Europe Addresses Biodiversity Loss

This week, the European Commission announced in a press release that it had adopted a Communication setting out a plan to halt biodiversity loss by 2010. The Communication builds upon the 2010 Biodiversity Target, the Strategic Plan adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Including an EU Action Plan, the Communication sets out responsibilites of EU institutions and Member States, as well as concrete proposals for mechanisms to monitor progress and milestones. A memo detailing on EU Biodiversity Policy outlines critical figures. The Communication follows the earlier 1998 publication of the EU Biodiversity Strategy.