THE ECONOMICS OF ECOSYSTEMS AND BIODIVERSITY

Photos: Cover and title page, all images UNEP/Topham. ISBN-13 978-92-79-08960-2 © European Communities, 2008 Reproduction is authorized provided the source is acknowledged. Printed by Welzel+Hardt, Wesseling, Germany. Cover photos (clockwise from top): Ian McAllister/UNEP/ Topham; Ian Johnson/UNEP/Topham; Alex Wong/UNEP/ Topham; Lim Kien Hock/UNEP/Topham A Banson Production, Cambridge, UK FOREWORD iological diversity represents the natural wealth of the Earth, and provides the basis for life and prosperity for the whole of mankind. However, biodiversity is currently vanishing at an alarming rate, all over the world. We are, so to speak, erasing nature’s hard drive without even knowing what data it contains. The aim of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and its 190 Contracting Parties is to significantly reduce the loss of biodiversity by 2010. This is an ambitious goal which can only be achieved through the concerted efforts and combined strength of all sections of society. We therefore need both national and international alliances between policy makers, science, the public and business. Arising out of a discussion at the meeting of G8+5 environment ministers which took place in Potsdam in May 2007, we decided to launch a joint initiative to draw attention to the global economic benefits of biodiversity and the costs of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation. Stavros Dimas Commissioner for Environment European Commission The success of this joint initiative was always going to be highly dependent on the quality of the leadership and for this reason we have been particularly pleased that Pavan Sukhdev, a Managing Director in the Global Markets division at Deutsche Bank, and founder-Director of a “green accounting” project for India, has accepted to take on the role of Study Leader. Pavan Sukhdev and his team have had an extremely challenging task to bring together a lot of information in such a short time. Fortunately, they have benefited from the support and contribution of many international organi-zations as well as prominent experts. The results from Phase I of the initiative we launched in Potsdam a year ago will be presented at the high-level segment of CBD COP9. We invite and encourage CBD Member Countries and international organizations to contribute actively to Phase II of this work which will begin immediately after COP9. Sigmar Gabriel Federal Environment Minister Germany Foreword 3 ... - tailieumienphi.vn