BGCI Presents Climate Change Report to World’s Scientific Community

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PARIS, FRANCE

3rd July 2007

Sara Oldfield speaking at the SBSTTA meeting

At a meeting of leading scientists and international policy makers at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, BGCI today presented the Gran Canaria Declaration II on climate change and plant conservation.

Gathering for the twelfth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (known as SBSTTA, pronounced 'substa'') of the Convention on Biological Diversity, delegates are meeting to discuss how scientific and technical know-how could enhance the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

>Read Daily updates from the SBSTTA Meeting

Rising to the top of their agenda, climate change and its impacts will prove a key theme, as well as an in-depth assessment of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC).

In support of these efforts, BGCI Secretary General, Sara Oldfield, personally presented the Gran Canaria Declaration II on climate change and plant conservation on behalf of BGCI to the world’s scientists. The declaration, developed by BGCI and its partners and published in April 2006, assesses the threat that climate change poses for plant biodiversity and draws up guidelines for a global response to the challenges this poses. Studies on the implications of climate change for conservation efforts, such as this are likely to prove indispensable for the future planning of biodiversity use and conservation.

The presentation took place at the side event today, as part of her talk on 'Plant Conservation and Climate Change: Implications and Options for Achieving the Targets of the GSPC’, marking the latest move in BGCI’s long standing support of the activities of the GSPC.

“BGCI’s has been intimately involved with the GSPC since its conception,” said Sara “and we are delighted that the significant scientific know-how our network offers can prove useful to conservation efforts on a truly global scale”.

Working closely with the Secretariat of the CBD, BGCI has played a central role in the development, promotion and implementation of the GSPC since signing an MOU in 2003, including the secondment of a member of its staff.
SBSTTA's recommedations will be addressed at the next meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention, to be held in Bonn, Germany, from 19 to 30 May 2008.

The agenda and documents for the meeting are available at: http://www.cbd.int/sbstta12

Gran Canaria Declaration II - climate change and plant conservation - PDF (5,831KB)

>Read Daily updates from the SBSTTA Meeting

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

This Convention addresses the concern that human activities have increased in the average temperature of the earth's surface and thus changed the basic conditions that have allowed life to exist on earth.

Climate Change and Plant Conservation

Climate change is already happening and is predicted to get much worse. This page outlines the effects that climate change may have on plant communities, and thus the threats to the well-being of human societies that depend on them.

Climate Change: What Can Botanic Gardens Do to Help?

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European Union's Climate Change Website
How can you control climate change? Climate change is a global problem, and yet each one of us has the power to make a difference. Even small changes in our daily behaviour can help prevent greenhouse emissions without affecting our quality of life. In fact, they can save us money.

Climate Ark
Climate Ark is a climate change and global warming internet portal and search engine that promotes public policy that addresses global climate change through reductions in carbon dioxide and other emissions, renewable energy, energy conservation and ending deforestation.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) its a international association of scientists that provides authoratative information on current and predicted extent and impacts of climate change.

The Convention on Biological Diversity
Signed by 150 government leaders at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, the Convention on Biological Diversity is dedicated to promoting sustainable development. The CBD is a global, comprehensive agreement addressing all aspects of biological diversity: genetic resources, species, and ecosystems.

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Download the Gran Canaria Declaration on Climate Change as a PDF

In issuing its ‘Gran Canaria Declaration on Climate Change and Plant Conservation’ the Gran Canaria Group, whose membership is drawn from major biodiversity conservation organisations around the world, calls on the international community to take urgent action to protect global plant diversity.

The No-nonsense Guide to Climate Change (Dinyar Godrej, 2001)

This easy to read overview of climate change sifts scientific theory from scientific fact and presents the impacts on health, farming and wildlife, along with an analysis of political negotiations on the issue and potential solutions to it.