In his Singapore Environment Lecture 2008, the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Ahmed Djoghlaf, stressed that “climate change is real, and represents a global challenge not only for humankind, but for every life on Earth.” Addressing the relationship between climate change and security, Executive Secretary Djoghlaf said “the loss of biodiversity is also another major threat to peace and security as it undermines the capacity of the ecosystems to continue providing their goods and services and sustaining life on Earth.

The findings of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, the result of four years of work by more than 1,395 experts from 95 countries, are also very explicit: the pressures on the planet’s natural functions caused by human activity have reached such a high level that the ability of ecosystems to satisfy the needs of future generations is seriously, and perhaps irretrievably, compromised.”
LECTURE | CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY |