3 January 2011
CBD Closes International Year of Biodiversity
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The International Year of Biodiversity was closed in a ceremony in Kanazawa, Japan, on 18 December 2010.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement on the occasion, calling to build on the momentum generated in 2010.

The event aimed to serve as a bridge to the 2011 International Year of Forests.

18 December 2010: The International Year of Biodiversity was closed in a ceremony in Kanazawa, Japan, on 18 December 2010. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement on the occasion, calling for building on the momentum generated in 2010.

The event included statements on the outcomes of the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 10) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and aimed to serve as a bridge to the 2011 International Year of Forests. Secretary-General Ban said decision-makers had heard the message that biodiversity is central to poverty alleviation, development and human security, as demonstrated by agreements reached in Nagoya at COP 10, including on a new biodiversity vision, Aichi Biodiversity Targets to guide national strategies and South-South cooperation, a plan of action on cities and biodiversity, the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of the Benefits Arising from Their Utilization (ABS), and the Kuala Lumpur-Nagoya Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety.

Ban also lauded the conclusions of the UN Cancun Climate Change Conference, including agreement on REDD+, which supports the conservation and sustainable management of forests and thus will help to slow the rate of biodiversity loss. He noted that the High-level Panel on Global Sustainability (GSP), which is his initiative, would have a focus on protecting ecosystems and would work to”connect the dots” between climate change and other concerns. Ban called for the acceleration of momentum into the 2011 International Year of Forests and the 2011-2020 UN Decade on Biodiversity, to protect the Earth’s “diversity and complexity, for the benefit of present and future generations.” [Statement of UNSG] [Website of IYB closing event]

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