COP10.org

– A Guide for Those Heading to Nagoya for COP10

By Eric Johnston
Feb 12, 2010

PART I—NGOs

Overture
Experience may be the best teacher, but only a poor fool relies exclusively upon it. To be forewarned is to be forearmed, and given that no less than the survival of life on earth and in the seas is at stake at the United Nations COP10 biodiversity conference, any NGO lamb who arrives in the urban jungle of Nagoya this October unprepared for certain realities will be quickly devoured by wild beasts wearing delegate or press badges, or run to ground by those under the influence of the Ministry of Trade, Economy, and Industry.

Given that climate change and biodiversity loss are strongly interlinked, and given the disaster that was last December’s climate change conference in Copenhagen and the current hand-wringing over what it means for not only COP10 but also the follow up climate change conference taking place shortly after Nagoya, it’s stunning to see COP10 so low on the list of international political and media priorities. Such lack of attention may please those hoping for a smoothly run kabuki performance by a select few that ends in a smoke-filled backroom agreement benefitting Fortune 500 companies. But hiding its light under a bushel doesn’t make it likely that COP10 will reach a treaty that actually forces the world to preserve biodiversity.

- A Guide for those Heading to Nagoya for COP10

by Eric Johnston
Feb 14, 2010

Part II – Media
I shall presume, for the sake of this missive that you, dear reader, are somebody who is interested in attending the COP10 conference as a member of the media but not working full-time for a media organization. Perhaps you are a freelancer constantly taking on assignments. Or, perhaps you merely dabble in writing, photography, film production, editing, or blogging on occasion. I shall also presume that, even if you have a good deal of journalism experience, you’ve yet to navigate a United Nations conference.

First, the basics (and this paragraph will be straightforward and snark-free). Media registration can be done on-line, through the Convention on Biological Diversity. You will need a media organization to sponsor you by having the publisher, editor, or producer send a letter to the UN certifying that you’ll be covering COP10 for them. Thankfully, this is a United Nations conference. That means the definition of "news media" is rather liberal.

Opinion Note

On January 7th, COP10 host country Japan released a long and vague set of guidelines for its post-2010 CBD target objectives (See post below).

COP10's recent preliminary docs envisioned some relatively strong language and salubrious goals:

Image by. SantiMB . via Flickr

• stopping the rate of biodiversity loss by 2020
• ending subsidies that harm biodiversity
• halting destructive fishing practices
• controlling the unintentional geographic transfer of species
• placing at least 15% of land and sea area under protection

Contrast the clarity and commitment of that language with Japan's most recent proposals:

• "to conduct full observations and analyses"
• "to make ecosystem services respected... and to mainstream biodiversity"
• "to expand activities... promote practical methods... and establish mechanisms"
• "to prepare systems to encourage"
• "to invite the wider participation of various stakeholders"

Even the most forthright goal - "Sub-target D: To take urgent measures against threats to biodiversity" -  only addresses alien species, climate change, damaging chemicals and endangered species protection, and in the mildest language at that. Nowhere are there any clear statements about the key issues of overfishing, destructive fishing practices, deforestation, harmful subsidies (eg., those that abet ODA megadevelopment projects or Japan's factory fishing and whaling industries) or about stopping, ending or halting anything at all.

Subjective Reportback on the Japanese NGO network's
January 23-24, 2010 COP10 prep meetings in Nagoya

Prepared for the Kyoto Journal's biodiversity mailing list
by W. David Kubiak
Jan 28, 2010

The Jan 23rd meeting in Nagoya was the third quarterly gathering of the CBD Shimin Network (CBDSN), a formalized conglomeration of 53 Nature/indigenous rights/organic ag/sustainability-related groups and NPOs. It is currently co-chaired by Masahito Yoshida (Edogawa University & prez of IUCN-J) and Susumu Takayama (Mie University), two mild-mannered ecology professors; is recognized as an official COP10 participant at the discretion of conference managers, the Environment and Foreign Ministries; has a prospective 11 million yen budget (7 mill coming in dollops from the government's Chikyu Kankyo Kikin - Global Environment Fund); and hence is somewhat passive and even nervous about some of their wild card participants.