in October 2010 that the governments who signed up to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) have missed their 2010 target, set in 2002, of achieving “a significant reduction in the rate of biodiversity loss”.


Small tortoiseshell- above and below Adult and caterpillars - Biodiversity is all species and includes even our most common species such as the regularly seen small tortoiseshell butterfly


income countries of the West, we would need three more planet earths to sustain us. If we wish to develop sustainably we cannot continue with the current levels of expansion which require such intensive use of our natural resources.


For example, here in Northern Ireland, we have lost in the region of 95 percent of our ancient woods and only about 9 percent of our raised bogs remain intact. A quarter of the UK and Ireland’s flowering plants have become rarer and a third of all bird species recorded in Northern Ireland are now considered to need special conservation action. Many of our internationally valuable habitats, such as species-rich semi-natural grasslands and wet woodlands, are at risk of serious damage or permanent loss.


Occasionally a natural process, such as a flood or volcano threatens the existence of a particular species or habitat. However, in the majority of cases it is the way we use our natural resources that is causing this extreme loss of biodiversity. Although we have little understanding of what the components of our complex web of life are, we know that as a whole they have made it possible for our species to survive and prosper. This web is inherently fragile and the way we act affects our existence in it, as well as the web itself. We need to consider new options as to how to safeguard both our local and global biodiversity to ensure quality of life not just for ourselves and future generations, but also for the other species with which we share the planet. The Earth is, after all, the only home we have.


Communication problems It was clear from the Nagoya Conference |156| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE


Delegates to a London conference and other meetings held during the Year of Biodiversity have freely admitted that this failure to act results partly from shortcomings in communication. The scientific community has not been able to effectively communicate its concerns to decision-makers, at least not in a way that sufficiently prioritises biodiversity conservation within a political agenda predominantly concerned with employment and economic growth / recovery. At least part of the problem may be in the term itself. In 2010, the Year of Biodiversity, the BBC reported that when members of the


public were asked “what biodiversity was?” the most common answer was “a kind of washing powder.” Ouch!


There have been many attempts over the years to develop a simple and understandable definition of the term “biodiversity”. These range from the complex e.g. “the wealth of ecosystems in the biosphere, of species within ecosystems and of genetic information within populations” or at the other end of the definition scale; Wealth of Wildlife’, summarised simply as WOW! However, despite the range of definitions available, it is clear that we are not succeeding in communicating to the general public exactly what biodiversity is, or how important it is. Without this understanding there will be no buy-in to biodiversity by communities or industries.


Given such myopia, it’s understandable that Mike Shanahan, press officer at the International Institute for Environment and Development, suggested on his


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