Bonn - Monday 19 May

MORNING SESSION

IISD Coverage of CBD COP9

The IISD provides full reporting on the CBD COP9 Event. Click on the ENB or ENB On the Side links below for info on the main COP events and side events respectively.

IISD produces daily reports on each which are also linked to the relevant dates below.

ENB - 20 May - Covers info about the 19th

ENB On the side - 20 May - Info on the side events of 19th

Opening addresses:

See the opening addresses here - (RealOnePlayer required).


COP 9 President Sigmar Gabriel, Germany's Environment Minister, called for a clear mandate for concluding negotiations on the international regime on access and benefit-sharing (ABS), and for improved financing for global biodiversity conservation, including linking climate protection instruments and nature conservation.







Mayor of Bonn Bärbel Dieckmann outlined Bonn’s initiatives focusing on biodiversity, and efforts to join forces with other administrations.















Statement of Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary, at the Opening Session of the Ninth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, Bonn, 19 May 2008;
I'm hoping that the opening statements by the other dignatories will be available also.


Representatives of the International Youth Conference “Biodiversity on the Edge” (13-19 May 2008, Bonn) demanded: the integration of sustainable development education into school curricula; a protocol on protected areas; no patents on living organisms; prohibition of genetically modified organisms; full and effective participation of indigenous and local communities; and measurable targets for biodiversity protection.











Kids from various schools in Bonn perform during the opening plenary












AFTERNOON SESSION

In the afternoon I attended the Working Group 1 Session that covered:
Agricultural Biodiversity;
Global Strategy for Plant Conservation.


Maria Mbengashe (DEAT, South Africa) chairing Working Group 1 in the afternoon












A view of the main conference venue at the Maratim Hotel












Some useful links:
CBD Secretariat
CBD COP 9 official website
Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety Web page
COP 9 Meeting Documents
Summary of major issues at COP 9
International Day for Biological Diversity
Global Biodiversity Outlook
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
Countdown 2010 initiative

EVENING SESSION

Music evening at the Bonn Art Museum.
See pics below:


It's still light till almost 10pm!













Some road signs relating to the conference























































Flags of half the participating nations ...













... and the other half.

The SA flag is approx centre of the picture.











Two drumming groups from Japan

GOCOO - (check them out on YouTube) and
GoRo from Japan

Absolutely fantastic!








Bob Geldorf - Ireland

No introduction needed!











Daniela Mercury - Brazil

Wow!











Daniela - the audience couldn't get enough













After the concert I walked the 5km or so back to my hotel. It was a lovely cool evening.


The (Biodiversity) Museum Koenig (sp?)









Main entrance of Museum Koenig


















Sorry about the blurred pic but this sign gives the number of vacant parking bays in the parking garages in the town centre.

What a good idea!














The road passes under the university.



















Closer view of the arches

Bonn - Sunday 18 May

Today I registered at the conference venue. Sunday was a good day to register as the venue was reasonably quiet.

For detailed info about the conference agenda see here.


The Conference venue is the Maratim Hotel which is the same venue as the UNFCCC intersessional (annually between the annual COPs) that I attended here in May 2004.

The UNFCCC (Climate change) secretariat is based here in Bonn while the secretariat of the CBD is in Montreal.






The whole precinct is well signposted.


















Just outside the venue is the plaza of diversity. A veritable village of exhibits occupying the campus where the German Environment, Health and Transport are situated.










The Cities and Biodiversity exhibit.

The Mayor of Johannesburg will be one of six or so mayors contributing to a presentation to the high level segment (national minister's segment) of the COP.








As a woodworker this puzzle in the German Ministry of Environment interested me.

Unfortunately there was no explanation but I can imagine that once complete one can use it to demonstrate tree rings and explain tree ages compared to historical events or something similar.






I loved this pig which was part of a schools exhibition.












There is a huge focus here on the CBD's 2010 Biodiversity Target.

Certainly at provincial level in SA I haven't even heard about it!
Though I must admit to having my head buried in Climate Change for the past two years.

When I get back I'm going to make it the focus of the Biodiversity Management community in the province and suggest that we organise a big biodiversity festival to celebrate the International Day for Biodiversity (May 22) in 2010.

I'm collecting ideas while I am here. But we will have to make it a new departmental policy priority next year to have the funds to achieve anything worthwhile. The latest EU directives on Biodiversity will apparently cost Germany over 600M Euros to implement - what chance of the Western Cape providing anything additional for biodiversity management!

Business and Biodiversity Forum - I must try to attend but it will depend on delegation commitments. See here for more info.











The Plaza of Diversity

Today was music from all over the world.

I see that Hugh Masakela of SA is one of the performers at the main conference opening event tomorrow evening.







Nature Conservation is ...













A fascinating series of posters by the German Environmental Ministry












Giving a simple explanation of all the elements of environmental conservation ...












... or Biodiversity Management if you will













Biodiversity origami - again


















That furthest box represented 'Sud Afrika' nogal!













Youth development

NAJU 'Klima Akademie'











An interesting interactive exhibit to illustrate fish ladders ...


















... with a detailed info sheet about the need for fish ladders.












Pavement art.

A project of HELP.

Climate protection and development assistance.










The German Environmental Ministry's exhibit.













Wild flowers and grasses.


















A sample of four posters from a large exhibit about invasive alien fauna and flora.









































































Many interactive exhibits ...

... as part of the CEPA Fair

Communication, education and public awareness (CEPA) is central and essential to the implementation of the Convention. It is for this reason that Article 13 encourages the promotion of the importance of, and the measures required for, the conservation of biological diversity through the media and the inclusion of relevant topics in educational programmes. The importance of CEPA to the mainstreaming of biodiversity into a variety of sectors is also reflected in the Strategic Plan.


German Forests' exhibit - Wood produced sustainably.

And then it was back to the hotel to catch up on my blog and do lots of preparatory reading about South Africa's position on the various issues for in-depth consideration to be negotiated further at the conference.