Governments heed calls, and bridge divides for biodiversity

In the closing moments of COP10, weary delegates rose to their feet in a spontaneous standing ovation to celebrate a historic deal to save biodiversity and the planet.
Parties to the CBD had already cleared many important decisions for approval in Friday’s COP10 Plenary – the culmination of much hard work and discussion that started long before this COP.

However, deep disagreement on the big issues at COP10 – including the new protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing, and resources to implement the Convention – were dominating the negotiations and threatening to halt all agreements at the meeting.
But calls by many parties, including BirdLife International, to adopt a strong, meaningful and fair Nagoya package have been listened to. In particular, the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization meets many of the demands of developing countries.
“From this COP, one thing is clear: everyone needs to pull together if we are going to save biodiversity,” said Muhtari  Aminu-Kano, who headed up the BirdLife Partnership delegation. “This includes Governments, civil society, local communities and businesses, and both the developed and the developing world. Partnership is the principle that underpins BirdLife and it has to underpin biodiversity conservation too.”
BirdLife’s CEO Marco Lambertini said: “Governments have bridged the divide and found ways for us all to go forward. It is an historic turning point in our struggle to save the diversity of life – and secure our future.”