Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity

[ ] 17 Do you know the most effective way, within the space of a couple of months, of making the entire government aware of the complexity of the biodiversity concept? Invite the CBD COP to hold a meeting in your country. My country that, in 2018 celebrates the same 25th anniversary as the Convention on Biological Diversity, was privileged to host the IV meeting of the CBD COP in 1998, at the time when the unforgettable Calestous Juma was the CBD Executive Secretary. It was a fascinating period when, between 4 and 15 May, Bratislava, a small Slovak city, became the symbolic capital city of biodiversity for a time. It was visited by thousands of participants from at least 172 delegations, who were Parties to the Convention at CBD COP-4, including environmental ministers or their representatives, and Bratislava, usually quiet, tested the capacity of the then rather scarce accommodation in the city and its surroundings. Meeting for the first time in eighteen months, delegates to the COP had a broad agenda that paved way for biodiversity actions in the third millennium. Among 19 decisions adopted, the most notable achievements included adoption of work programmes for several key ecosystems: forest, marine and coastal, and inland water. The latter was focused, among others, on collaborative effort leading to the first global assessment of inland water biodiversity. Another important result of the COP-4 was the establishment of the open-ended ad hoc working group mandated to aid implementation of Article 8(j) and related provisions of the Convention, including advising on the application and development of legal and other appropriate forms of protection for the knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities embodying traditional lifestyles relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. The respective decision also called for the widest possible representation from indigenous and local communities at the group and in national delegations at the CBD meetings. The meeting dealt with the first national reports, touched on the functioning of the Convention bodies, and set main themes for the next three COP meetings. Overall, the Bratislava meeting launched the transition from a focus on startup activities to a longer-term action plan. Mr. László Sólymos Minister of Environment of the Slovak Republic