Opening statement 5th Intergovernmental Conference on Biodiversity in Europe

Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished delegates,

It is a great pleasure for Norway to host this conference together with Belgium, in a Pan European setting. We are grateful to Switzerland for the additional contribution. Due to the recent Parliamentary elections in Norway our State Secretary Heidi Sørensen could not attend as scheduled. But the same government coalition will continue and biodiversity will still be a priority.
  
In 2003, the Fifth Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference in Kiev agreed to halt the loss of biological diversity by the year 2010. As we all know, we are far from reaching that target. We have to change course, and we cannot escape the fact that we have a moral responsibility for conserving biodiversity, and that nature has its own intrinsic value.

This conference will address three themes, first the valuation of biodiversity and ecosystem services, secondly biodiversity and climate change and thirdly a post 2010 vision and targets for the Pan European region. 

On the first theme, 
New knowledge on the values from ecosystem services and biodiversity is underway. The project “The Economics of Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity”, a so called “Stern-report” for biodiversity, will provide us with the tools we need to incorporate the value of ecosystem services in decision-making and national budgeting. We look forward to the final results to be presented in 2010 under the very able leadership of Pavan Sukhdev, who will speak later today. Norway strongly supports this work.

With regard to the second theme, 
The linkages between climate change and biodiversity management have to be improved. We cannot tackle biodiversity loss without tackling climate change, and we cannot tackle climate change without addressing biodiversity and ecosystems. We need to create synergies between biodiversity, climate change and development agendas. Efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, the REDD initiative, will support such synergies. The recent TEEB climate issues update provides valuable information and recommendations on the importance of forests and coral reefs. More focus on ecosystem resilience and the fact that nature is part of the solution is needed. This was also the message in the report recently presented by Sweden at the Strømstad meeting on “Visions for biodiversity beyond 2010”. 

With regard to the third theme,
With regard to a post 2010 vision and targets:  The 2010 target has improved our way of working and has gained political attention. But a more focused effort on the follow-up is necessary for the post 2010 regime. We need a global long-term vision and short term measurable and action oriented targets. And yes, indeed more action is needed to implement them both nationally, regionally and globally.  

We also need to strengthen the science-policy interface for biodiversity and ecosystem services. The establishment of an intergovernmental platform for this purpose, inspired by the panel on climate change (IPCC) is a priority for Norway, and negotiations on this issue will continue under the auspices of UNEP in Nairobi in October.

Let me mention one important example of what Norway has done to follow-up the 2010 target. A new Act, which is called The Nature Management Act entered into force 1st of July this year. It is the most important law on nature ever in Norway. The Act will apply to all nature, from nature habitats and species to the genetic diversity within species. It is a parallel to the EU Natura 2000 framework and the habitats directive, but it is more comprehensive and has a stronger focus on sustainable use of biodiversity. The Act applies to all sectors regulating the use of Norway's natural environment, for instance land use for transport, energy and construction, or the use of natural resources in forestry, hunting and fisheries.

The Act states that decisions affecting the environment are to be based on scientific knowledge. For example if a habitat type is threatened, the government will have to consider whether it is to be a "selected habitat type" or a “priority species”, that gives priority status in management decisions.

The Act contains important environmental principles such as the precautionary principle, the ecosystem approach and the user pays principle (origin from the polluter pays principle). These principles will guide decision-making in all relevant sectors.

Let me also mention an example of the true value of genetic diversity, namely the discovery of the drug Cyclosporin in Norway. A Swiss researcher spent his  holiday in Norway's Hardangervidda National Park in 1969 where he also collected soil samples. One of the samples contained the soil fungus Tolypocladium inflatum. This turned out to produce a compound called Cyclosporin A which is used in organ transplants to reduce the risk of organ rejection. In 1997, the annual sales revenue from Cyclosporin-based products totalled US$1.2 billion. In the absence of benefit sharing legislation at that time, Norway has not been able to capture a share of these financial benefits, but the product now owned by the company Novartis has saved lives for many people and thus contributed to benefit sharing on a global scale. 

But now, in the context of implementing the Convention on biological diversity, the Norwegian Nature Management Act gives us an entirely new set of rules concerning the access to and utilization of genetic material originating in Norway. On this basis we will work for a completion of the international regime on access to genetic resources and benefit sharing at CBD COP10.  

Finally,

The results from this Conference will feed into the process for negotiating a post 2010 vision and targets as part of the strategic plan for the Convention on Biodiversity to be adopted at the 10th Conference of the Parties in Japan in October 2010. We are happy to have the Executive Secretary Ahmed Djoghlaf of the CBD here with us today.

In February 2010 Norway will organise the sixth Trondheim conference on biodiversity in Norway. The conference will be another contribution to this process and will help provide the Convention on Biological Diversity with a sound basis for developing the post 2010 biodiversity targets. We do hope to see many of you in Trondheim in February.

But first let us make this Conference a further step for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity at the regional level and let us be inspired by the beautiful surroundings of Liège.

Welcome and thank you!