EU to aim high for biodiversity

In International Year of Biodiversity we would hope that governments would put behind them their poor performance in meeting the biodiversity targets set for this year and gird their loins (a strange expression!) and renew their efforts to make the world a safer place for our species and the millions of others with which we share this crowded planet. 

And the EU has taken a good first step in this direction - Friday's European Council's conclusions agreed that:

14. There is an urgent need to reverse continuing trends of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation.  The European Council is committed to the long term 2050 vision and the 2020 target set out in the Council's conclusions of 15 March 2010.

Pretty dull, well-hidden and uninspiring stuff you might think (well spotted!) but important nonetheless when you realise that this means that the EU is committed to conserving and restoring wildlife in the next decade.  And it means that the EU will be taking a leading position in the talks that run up to an international meeting in Japan before the end of the year.

We know that this outcome was not always certain - the realists argued that it was too difficult a task even to contemplate.  Why?, they argued, sign up to something we can't achieve?  Well, such a goal is certainly achievable if we put our minds to it but I'd have to admit it is likely that the world will fall some way short of complete success.  But my argument would be that falling short of an ambitious (and eminently sensible) goal is better than falling short of an unambitious goal - so let's aim high.

We know that the UK was helpful and influential in these negotiations - though we did have some doubts a few months ago whether that would be the case.  A group of us met the Biodiversity Minister, Huw Irranca-Davies, to discuss this very matter in January.  I just have a feeling that meeting did have an impact on the UK position - and we are grateful to the Minister for his efforts over the last few weeks.