Video: "Biodiversity - Europe needs to inspire global action"

Every day we see how nature and biodiversity are threatened on our planet. For weeks we were watching on our TV screens how oil spread out in the Gulf of Mexico. And yesterday I was struck by the images of toxic red mud in Hungary. These events remind us of the need to protect nature on a global scale.

Europe cares about nature and environment. We have the policies, the budgets, the laws.

But what we Europeans need to do, is to inspire global action.

In less than two weeks, the world gathers in Nagoya for a very important Conference on biodiversity. The world needs to agree on targets, strategies and actions to save biodiversity. This is not an abstract matter. It is about the riches of nature: species, ecosystems, natural resources. It's about the birds and butterflies that we've all known during our childhood and that have silently disappeared.

The benefits of nature are countless. So are the reasons to protect it. It is a moral duty. It is about solidarity. It is about economical benefits: nature is a source of food, a basis for tourism and research.

In my visit to a National Park in Belgium, together with fellow politicians and nature organizations, I will give a sign to the world. We must keep biodiversity at the top of our agendas.

For me, nature offers peace and continuity, in a world where everything changes fast. And it is a major source of inspiration for my poems.

From lots to nothing
From riches to scarcity
This spiral must stop.
_____________________

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• EU Joint statement on outcome of COP10 Conference on Biological Diversity in Nagoya (29/10/2010)
• Statement by EU Commissioner Potočnik on negotiations at Biodiversity conference in Nagoya (27/10/2010)
• Why is the EU is calling for a strategic target of halting the loss of biodiversity by 2020?  (25/10/2010)
• Un rapport inédit révèle l'importance fondamentale de la biodiversité dans l'économie (20/10/2010)
• EU Council Conclusions on Convention on Biodiversity (Nagoya) (14/10/2010)
• Biodiversity: Assessment confirms EU missed 2010 target, but important lessons learned  (8/10/2010)
• EU Statement - United Nations General Assembly: High-Level Meeting on the International Year of Biodiversity (22/9/2010)
• International Year of Biodiversity - Roundtable Statement by EU Commissioner Potočnik following the UN High-Level Meeting (22/9/2010)
• Biodiversity: Powering up local authorities around the globe (9/9/2010)
• ''Biodiversity in a Changing World'' - Speech by EU Commissioner Potočnik (9/9/2010)
• Biodiversité: la Commission souhaiterait recueillir des avis sur les actions envisageables au niveau de l'Union européenne en matière de diversité biologique  (7/9/2010)
• Journée mondiale de la biodiversité: des milliers de personnes en contact avec la nature grâce à la campagne de l'UE (21/5/2010)