Biodiversity and climate change
Recommendation 1918
(2010)
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly
debate on 30 April 2010 (18th Sitting) (see Doc. 12198, report of the Committee on the Environment, Agriculture
and Local and Regional Affairs, rapporteur: Mrs John-Calame). Text adopted by the Assembly on
30 April 2010 (18th Sitting).
- Thesaurus
1. Depletion of biological diversity
is currently taking place at a much faster rate than natural extinction.
2. Human activities are the main cause of this depletion, both
directly (soil and marine pollution, the introduction of invasive
species, etc.) and indirectly (exponential increase in climate change
brought on by various activities).
3. The smooth functioning of ecosystems is vital to the well-being
of humankind, as water resources; soil fertility; firewood and timber;
food; medicines; fossil fuels; solar, wind and geothermal energy
and climate regulation are dependent on them.
4. Global warming is an undeniable reality and an unprecedented
challenge for biodiversity. Worldwide, it is reflected in an increase
in average air and sea temperatures, extensive snow and ice melt
and rising average sea levels.
5. According to some experts, average temperatures on the earth’s
surface could increase by 1.4 to 5.8°C by the end of the 21st century,
with a greater change on land and in the higher latitudes than at
sea or in the tropics. Sea levels could rise by between 0.09 and
0.88 m and, according to certain experts, even more. Precipitation
is also expected to increase in the higher latitudes and in equatorial
regions whereas they should diminish in subtropical areas, with
an increase in high rainfall. It is thought that 20% of coastal
wetlands could disappear by 2080 because of rising sea levels.
6. Modelling changes in biodiversity is difficult. However, it
is obvious that climate change has serious repercussions for animal
populations, the distribution of species and ecosystems. This also
has an impact on the length of seasons, reproduction periods, animal
and plant growth, animal migration, the geographical distribution
of species and density of populations, the frequency of parasitic
infestations and diseases, etc.
7. Changes in biological diversity in ecosystems and landscapes,
which are caused by climate change or other phenomena (such as deforestation
and forest fires), in turn affect the climate by altering the absorption and
emission of greenhouse gases in particular. In addition, changes
in the structure of the biological communities in the upper layers
of the oceans could alter their absorption of CO2 or affect weather
conditions and climate change. This is therefore a spiral-like process
which could have disastrous results at global level.
8. The Parliamentary Assembly notes that there is very good evidence
of the impact of climate change on species and habitats, making
them all the more vulnerable. It underlines the fact that uncertainties
concerning the precise effects of climate change on biodiversity
should not be a reason for deferring concrete action to preserve
ecosystems and that the principle of precaution must be applied.
9. The Assembly underlines the need for the full and immediate
implementation of the objectives of the Convention on Biological
Diversity adopted at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.
10. It points out that in April 2002, at the sixth meeting of
the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity,
organised under the aegis of the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP), the governments undertook “to achieve by 2010 a significant
reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global,
regional and national level as a contribution to poverty alleviation
and to the benefit of all life on Earth” (2010 Biodiversity Target).
12. The Assembly also draws attention to two recommendations of
the Standing Committee of the Convention on the Conservation of
European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Bern Convention, ETS No. 104), namely
Recommendation No. 135 (2008) on addressing the impacts of climate
change on biodiversity, which calls on the contracting parties and
observer states to address and communicate, as a matter of urgency,
the impacts of climate change on biological diversity and its conservation,
among other things, and to Recommendation No. 143 (2009) on further
guidance for parties on biodiversity and climate change, which calls,inter alia, on increasing efforts
to improve understanding of the links between biodiversity and climate change.
13. It points out that the environment ministers of the G8 and
emerging countries, meeting in Syracuse (Italy) in April 2009, adopted
the Syracuse Charter on Biodiversity, making biodiversity a major
global cause on a par with the fight against global warming and
underlining the close link between the two.
14. The Assembly therefore recommends that the Committee of Ministers
call on the governments of Council of Europe member and observer
states to take account of the opportunities offered by the International Year
of Biodiversity in 2010 to:
14.1 improve
the interface between science and politics, particularly with regard
to biodiversity, whose importance still seems to be underestimated
by some policy makers and by a large proportion of the public;
14.2 devise appropriate policies and take concrete measures
to promote the conservation of biological diversity and reduce the
impact of climate change on biodiversity;
14.3 develop evaluation systems to improve our knowledge of
how biological diversity interacts with ecosystem structure and
functioning and deepen our understanding of how biodiversity reacts
to climate change factors and other exogenous pressures;
14.4 encourage synergy and interaction between national, regional
and local environmental projects and policies on climate change
and the objectives of international treaties such as the Convention
on Biological Diversity;
14.5 promote a more efficient transfer of best practices in
preventing biodiversity loss, which is essential in order to ensure
that a co-ordinated response can be devised and implemented at European level;
14.6 develop education, information and participation programmes
targeting the public and policy makers concerning the value of biodiversity
and the importance of the conduct of individuals, businesses and
the authorities in preserving it and mitigating the impact of climate
change;
14.7 step up the fight against illegal trading in fauna and
flora;
14.8 fully respect the status of protected areas, extend them
as far as possible and establish environmental corridors to link
them, while focusing in particular on cross-border areas which are
more vulnerable because of the considerations of territorial sovereignty
that affect them;
14.9 ensure that the networks of protected areas and the environmental
corridors between them improve possibilities for flora and fauna
to adapt to climate change through migration;
14.10 prohibit large infrastructure projects that would cut
through, and thus destroy, the above-mentioned environmental corridors;
14.11 protect all old-growth forests, living wetlands and permanent
grasslands/pasture lands as carbon stores and sinks and important
habitats;
14.12 adapt forestry techniques in the forests used for economic
purposes so as to reduce the impact on climate and biodiversity;
14.13 facilitate transition to sustainable agriculture which
would produce quality products, maintain habitats and landscapes
with a high ecological value, and have a low impact on the climate;
14.14 support the renewable energy developments that have a
real effect on reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and have no
negative impact on biodiversity, and in no way support “greenwashing projects”;
14.15 co-ordinate the responses to climate change and biodiversity
loss by different sectors to achieve synergy and avoid conflicting
actions and duplication of efforts;
14.16 implement Recommendation No. 135 (2008) of the Standing
Committee of the Bern Convention on addressing the impacts of climate
change on biodiversity, which sets out detailed guidelines for concrete
action at all levels;
14.17 identify, on the basis of the experience acquired in the
context of the activities conducted with a view to achieving the
“2010 Biodiversity Target”, a common strategy for a common framework
of “post-2010 activities”.
