BIOPLAN POSTING 2002-3-1
BIOPLAN POSTING 2002-3-1
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"Hyvarinen, Joy" <Joy.Hyvarinen@rspb.org.uk> Sent by: owner-bioplan@undp.org 02/28/02 04:32 PM * Apologies for cross-postings* BirdLife International is launching a new initiative aimed at helping
This is a proposal for a Protocol to the Convention on Biological Diversity,
In April, the Sixth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on
A Protocol on Important Biodiversity Areas - based firmly on national
If you would like a copy of a 4-page BirdLife International discussion
paper
We would welcome comments on the paper. <<BLIProtocol.doc>>
DISCUSSION PAPER
Background The Convention on Biological Diversity recognises the many values of biological diversity, including its intrinsic value. Healthy ecosystems underpin life on earth. People depend on the goods and services that ecosystems provide, such as water, fuel, building materials and food. Nonetheless, rapid loss of biological diversity is continuing. Advancing climate change threatens development and livelihoods the world over, and has serious implications for biodiversity. Deforestation, desertification and pollution continue to drive habitat loss. Mining and other extractive industries cause major problems. These problems are not restricted to one part of the world. Because biodiversity is not evenly distributed, a full spectrum of species and habitats can be conserved through focusing on a relatively small overall area. There is urgent need to identify the network of key sites - Important Biodiversity Areas - that can achieve this. These key sites make an essential contribution to the maintenance of ecological and evolutionary processes in nature. As climate zones move, the distribution of species and ecosystems will change. Some may benefit, but many threatened species are likely to face difficulties made worse by the widespread fragmentation and isolation of natural habitats. Many species will not be able to move across the landscape in response to the changing climate. Climate change strengthens the need for networks of sites, especially those that include a wide climatic range, both to allow species to move, and to buffer habitats within sites against climate change. The Millennium Development Goals, adopted at the UN Millennium Summit, include to 'Ensure Environmental Sustainability' (Goal 7). The Secretary-General's 'road map' towards implementation includes the target of integrating the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reversing the loss of environmental resources. Indicators include the proportion of land area covered by forest and land area protected to maintain biological diversity. The outlook for biological diversity is not encouraging. For example,
the fossil record shows that on average one bird species dies out every
100 years. In the last 200 years, however, the extinction
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) (www.rspb.org.uk), the BirdLife Partner in the UK, prepared this paper with and on behalf of the BirdLife International Partnership. Birds are one of the symbols of the interconnected life of the planet.
Migratory birds depend on
Since 1988, the BirdLife International Partnership has been working with a wide range of collaborators to identify so-called Important Bird Areas (IBAs). This work is completed in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and is underway in all other regions. Criteria for IBAs have been agreed internationally, and are based on species that are threatened, endemic, congregatory, or restricted to key biomes. IBA networks aim to conserve a full range of the species for which a site-based approach is appropriate. Although based on birds, the single best-known group of organisms, they act as critical sites for all biological diversity. Indeed, birds are increasingly acknowledged as sound spatial indicators for wider biodiversity. IBAs are actively used for planning in many countries, and have been integrated into many national biodiversity plans. The BirdLife International Partnership proposes building on the IBA process to identify a comprehensive global network of Important Biodiversity Areas. Preliminary studies of methodologies in East Africa and Europe provide a foundation. By adopting biological criteria, gaps in current protected area networks can be identified. It is known, for example, that important biomes such as temperate grasslands, deserts, lakes and some kinds of forests are badly underrepresented. Marine areas lag behind and merit special attention. The costs of conserving biodiversity, like biodiversity itself, are distributed unevenly over the world. Local people often bear much of the burden, while the benefits are enjoyed by the wider world. Developed countries have committed themselves, through the Convention on Biological Diversity, to providing financial support to developing country governments, but so far have failed to deliver. Their commitment must be realised. The BirdLife International Partnership, which is made up of independent national NGOs, represented in 107 countries worldwide, works extensively with the Convention on Biological Diversity and the other biodiversity-related conventions. We support the Convention's objectives of ensuring the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the use of genetic resources. The Convention on Biological Diversity Existing global agreements, together with regional agreements and national frameworks, provide important elements of a global network. The World Heritage Convention aims to address both natural and cultural sites. The Convention on Wetlands maintains the List of Wetlands of International Importance. UNESCO's Man and Biosphere (MAB) Programme recognises a network of biosphere reserves. BirdLife International believes that the Convention on Biological Diversity is the appropriate international agreement to take up the challenge of helping to conserve a global network of Important Biodiversity Areas. The Convention, which has a central role in the 'biodiversity cluster' of agreements, already co-operates closely with other conventions and instruments. In a similar way, the Convention could provide a framework for a collaborative effort to establish a global Important Biodiversity Areas network. There is already extensive commitment of governments and other institutions to protected areas, which would form the backbone of such a network. In 2004, one of the main agenda items of the Seventh Conference of the Parties (COP 7) will concern 'protected areas'. Analyses that address Important Biodiversity Areas under the auspices of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) (and at complementary meetings such as the World Congress on Protected Areas in 2003) could significantly enhance the debate on protected areas at COP 7. Building on the Convention 'In situ' conservation is dealt with mainly in Article 8 of the Convention, which requires Parties to take certain measures 'as far as possible and as appropriate'. These measures include establishing 'a system of protected areas or areas where special measures need to be taken to conserve biological diversity' (Article 8(a)) and developing 'where necessary, guidelines for the selection, establishment and management...' of these areas. This applies to individual countries. Other relevant provisions include Article 8 (d), which directs parties to promote the protection of ecosystems, natural habitats and viable populations of species in natural surroundings. Article 8 (f) requires parties to rehabilitate and restore degraded ecosystems and promote the recovery of threatened species. Identification and monitoring are dealt with in Article 7, with a reference to Annex I, which provides an indicative list of biodiversity categories of particular importance (eg ecosystems and habitats containing high diversity, or of social, economic, cultural or scientific importance). Article 8(m) contains an extremely important provision. It states that parties are to co-operate in providing financial and other support for in situ conservation, as outlined in preceding paragraphs, in particular to developing countries. Article 20.4 of the Convention confirms that the extent to which developing countries will implement their commitments under the Convention depends on implementation by developed countries of their commitments to provide financial resources and transfer technology. BirdLife International believes these provisions should provide the basis for the Protocol outlined below. The existing provisions in the Convention do not constitute an adequate framework for establishing or safeguarding a global network of Important Biodiversity Areas. In particular, a Protocol is required to realise the requirement in Article 8(m) to cooperate in providing financial and other support. The procedure for adoption of a Protocol is set out in Article 28 of the Convention. Elements of a Protocol The objective should be to establish a global network of Important Biodiversity Areas, identified by governments, and provide the means - in particular the financial means - to safeguard these areas, with the ultimate aim of maintaining the ecological life support systems of the planet. The Protocol should: ? Safeguard a global network of key sites - Important Biodiversity Areas - essential for the maintenance of ecological and evolutionary processes. The network should be based on priorities identified by each country according to agreed international criteria. ? Establish Important Biodiversity Areas as essential building blocks of sustainable development. ? Create a framework for the selection, establishment, and effective management of Important Biodiversity Areas. ? Confirm that a spectrum of different approaches to maintaining biodiversity in important areas is appropriate, based on both national and local circumstances. ? Operationalise the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities expressed in the financial provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity. BirdLife International believes that the global community must increase funding for biodiversity. In particular, there is a need for predictable, sustainable funding, particularly from the developed countries. A legally binding Protocol would provide a stable framework for long-term planning and national investments to complement international funding. ? Affirm the central role that indigenous people and local communities play in safeguarding areas of important biological diversity. In many such areas, indigenous people and local communities depend on the sustainable use of natural resources and they need to participate fully in the management of these areas. Several options for structuring a Protocol exist. For example, under the Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife to the Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region (SPAW Protocol), Parties nominate protected areas for consideration by a Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee, which decides whether the area fulfils agreed guidelines and criteria for inclusion in the list. The SPAW Protocol also covers research, technical assistance, management and traditional activities. Other agreements offer further models. BirdLife International would welcome comments on this paper. Contacts: Joy Hyvarinen
Peter Herkenrath
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