UNEP launches new 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership website

On 22 May 2009: the 16th International Day for Biological Diversity

Cambridge, UK, 22 May 2009 - The 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership (2010 BIP) is a global initiative, funded by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) that brings together over 40 international organizations to develop biodiversity indicators and assess biodiversity loss.

The 2010 BIP Secretariat, hosted by the UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Centre, launched a new version of its website on the International Day for Biological Diversity: 22 May 2009.

The website, www.twentyten.net, will be a unique portal to provide comprehensive information on global biodiversity indicators and trends; with an emphasis on reporting towards the "2010 Biodiversity Target".

The theme of 2009 International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB) is Invasive Alien Species - which present one of the greatest threats to biodiversity and the ecological and economic well-being of society. Each year the cost of damage caused by invasive species is estimated to be in the region of US$ 1.4 trillion. (Information: Global Invasive Species Programme, www.gisp.org).

This year's International Day for Biological Diversity marks the countdown to the publication of the third edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-3). The publication will be launched on IDB (22 May) 2010, which has been designated as the International Year of Biodiversity the United Nations. Over the next year the 2010 BIP partners will be working together to produce indicator results and storylines for inclusion in this publication.

In April 2002, 191 nations committed themselves to "achieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national level as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on Earth" at the 6th Conference of Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity. The 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership was established in a response to this target, to develop and promote the biodiversity indicators selected by the CBD for measuring progress towards this target.

The 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership is a global initiative to track progress towards achieving the "2010 biodiversity target" to significantly reduce the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010.

The 2010 BIP is a collaboration of over 40 international organizations and agencies developing global biodiversity indicators and is the leading source of information on trends in global biodiversity.

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