Today is World Biodiversity Day, and yet biodiversity is disappearing at an unprecedented rate. The EU has a package of measures in place to try and halt the loss, with an action plan well under way, a huge network of protected areas nearing completion, and a major report forthcoming on the economic consequences of biodiversity loss.

Policymakers are aware of the problem, and in 2002 the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and its 190 Contracting Parties pledged to significantly reduce the loss of biodiversity by 2010. The EU went a step further, and pledged to halt the loss altogether by the same date. Progress in the EU has been fair to date, but the world needs more national and international alliances between policymakers, scientists, the public and business to stop the loss. There is still a need to raise awareness.

The Convention is currently meeting in Bonn, Germany, where many related issues will be in the spotlight, including agriculture and forest biodiversity, deforestation, protected areas (including the need for increased funding and protected ocean areas), the biodiversity impacts of the increasing demand for biofuels, the harmonisation of biodiversity and climate change adaptation and mitigation measures.

The loss of biodiversity also affects the economy. For this reason, together with the German Environment Ministry, the Commission has launched an initiative to draw attention to the global economic benefits of biodiversity and highlight the cost of biodiversity loss and deteriorating ecosystems. The first results of the study will be presented at the Convention on Biological Diversity in Bonn next week.

Natura 2000

One of the Commission's biggest contributions to the fight against biodiversity loss is the Natura 2000 network. This is now the largest ecological network in the world, consisting of around 25,000 sites spread across 27 countries and covering an area bigger than the Amazon river basin. The green infrastructure it provides safeguards numerous ecosystem services and ensures that Europe's natural systems remain healthy and resilient. The network makes it possible for rare animals such as the otter, the beaver and the wolf to re-populate areas from which they have been absent for centuries. It also serves to reconnects an increasingly urban society with nature.

The designation of land territory for Natura 2000 is approaching completion. Last month, in April, New expansions were added to the Natura 2000 network. A total of 18,784 square kilometres are in Austria, Cyprus, Finland, France, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. The next big step will be the extension of the network to marine areas, which will be added in the next few years. The completed network will provide a solid basis for fighting biodiversity loss and securing natural ecosystems – our prosperity and future.