As of: 30.05.2008

• Title: Closing Statement of the President of COP 9, Mr. Sigmar Gabriel, Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety of Germany

• Speaker: President of COP 9, Mr. Sigmar Gabriel, Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety of Germany
• Occasion: 9th Ordinary Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 9) from 19 to 30 May 2008 in Bonn
• Date/Location: 30.05.2008, Bonn

Distinguished Delegates, Colleagues and Friends, we are coming to the end of this High- Level Segment of the 9th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD. And I want to start my closing remarks with thanking you! These were challenging, exciting and inspiring days for me. I hope you feel the same. I think you made a wonderful job in contributing to the outcomes of the COP. You took leadership and you followed my invitation to get involved into the COP process! We had no experience with this format under the CBD. But I think the success shows us, that this is the right track. Our meeting has been instrumental for CoP-9 to achieve significant progress on key topics such as:

• The development of a set of criteria for assessing the potential impacts of biofuels on biodiversity. These should inform existing and emerging standards and certification schemes of relevant bodies relating to the production and consumption of sustainable bioenergy,
• The establishment of networks of protected areas and the related Life Web Initiative,
• Forest biodiversity with a special focus on addressing the potential threat of Genetically Modified trees,
• Marine biodiversitiy with a special focus on addressing the potential threat of oceans fertilization,
• The cooperation between the CBD and the United Nations Convention to Combat Climate.

Until yesterday late night our colleagues were involved in the process, when the negations on the important issue of biofuels reached a critical point. I thank our Colleagues Ambassador Magno from Brazil and Minister Andreas Carlgren from Sweden to help us to find a solution even at this late hour.

Colleagues, the German CBD Presidency will take care of all the issues that are on the Work programme of the CBD. Furthermore I want to have a special focus on a number of issues that I feel to be essential to enhance the effectiveness of our work.

Having only two years left to meet the 2010 target set by heads of states and governments 2002 at the WSSD in Johannesburg the German CBD Presidency will be guided by a clear roadmap to COP 10. We will do our utmost that the decisions taken by COP 9 are implemented comprehensively and timely. We will enhance cooperation and team-spirit amongst parties and bodies of the CBD. We will try to bridge gaps inside the CBD-family and to others outside. We will also try to convince those countries, still outside the CBD to join and make the Convention the real global one for all life in all countries on earth!

Our "Bonn Agenda on Global Biodiversity" of the German CBD Presidency will have a special focus on the following issues

1. Access and Benefit Sharing
   Finalizing the ABS-Regime timely to be adopted at COP 10 will be the key task of the German CBD-Presidency. The negotiation process is well designed by COP 9-decisions with a number of working group meetings both on political as on scientific experts level.
   I will invite ministers from all regions of the world to form a high level group of Friends of the Presidency to give political guidance on the CBD process with special focus on ABS - when ever it is needed.
2. LifeWeb Initiative
   The Protected Areas Programme of Work will be assessed at COP 10. Key is the enhanced management of existing protected areas and the establishment of additional ones to fill the gaps in the global net of protected areas. COP 9 welcomed the LifeWeb Initiative as one tool to assist in implementing the Programme of Work.
   Many parties announced that they want to be involved in this Initiative. The German CBD Presidency will - in cooperation with the CBD Secretariat and other institutions -facilitate to make the LifeWeb Initiative a vital one. We want to make the LifeWeb Initiative an effective tool to protect our precious forests.
   
3. Mobilizing financial resources
   Appropriate financing of all three pillars of the CBD is vital. The German CBD-presidency will pay special attention to enhance cooperation between CBD, GEF and other funding institutions and mechanism. We will continue our efforts to establish new and innovative funding mechanism on all levels.
   
4. The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity
   Under the leadership of Pavan Sukhdev we will continue our work on the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity. We will provide a comprehensive report before COP 10 which will allow to compare the costs of action with the cost of non-action on Biological Diversity.
   
5. Beyond 2010
   A thorough assessment on the 2010 target is necessary. Together with other institutions we will analyze to what extent we have reached the 2010 target. We want to understand why countries or regions were able to meet the challenge or not.
   We will follow the invitation of the President of the United Nations General Assembly to cooperate in the preparation of a special session of UNGA on Biodiversity.
   
6. Global Biodiversity Governance
   The CBD has achieved a lot since the World Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Regarding our enormous challenge of holding the loss of biodiversity we have to assess whether the approach, the governance and the way we work is efficient and appropriate. We will start a discussion inside the CBD, with other Partners in the UN and with those how might have an outside view on our convention.
   Biodiversity need s an effective science-policy interface. We will support the Imoseb Process and all efforts to synergize with other relevant processes like MEA.