FINLAND will be unable to fulfil its commitment to stop biodiversity loss by 2020, concedes Kimmo Tiilikainen (Centre), the Minister of the Environment.
The Finnish government adopted an ambitious strategy for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in December 2012, stating that the main objective of the strategy is to halt biodiversity loss in Finland by 2020.
The strategy lays out a variety of measures to implement commitments made two years earlier at a meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Emma Kari (Greens) asked Tiilikainen in the Parliament on Thursday whether it is time to admit that the country will be unable to halt the degradation of biodiversity by the end of the year, despite its promises to do so.
Kari drew attention to a recent report on the vulnerability of natural habitats in Finland.
“The report is a bleak read. Almost half of habitat types in the entire country are vulnerable; all traditional habitat types were deemed vulnerable, while forest habitat types were the second worst off,” she highlighted. “Yet, Finland has committed to stopping the degradation of biodiversity by 2020, meaning by the end of this year.”
“Would it be time to admit that, as a consequence of the policies introduced, Finland won’t be able to meet the objective this year?”
Tiilikainen admitted that that is indeed the case.
“Finland, just like other countries, definitely won’t be able to meet the global objective of halting biodiversity loss by 2020,” he conceded. “We must admit that.”
Finland, he also pointed out, is one of the leading countries in the world in terms of its knowledge about natural habitat types. “Ignorance is bliss: we’re exceptionally knowledgeable when it comes to the development of species and living habitats, and those results are definitely alarming,” said Tiilikainen.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
Source: Uusi Suomi
