Brazilian Minister of Environment Izabella Teixeira, representing Brazil that currently chairs the group, introduced the joint communiqué on behalf of the LMMC, issued during the High-Level Meeting of the General Assembly on the International Year of Biodiversity, held at United Nations headquarters in New York.
On the occasion, LMMC countries reinforced the severe implications that the loss of biodiversity has for humanity. They called for urgent action “to value and protect biodiversity and associated traditional knowledge, share equitably and fairly the benefits arising from the use of biodiversity and the traditional knowledge, and harmonize international targets for biodiversity with those for financial cooperation”.
Speaking to the press on behalf of the LMMC, Izabella Teixeira called for a successful conclusion of negotiations on a Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS), on the new post-2010 Strategic Plan and on the Resource Mobilization Strategy at the COP10.
“They constitute the basic elements of an indivisible approach to secure the effective implementation of the Convention’s threefold objectives. It is only with agreements on the three elements of this package can we aim for a comprehensive and effective implementation of the Convention,” said Minister Teixeira.
LMMC was established in 2002 in Cancun as a mechanism for consultation and cooperation to promote common interests and priorities related to the preservation and sustainable use of biological diversity.
Participating countries include Bolivia, Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, South Africa and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
