Red List not enough

Experts push for an intergovernmental biodiversity panel

Posted by Maywa Montenegro (Guest Contributor) at 12:26 AM on 04 Dec 2007

Read more about: climate | energy | biodiversity | politics | international politics

For this enviro, Christmas is shaping up pretty nicely this year. Today, as post-Kyoto discussions commence in Bali, Australia has ratified the Kyoto Protocol, sweeping aside decades of Howard's curmudgeonly climate skepticism. Another unexpected gift came last month, when a group of 80 experts convened in France to mull over the future of biodiversity. Their consensus? That we need to establish a new intergovernmental panel -- akin to the IPCC -- to begin aggressively addressing the biodiversity crisis.

In words that would surely make E.O. Wilson proud, the committee said: "It is not enough to draw up a list of threatened or extinct species. Biodiversity needs to be seen as a whole, in terms of management but also of environmental services rendered, for instance from the point of view of adaptation to climate change." They hope to have a structure in place by 2008. Keep 'em rollin' in, Santa!

For story: Red List not enough
4 Comments | Post a Comment

"environmental services rendered"

Throwing this joyless economicsese term into what surely ought to be a thrilling mission looks like a sign of lazy cynical satisfaction with a least common denominator. Of course the meaning and value of species and ecosystems do not depend at all on the services that they render. And preserving biodiversity, the health of the community of living creatures, is the fundamental work of environmentalism.

Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.

by caniscandida at 1:24 AM on 04 Dec 2007

whatever works

This sounds like great news. As for the question of whether justifying it on the basis of "environmental services rendered" is cold and overly limited, I can live with that as long as it spurs action. Global warming has what little public traction that it does only because of its potential impact directly on us, and if we can protect biodiversity because of its benefits to us, I'll take that.

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by BernardBrown at 8:16 AM on 04 Dec 2007

It's okay, but....

...unless this intergovernmental panel actually forms an organization that can enforce it's findings with rules and regulations (a nd punishments and fines for violators), then it wouldn't be much better than the IPCC.

Conduction of surveys and scientific analysis of bodiversity and species is great, but unless the organization uses that information can actually form enforcable policy outta it, then all they provide is information, not action.

by Tasermons Partner at 11:10 AM on 04 Dec 2007

Time to stop studying it to death

and start doing something to protect it.

In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world

by biodiversivist at 12:26 PM on 05 Dec 2007

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