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"Introduction" [2013] ELECD 1080; in Maes, Frank; Cliquet, An; du Plessis, Willemien; McLeod-Kilmurray, Heather (eds), "Biodiversity and Climate Change" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2013) xv

Book Title: Biodiversity and Climate Change

Editor(s): Maes, Frank; Cliquet, An; du Plessis, Willemien; McLeod-Kilmurray, Heather

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781782546887

Section Title: Introduction

Number of pages: 10

Abstract/Description:

The United Nations declared 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity and the world was invited to take action to safeguard the variety of life on Earth and to protect its biological diversity for this and future generations. The biological diversity we see today is the fruit of billions of years of evolution, shaped by natural processes and, increasingly, by the influence of humans. It forms the web of life of which humans are an integral part and upon which we fully depend. The 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity reminds us that natural resources are not infinite and that ecosystems, species and genes must be used in a way and at a rate that does not lead to the long-term decline of biological diversity. However, this biodiversity is still seriously in danger and threatened by humans and human induced processes, such as the effects of climate change. Since the IUCNAEL Colloquium, parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity met in Nagoya in October 2010 to further agree on measures and policy instruments to be undertaken to halt the increasing loss of worldwide biodiversity and to implement the three main goals of the Convention: the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits from the use of genetic resources.