“Measures undertaken over the next two decades will determine whether or not the relatively stable environmental conditions which human civilization has depended upon over the past 10,000 years will prevail after this century. If we do not take advantage of this window of opportunity, many of the planet’s ecosystems will enter into a new and unprecedented state with uncertain capacity for satisfying the needs of present and future generations.”
{reg}That was the central message that David Cooper, Senior Programme Officer of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Secretariat, conveyed to government officials representing 24 states gathered in Ajijic this week for Mexico’s first National Meeting on Biodiversity.
The gathering was held as a prelude to the international CBD Summit scheduled for October of this year, coinciding with a host of events and activities happening around the world during 2010, designated as the International Year of Biodiversity.
The CBD is one of three international treaties that emerged from the 1992 Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro. The pact sets out commitments for maintaining the world’s ecological underpinnings as countries go about the business of economic development. Its overall objective is fostering the development of national strategies for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity.
Mexico – one of 193 nations subscribed to the CBD – ranks fifth in the world for its variety of animal and plant species. It is considered home to more kinds of reptiles, cacti and pines than any other place on the planet. The country also harbors more than 1,000 bird species, 450 types of mammals, and 330 amphibian varieties. But, like other nations, it finds its natural resources suffering from the growing threat posed by human activity and development.
The keen interest of government officials, academics and private environmental organizations attending this week’s biodiversity conference reflects a glimmer of hope of halting that trend within Mexico’s borders.
“Taking actions that favor the conservation of biodiversity is the best way to invest in the future of your entities,” urged Juan Rafael Elvira Quesada, head of Mexico’s Environment Ministry (Semarnat), during the opening session of the national confab, held August 24 and 25 at the Hotel Real de Chapala.
Elvira and Cooper were accompanied by Jose Sarukhan Kermez, director of the National Biodiversity Commission (Conabio), and conference hostess Martha Ruth del Toro Gaytan, head of Jalisco’s Environment Ministry (Semades). The dignitaries kicked off the gathering by putting their signatures on the Ajijic Accords, a document laying out a common framework for state governments to develop and implement public policies related to sustainable development and ecosystem conservation.
Mexico now joins Canada and India as countries leading the world in adopting a local rather than strictly national approach to developing environmental protection strategies.
At present, 17 states have initiated processes to evaluate endemic flora and fauna and set up programs and policies for their conservation.
During the first day of the conference, representatives from Guanajuato, Puebla and Jalisco gave presentations explaining methods for carrying out a state-level biodiversity census. Officials from Michoacan and Morelos followed with presentations on the creation and application of local ecosystem conservation strategies.
The second day of the event was dedicated to roundtable sessions related to the establishment of state commissions on biodiversity, information gathering systems and financing opportunities, considered as keys factors for checking environmental deterioration on the local level.
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