Electronic Discussion In Preparation For The Brainstorming Meeting On Avian Flu to be held in Curitiba on 19 March
The CBD context
The purpose of this e-forum and the brainstorming meeting is to consider the impact on biodiversity of the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus responsible for avian flu, in the context of the Convention on Biological Diversity. The Conference of the Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA), and the Convention on Migratory Species, among others, considered the issue of avian influenza at their last meetings, focusing on waterbirds, wetlands, and other migratory birds.
The objectives of the Convention are (i) the conservation of biological diversity, (ii) the sustainable use of its components and (iii) the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources.
As stated in the Strategic Plan of the Convention,
| (a) | Biodiversity -- the variability within and among living organisms (plants, animals and microorganisms) and the systems they inhabit (habitats, biomes, ecosystems) -- is the foundation upon which human civilization has been built. In addition to its intrinsic value, biodiversity provides goods (e.g. food, fresh water, fuelwood, fiber, medicines, and genetic resources) and services that underpin sustainable development in many important ways, thus contributing to poverty alleviation. Biodiversity services include inter alia regulation of ecosystem processes (e.g., climate control, disease control, flood control, detoxification), maintenance of the conditions for life on earth (e.g., soil formation, nutrient cycling, pollination), and non-material benefits obtained from ecosystems (spiritual, recreational, aesthetic, inspirational, educational, communal, or symbolic) |
| (b) | The rate of biodiversity loss is increasing at an unprecedented rate, threatening the very existence of life as it is currently understood. This was confirmed by the findings of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment published in 2005. Biodiversity loss is defined as the long-term or permanent qualitative or quantitative reduction in components of biodiversity and their potential to provide goods and services, to be measured at global, regional and national levels |
| (c) | Addressing the threats to biodiversity requires immediate and long-term fundamental changes in the way resources are used and benefits are distributed. Achieving these adjustments will require broad-based action among a wide range of actors. |
| (d) | Parties commit themselves to a more effective and coherent implementation of the three objectives of the Convention, to achieve by 2010 a significant reduction in the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national level as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on Earth. This is the 2010 biodiversity target that was also endorsed by the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002. |
The ecosystem approach, described as a strategy for the integrated management of land, water and living resources that promotes conservation and sustainable use in an equitable way and which recognizes that humans, with their cultural diversity, are an integral component of many ecosystems, is the primary framework of action to be taken under the Convention. The approach is holistic, with ecosystem (a dynamic complex of plant, animal and micro-organism communities and their non-living environment interacting as a functional unit) as unit.
