Ávarp umhverfisráðherra á 10. aðildarríkjafundi samningsins um líffræðilega fjölbreytni
Svandís Svavarsdóttir umhverfisráðherra flutti eftirfarandi ávarp á 10. aðildarríkjaþingi samningsins um líffræðilega fjölbreytni, CBD COP-10, í Nagoya í Japan 28. október 2010.
Ministers, ladies and gentlemen,
The International Year of Biodiversity has been a great opportunity to take stock of the state of life on Earth, and our efforts to halt the decline of biodiversity. Here in Nagoya Parties have been looking at the future and the course for necessary actions in the next decade to further the protection of biological diversity and its sustainable use to support development and human welfare.
In this task, we need to coordinate globally and act locally. Iceland looks to the Convention on Biological Diversity to guide its efforts in conserving and managing biodiversity, and has in place a National Strategy to fulfil its objectives on the home front. I will now briefly address some priorities of Iceland that are of relevance to the CBD and its objectives to halt and reverse the loss of biodiversity.
Globally, we have made considerable progress in establishing a network of protected areas in terrestrial areas. Iceland has taken significant steps in recent years in this respect, notably with the establishment of the Vatnajökull National Park, which is Europe's biggest. We are expanding our RAMSAR-network and working on further protection of important habitats of birds and plants.
Progress is less evident in this respect in the marine and coastal environment, both globally and in our local area. Part of the reason is simply that life in the sea is out of our sight and that our knowledge of the marine environment is incomplete. We will put increased emphasis on marine conservation efforts as we approach the 2012 benchmark. Iceland has few fully fledged MPA's now, but an extensive network of permanent and temporary no-fishing-zones. Our efforts will be guided not only by looking at the number and size of MPA's, but also on their overall conservation value and interplay with other measures for conservation of biological diversity and sustainable use of marine species. It is worth pointing out that the OSPAR Convention recently designated the first MPA's outside national jurisdictions only last month in the North-East Atlantic. This illustrates the importance of effective regional cooperation on marine conservation and sustainable use.
The Convention on Biological Diversity emphasizes reclaiming damaged ecosystems as well as conserving healthy ones. This will become increasingly important in our global efforts. Iceland will continue work to reclaim its birch forests, but we also aim to increase efforts to reclaim wetlands, which were largely drained for agriculture in the 20th Century. This is important not only from a biodiversity perspective, but also for the climate. Drained and damaged wetlands emit significant amounts of carbon dioxide at a global level. Reclaiming them will halt emissions and restore vital ecosystems. It is highly relevant that the relationship between Climate and the Biodiversity related conventions is highlighted here in Nagoya, as efforts to protect biodiversity and combat climate change tend to go hand in hand.
One of the main issues before COP-10 here in Nagoya is to finalise the Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing. This Protocol will be a great milestone in our work, not least for developing countries, which hold the greatest wealth of biodiversity, and need to get a fair share of revenues resulting from the utilization of this wealth.
Rainforests, coral reefs and other tropical ecosystems are the biggest reservoirs of biodiversity on the planet, but we must also focus on other important and vulnerable habitats. The Arctic is under increasing stress from rapid climate change and possible exploitation of resources as ice retreats and new areas become accessible. Ocean acidification is about twice as fast in the seas around Iceland and some other areas in the High North than the global average. Surveys of pollutants and climate change in the Arctic have helped spur environmental measures in these fields by showing that emissions in temperate and tropical areas affect faraway polar regions. Currently, the Arctic Council is undertaking a new circumpolar survey of biodiversity in a time of unprecedented environmental change. I hope this, too, will inform the work of the CBD in the coming decade and help illustrate how interwoven the web of life is and how our actions can have a wide impact.
As the Year of Biodiversity nears its end, we must set our sight on the future. Parties now have to commit to fulfil new targets set for the next decade until 2020 with the timeframes that will be adopted at this meeting. We are progressing in many areas, but we face a huge challenge with growing pressures on ecosystems from human activities, loss of habitats and global warming. Full integration of biodiversity issues into all sectors of society is urgently needed. Our knowledge base and assessment must be improved. Iceland supports the agreement reached in Busan in Korea last June to establish a new science-policy intergovernmental platform on biodiversity and ecosystem services to strengthen the scientific input into decision making. It is my sincere hope that this year will mark a beginning of a decade for biological diversity, where we will intensify our efforts in reaching the new Convention's goals.
Thank you,