between 2009 and 2012 and an additional 500 million every year thereafter.

European Commission President José Manuel Barroso said agreeing to selection criteria for marine PAs is crucial to meet the 2012 target to have a global system of marine PAs.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper called reaching the 2010 target today's paramount environmental challenge.

UN General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim called for unprecedented efforts to counter biodiversity loss.

UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner delivered a message on behalf of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, pointing to the profound human and economic dimensions of biodiversity loss.

CBD Executive Secretary Ahmed Djoghlaf applauded the leadership of Germany. He paid tribute to the triple European Union presidency of Germany, Portugal and Slovenia, remarking that "The Bonn Biodiversity Summit has been hosted not only by Germany but by the European Community as a whole." The CBD Executive Secretary gave the CBD Awards to Chancellor Merkel and German Federal Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel; to Canadian Prime Minister Harper as host of the Secretariat; and the General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim, for his support to the International Year of Biodiversity.

ABS Working Group Co-Chair Timothy Hodges (Canada) (left) with Co-Chair Fernando Casas (Colombia) (right) appealed to ministers for their guidance, to enable the CBD to agree to a meaningful regime on ABS by 2010.

WG II Chair Chaweewan Hutacharern ( Thailand) pointed to outstanding issues on cooperation with other conventions and operations of the Convention.

WG I Chair Maria Mbengashe (South Africa) pointed to lack of agreement on: biodiversity and climate change, specifically the limits of the CBD mandate vis-à-vis UNFCCC, and references to "mitigation and adaptation"; forest biodiversity, especially genetically modified (GM) trees; and biofuels.

President of Palau Tommy Esang Remengesau presented on the Micronesia Challenge, a regional initiative to conserve 30% of marine and 20% of forest resources by 2020.

Norwegian Minister of the Environment Erik Solheim, pledged an additional 600 million USD annually for the next three years to protect forests globally and called for work at the grassroots level and involvement of indigenous peoples.

Ambassador John Ashe, Antigua and Barbuda, on behalf of G77/CHINA stressed that this is the last COP that can set steps toward reaching the 2010 target and called for decisive action on South-South cooperation.

Minister Batilda Burian, Tanzania, on behalf of the AFRICAN GROUP welcomed the progress on ABS and called for the conclusion of the negotiations by 2010 to send a strong message against biopiracy.

PLENARY:

Dais during the afternoon plenary session of the High Level Segment.

STATEMENTS:

GUATEMALA called for greater emphasis on biodiversity conservation and sustainable use in the UNFCCC process.

NIGERIA emphasized the need to increase biodiversity's contribution to food production.

MALAYSIA

suggested considering the poverty eradication aspects of biofuel production.

Drawing attention to its forthcoming G8 presidency, ITALY committed to advance the biodiversity cause on the G8 agenda.

Above photo: Roberto Menia (Italy)

WORKING GROUP I

Delegates debated several proposals referring to the increasing impacts of IAS due to global trade, transport and travel, and likely exacerbation due to human-induced climate change, increased use of GMOs, and the use of invasive species for biofuel production.

ENB COP 9 SNAPSHOTS:

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