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Don't let our biodiversity fly away!

150 young Europeans urge a stronger and more ambitious biodiversity policy.

BRUSSELS, July 5th 2010 – This afternoon, 150 young people from 35 European countries organised an action to raise awareness on the topic of biodiversity. Each of them held a balloon representing Europe’s unique species and ecosystems. To symbolise their concerns regarding the rapidly accelerating rate of biodiversity loss they stopped the balloons from flying and handed them over to the European Commissioner for Environment Janez Potočnik. This was to convey the urgency for action to restore and protect European biodiversity.

The action was the result of the YouPEC international conference during which they learned, discussed and exchanged experiences on biodiversity. 2010 has not only been internationally declared as the International Year of Biodiversity, it is also the year of the Countdown 2010 target, the promise to halt the tremendous pace of biodiversity loss by 2010. Another outcome of the conference was the formulation of the Youth Perspective on Biodiversity.

However, biodiversity loss has not been halted, as outlined in the Countdown 2010 target, and

therefore the 150 participants of this conference urge European policy makers to act now. They are

convinced that they can offer valuable suggestions for the constitution of an ambitious and stronger

European biodiversity policy. According to them, Belgium, as the president of the European Union,

has a great opportunity to put biodiversity high on the international agenda.

The declaration

Although we are not the decision makers of tomorrow, it is us who will be living the consequences. This is about our future as biodiversity is our life insurance. A further decline of biodiversity is enormously dangerous for human beings, their well-being and welfare. Biodiversity loss leads, amongst other things, to lower agricultural productivity, unclean water and more natural disasters."

Therefore they plead for an ambitious biodiversity policy. Although Europe already has a good policy there is room for improvement. The European youth have outlined five recommendations for Europe:

- Europe must take a leading role on the topic of biodiversity in the COP 10 in Nagoya
- The integration of biodiversity in other policy areas
- More financial instruments for biodiversity protection and restoration
- Implementaion of Eurpoean directive in the national state
- Raise public awareness on the importance of biodiversity

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For further contact and the full conference program

Willem Laermans 0498/761141 willem@youpec2010.eu

Gorik Verstraeten 0499/286786 gorik@youpec2010.eu

websites: www.youpec2010.eu under ‘program’ and ‘press’ en www.jnm.be