Swiss call for ambitious biodiversity goals

More must be done against biodiversity loss, which is happening at an alarming pace, says the Swiss delegation to a major international biodiversity conference.

The two-week meeting in Nagoya in Japan, which opens on Monday, aims to shape and agree on a global strategy and instruments to protect biodiversity.

According to the United Nations, the world is facing the worst extinction rate since the dinosaurs vanished 65 million years ago – a crisis that needs to be addressed by governments, businesses, and communities.

In a statement released by the Federal Environment Office ahead of the meeting, the Swiss delegation said it would be pushing for “ambitious, realistic, concrete and measurable goals” to appear in the next ten years.

It added that most countries, including Switzerland, had failed to stem biodiversity loss significantly – a goal that the international community had set for 2010.

Swiss non-governmental organisations have called for more money and an agreement against bio-piracy (commercial development of naturally occurring biological materials), both of which should have substantial Swiss contributions.

The tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity is being attended by more than 15,000 participants representing 193 countries.

Environment Minister Moritz Leuenberger will attend the ministerial meeting from October 27-29 in his last international commitment as a cabinet member.