Opening Address at the Launch of Actions in China

For the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity

Khalid Malik

United Nations Resident Coordinator

UNDP Resident Representative in China

Your Excellency Mr. Zhou Shengxian, Esteemed Guests and Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen,

　  On behalf of the United Nations System in China, and the United Nations Development Programme, I would like to join Mr. Zhou to warmly welcome all of you to today’s Launch of Actions in China for the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity, under the theme Biodiversity is life; biodiversity is our life.

　  Over the past half-century, human activities have caused an unprecedented decline in biological diversity. Species are going extinct a thousand times faster than the natural rate – a loss now being further compounded by climate change. A wide variety of environmental goods and services that we take for granted are under threat, with profound and damaging consequences for ecosystems, economies and livelihoods.

　  In 2002, world leaders agreed to substantially reduce the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010. The 2010 Biodiversity Target was subsequently integrated into the Millennium Development Goals. It will not be met.

　  Tropical forests continue to be felled, destroying valuable endemic species and disrupting local, regional and global climates. Climate change and ocean acidification are destroying coral reefs. Fisheries are increasingly overexploited, condemning millions of the world's poorest people to unemployment and malnutrition.

　  The failure to protect biodiversity should be a wake-up call. Business as usual is not an option. We need a new biodiversity vision. We must manage our forests sustainably so they can store carbon, protect watersheds and provide resources and income. We must conserve coral reefs so they can continue to protect coasts from storms and support livelihoods for hundreds of millions of people. We must ensure the long-term viability of our seas and oceans.

　  To raise awareness of the impending crisis and to spur the world to act, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity. In September 2010, the General Assembly will hold a special high-level meeting on the subject. It will give the international community an opportunity to demonstrate much-needed leadership in advance of the Nagoya Biodiversity Summit, which will adopt a new strategic plan for implementing the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.

　  China hosts a significant proportion of the world’s biodiversity wealth. To conserve this natural heritage, China has significantly increased its forest coverage and maintained the integrity of marine ecosystem. Overall water quality is also being stabilized. Yet challenges still remain. Grasslands are continuously lost, the number of threatened species is increasing and genetic resources of crops and livestock are dissappearing at an alarming rate. Awarenss of implications of biodiversity loss is poor among private sector and local governments.

　  In this International Year, we must deepen the perception that people are closely connected to our natural environment. We must increase understanding of the implications of losing biodiversity. In 2010, I call on government actors, private sector, civil society organizations, science, media, bilateral and international organizations to strengthen the partnership to manage to China’s biodiversity sustainably. We must generate a greater sense of urgency and develop systematic and coherent strategy and action plans with clear and concrete targets. The required actions will not come from others; it will have to come from all of us.

　  Biodiversity is life, biodiversity is our life. I look forward to the concrete actions!