BirdLife Cyprus Press Release
Brussels & Nicosia, 15 March 2010 – BirdLife International and its local partner, BirdLife Cyprus, hold high expectations for the meeting of the Environment Council which takes place in Brussels today, as European Environment Ministers get together to discuss the 2020 Biodiversity target. Last January, the European Commission published its communication presenting 4 options for an EU vision and target for halting the loss of biodiversity beyond 2010.
BirdLife considers that the first three Commission options fall far short of the leading ambitions of the EU. They are either a step backwards from the current 2010 biodiversity target (which the EU has failed to meet) or too weak for ensuring a proper protection of biodiversity in the future.
BirdLife International together with other local, national and international NGOs are urging the Council to adopt a so-called option “4+”, which would make ecosystem restoration an overall obligation only limited by ecological conditions, not economic or political ones. Cyprus is set to support this ambitions “4+” target, joining other Member States in leading the way for an effective response to the current global biodiversity crisis. Biodiversity is being lost at an unprecedented rate, with 1 in 3 amphibians, 1 in 4 mammals and 1 in 8 birds threatened with extinction.
“Cyprus and most Member States do indeed seem to support Option 4 but there were discussions in the run up to the Council about the exact wording, especially concerning ecosystem restoration”, said Clairie Papazoglou, Executive Director of BirdLife Cyprus. BirdLife is pushing the Council to mention the already existing legal obligation to bring species and habitats to favourable conservation status in the EU. “The EU must also significantly strengthen its efforts to reduce its ecological footprint outside its borders and to step up funding for protecting nature. The EU 2020 target should embrace what is an increasingly shared vision for halting biodiversity loss and going beyond this to help ecosystems recover, through enhancement and restoration”, said Papazoglou.
Once a specific option has been chosen by the Environment Ministers, it should be endorsed by the European Heads of State and Government, at their next meeting by the end of this month.
“It is crucial that Environment Ministers support a far sighted option, in order for the EU to be able to promote an ambitious position at the Conference of the Parties (COP 10) of the Convention on Biological Diversity in Japan in October 2010”, commented Ariel Brunner, Head of EU Policy at BirdLife International in Brussels. “Failing to do so would damage the EU’s image as a front runner in the protection of biodiversity. The European Union should demonstrate its ability to provide global leadership in the field of environment protection, an image badly tarnished at Copenhagen”, Brunner said. [4]
For more information, please contact: Clairie Papazoglou, Executive Director, BirdLife Cyprus, 22 455 072, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Alessia Pautasso, Communication & Information Officer at BirdLife International
+32 2 541 07 81, E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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