Forests represent a major reservoir of biodiversity. Their contribution to preserving biodiversity has been and will remain essential. European family forest owners are the guardians of this natural heritage. They invest in the conservation of biodiversity to ensure the ecological balance in their forests. The owners treat forests and all varieties of species and ecosystems with respect, as it is an integral part of their livelihood. The International Year of Biodiversity 2010 sets the scene to enhance these practical dimensions of life and respect for nature.

2010 is a crucial year for biodiversity policy. The United Nations declared it to be the International Year of Biodiversity (IYB). The IYB is being hosted by the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Its purpose is to raise public awareness of the importance of biodiversity for the human well-being and the consequences of its loss. Further objectives include the promotion of the economic value and conservation activities as well as celebration of the achievements of Countdown 2010. Evaluation on the possible failures for not achieving the 2010 targets as well as preparation of the ground for communicating the post-2010 target(s) are part of the rationale for the IYB. The year will be celebrated under the slogan "Biodiversity is life, biodiversity is our life", throughout a number of activities at national, regional and global level.

The EU highlights the IYB by setting out options for a post 2010 EU vision and target for biodiversity. The Commission marked the opening of the International Year of Biodiversity with a communication on 19th of January. The paper proposes an EU long term vision up to 2050 as well as policy options for a new 2020 target.  The elements of this ambitious vision are: 

• slowing  the rate of biodiversity loss in Europe by 2020, while accepting that stopping it completely is impossible for the foreseeable future,
• halting the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services by 2020, as originally stated by the EU objective for 2010,
• adding an extra commitment to the second option on restoring biodiversity and ecosystem services "as far as possible",
• exceeding the third option with a joint efforts for the EU's contribution to address  global biodiversity loss.

All options are designed to set a mid-term target towards reaching a 2050 vision. This highlights the role of biodiversity in achieving other policy objectives, such as climate change. The vision highlights the contribution of biodiversity in sustaining a number of economic sectors and supporting prosperity and human well-being. It recognises the key role which biodiversity and ecosystem services can play in future economic strategies seeking to promote growth and prosperity.
Forests represent a major reservoir of biodiversity and their contribution in achieving the above has been and will remain essential. Thus, it will be necessary to follow if and how this discussion influences the provision of greater financial opportunities for securing biodiversity under various EU policies. In particular, the roles of the common agriculture reform and rural development policy in the promotion of ecosystem services - by preserving and enhancing forestry with a high nature value - is of importance for forest owners.
The value of the economic capital of nature was also highlighted in a recent study on The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity .
The report states that losses in the natural world have direct economic repercussions which are widely underestimated. Scaling –up of investments in the management and restoration of ecosystems would be necessary in future decision-making.

The EU discussion on a new target for biodiversity beyond 2010 will now follow, with the aim of reaching a high level agreement in the months to come. The high-level conference on the "Post-2010 Biodiversity Vision and Target" hosted by Spain in Madrid on 26-27 January 2010 officially launched the International Year of Biodiversity. Based on this and further work, the Commission will present a new EU biodiversity strategy by the end of the year. This will contribute to the discussion on a new global target for biodiversity, meant to be adopted later this year by the CBD.

A collaborative action to address biodiversity in forests has been launched by the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF) and the CBD Secretariat . A Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen joint actions to ensure that forests are sustainably managed was signed on 15th of December during the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. This partnership aims to enable the two processes and their stakeholders to strengthen the resilience of forests and to maintain the support forests can provide to societies. In addition it will link the International Year of Biodiversity with the International Year of Forests in 2011.
CEPF will address the IYB in all activities in 2010. We also encourage all members to take this opportunity to highlight the contribution of forest owners in protecting Europe’s biodiversity heritage.

Please see also the IYB website >>>