Nations back up regional integration in biodiversity management

Almost two dozen countries, huddled in Costa Rica this week for the Fair of Environmental Solutions, threw their support behind the host country’s proposal to integrate biodiversity management policies all across Latin America.

Planners of the event –organized by the Costa Rican Ministry of Energy and the Environment, and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP)- was thought up as an opportunity to share Costa Rica’s successful policy of sustainable development and preservation with the rest of the world.

“Costa Rica has made significant progress in development and environmental policies. But we’re convinced that if these efforts could be integrated in a regional scope, we could make far more headway in guaranteeing a healthier and more productive environment for future generations,” said Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, Costa Rica’s Minister of Environmental Protection.

Patricia Koleff, technical director of Mexico’s National Commission for Biodiversity Usage and Knowledge, noted that without the implementation of sustainable development models at a regional level before the year 2050, more than half of the planet’s biodiversity will be lost for good.

Despite some good national initiatives in the pipeline, global efforts in that particular sense must be maxed out.

Attendants to the event –over 150 representatives from governments and NGOs from the Western Hemisphere and elsewhere- were briefed on Costa Rican policies and programs in the fields of ecotourism, nonpolluting manufacturing processes, biodiversity preservation and fees levied on environmental services.