SECRETARY-GENERAL DESCRIBES BIODIVERSITY CONVENTION PROGRESS, THREATS TO ECOSYSTEMS, IN BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY DAY MESSAGE

Press Release
SG/SM/7264
OBV/129

SECRETARY-GENERAL DESCRIBES BIODIVERSITY CONVENTION PROGRESS, THREATS TO ECOSYSTEMS, IN BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY DAY MESSAGE

Following is the message of Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the International Day for Biological Diversity, which is observed 29 December:

The Convention on Biological Diversity, which entered into force on this day six years ago, is the main instrument that the international community has given itself with which to preserve the fragile web of life on our one and only earth. There are now 176 parties to the Convention, which has three main objectives: the conservation of biological diversity; the sustainable use of its components; and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources. These three areas are interdependent; if the Convention is to be successful, progress in each is essential.

Technological advances have made it possible to use the world's genetic resources in new ways, with many benefits for human beings. Naturally, people expect that these benefits will be shared by humanity as a whole. An expert body established by the Convention to address this question met for the first time in Costa Rica this past October. The recommendations formulated there will be submitted to the fifth meeting of the Conference of Parties (Nairobi, May 2000), which is expected to adopt a programme of work in this area. I am encouraged by this progress and I invite all governments, relevant international organizations and the private sector to approach this crucial work with an open mind.

Negotiations on a protocol on biosafety and regulating the transboundary movement of living modified organisms have also reached a crucial stage. Next month in Montreal, an extraordinary meeting of the Conference of Parties will resume with a view to finalizing the protocol. Success in these negotiations would send a strong and timely signal to the international community that environmental concerns can be satisfied without creating new obstacles to free trade. I urge all concerned to work constructively to ensure the successful outcome of these negotiations.

Clearly, many nations are making commendable efforts to adhere to the Convention. Still, the threats to species and to ecosystems remain ominous; species extinctions caused by human activities continue at an alarming rate. On

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this last Biodiversity Day of the twentieth century, let us resolve to make the next century a harmonious one: between economy and environment, between consumption and conservation, between present needs and those of the future. And let us keep constantly in mind that preservation of the planet's biological diversity is a common concern of all humankind and an essential feature of the transition to sustainable development.

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