At the 10th Conference of the Parties in October 2010 in Nagoya, Japan, the 193 Parties to the Convention agreed on a ten-year global Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 to combat biodiversity loss over the next decade and defined 20 concrete targets, known as the Aichi targets, in order to achieve this overall objective. The EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 aims to halt the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services in the EU and help stop global biodiversity loss by 2020. It reflects the commitments taken by the EU in 2010, within the international Convention on Biological Diversity.
Parties have to regularly report on progress towards the targets:
5th EU report to CBD submitted in 2014 on mid-term progress towards the 2020 targets;
6th EU Report to CBD submitted in 2019 on final assessment of progress towards the 2020 targets.
“The European Union has published its 6th Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity. The main messages are that wetland, coastal and agricultural ecosystems, amongst others, are increasingly threatened across the EU from pressures such as land-use change, over-exploitation, pollution, invasive alien species and climate change. Although in general biodiversity trends are not good, there have been some success stories for many species and habitats thanks to the implementation of the EU nature legislation.”
“The EU biodiversity strategy to 2020 has also led to the strengthening of knowledge around ecosystems and ecosystem services within the EU, improved action around themes such as invasive alien species, and increased contribution to combating biodiversity loss at international level. Future decision-making both public and private needs to more accurately reflect the natural wealth of biodiversity and its contribution to the wellbeing of the EU’s economy and society. These issues will need to be adequately addressed in the post-2020 biodiversity frameworks.”
Source: European Commission web
