Press Release:Commission takes steps to halt loss of biodiversity

On 28.3.01, the European Commission adopted a series of action plans to integrate the protection of biodiversity into EU agricultural, fishery, environment and development and co-operation policies. Rich biodiversity is important as it provides the raw materials that our society needs. It is essential for the long-term sustainability of agriculture and fisheries and it is the basis for many industrial processes and the production of new medicines. The aim of the action plans is to stop losses in wildlife, ecosystems, varieties of crops, domestic animals and fish. The plans define concrete actions and measures and specify measurable targets to ensure a reversal of the current trend. The plans stem from the European Community Biodiversity Strategy adopted in 1998 where the Commission promised to spell out precisely how it would achieve the objectives of the strategy, and implement the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted in Rio in 1992.

• Primary Source

http://ec.europa.eu/comm/environment/biodiversity/index_en.htm http://ec.europa.eu/comm/environment/biodiversity/index_en.htm

http://biodiversity-chm.eea.europa.eu/ http://biodiversity-chm.eea.europa.eu/

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