Book Description

We all depend on biodiversity, but we must make biodiversity relevant to people. The long-term loss of nature and biodiversity is, however, not as easily translated into clear messages, let alone economic opportunities, as are measures to tackle climate change. The changes are dispersed, and often act slowly and subtly. Connecting the economic problems and threats people face due to the degradation of our biological resources is also frequently hard to express in facts and figures, as we have seen with the efforts to replicate the review of the economic impacts of climate change. Yet we all see the impact of degradation and loss of biodiversity in our daily lives when we are hiking, fishing, hunting and enjoying nature. We must create a vision and a powerful metaphor, communicated to and understood by ordinary people, that describes our co-existence with and dependence upon nature and how the loss of nature reflects on ourselves as Nordic people and societies. The need to stop the loss of biodiversity does not end in 2010. What will we call upon now? That is our challenge. On 26-27 October 2009, the Nordic Council of Ministers hosted a Nordic symposium on biodiversity in Trondheim, Norway. The title chosen for this symposium was Nordic Biodiversity Beyond 2010 - Challenges and Experiences in Global Perspective. The aim was to take stock of Nordic biodiversity and look beyond 2010. About 70 participants from all the Nordic countries gathered in Trondheim for two days to start this work. They represented public authorities, non-governmental organizations and research institutions concerned with the goal of halting the loss of biodiversity in the Nordic countries. This report contains the results from this symposium as well as conclusions and recommendations for the future.