A new consultation – involving all sorts of stakeholders – on a post-2010 biodiversity policy for the European Union has started, to be concluded on 22 October.
The new consultation, following a “first round” in June, includes sub-targets in six areas:
- agriculture and forestry
- fisheries
- nature protection
- green infrastructure
- invasive species
- the EU’s contribution to global biodiversity
“Many authoritative reports confirm that global biodiversity remains under severe threat, with losses occurring at 100 to 1000 times the normal rate”, DG Environment, the EU Commission’s secretariat for environmental issues, notes in the invitation, adding that “more than a third of species assessed are facing extinction and an estimated 60 percent of the Earth’s ecosystems have been degraded in the last 50 years”.
The EU set itself the target nine years ago to o halt biodiversity loss in the Union by 2010. There are “clear indications” that the target has not been reached, DG Environment says.
The Commission and the Belgian EU Presidency were planning to hold a conference on the issue in Gent, Belgium, on 8-9 September.
Meanwhile, the Commission announced a similar consultation on “Integrated Maritime Policy for the Atlantic Ocean sea basin”. That consultation, with time running out on 15 October, includes an online questionnaire.