EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - UNESCO World Heritage

Foreword
In May 2008, the city of Bonn is host
to the ninth meeting of the Conference
of the Parties to the Convention on
Biological Diversity (CBD COP 9). The CBD
links conservation of biodiversity to the
sustainable use of natural resources and
the fair and equitable sharing of benefits
arising out their utilisation. A key CBD
target is to achieve a significant reduction
in the current rate of biodiversity loss
by 2010.
In order to see what has been
achieved so far and what still needs to be
done, it is necessary to take stock of the
state of biodiversity and the natural
environment and of factors affecting
them. The German Federal Agency for
Nature Conservation (BfN) provides a
comprehensive survey for this purpose in
‘Nature Data’, presented here in its fifth
edition.
The Nature Data publications provide
information on the state and utilisation
of nature in Germany and on conservation
activities engaged in to date to
conserve biodiversity at all levels. They
record successes achieved, but also show
the need for further nature conservation
and policy action. By documenting key
data at regular intervals, the publications
make it possible to track important
developments in core fields of nature
conservation, for example regarding the
conservation status of ecosystems,
designation of protected areas, and
progress in species conservation at
national and international level.
The updated German Red List of
Threatened Habitat Types, for example,
shows that the number of habitat types
classed as critically endangered has
decreased and conservation efforts are
showing results. On the other hand, an
increase in the number of habitat types in
the endangered and vulnerable categories
indicates urgent need for further action.
Nature Data 2008 illustrates how threatened
bird species like the black stork and
Montagu’s harrier can be successfully
promoted with targeted species conservation
activities. However, such successes
are parallelled by a major decline in
species once common to agricultural
landscapes.
These examples, like many of the facts
presented in Nature Data 2008, emphasise
the ongoing need for intensive joint
action at regional, national and international
level to counter threats to biodiversity
and to the ecological capacity of
the natural environment. The wideranging
contribution of official and
voluntary nature conservation can secure
considerable progress but is not enough
on its own to achieve the desired objectives.
In place of a sectoral approach to
conservation, it is essential to apply a
broad-based, cross-cutting strategy that
takes in all relevant policy areas and
combines conservation with development
and sustainable use. The German National
Biodiversity Strategy adopted in November
2007 records the will of the German
government to make progress in all
biodiversity-related policy areas with the
active involvement of social actors. The
aims of this strategy are furthered among
other things by work to safeguard the
national natural heritage and the funding
programmes implemented by the Federal
Agency for Nature Conservation, for
example for large scale nature conservation
projects. The successful establishment
of a suite of sites for the Natura
2000 network in the German North Sea
and Baltic Exclusive Economic Zone
likewise underscores the German government’s
ability to take action and its
awareness of the country’s responsibilities.
In face of diverse change, nature
conservation itself can never be static but
must flexibly adapt as conditions evolve.
This is reflected in the various editions of
Nature Data by regularly taking up new
topics and areas of emphasis. On the topical
issue of climate change and biodiversity,
for example, Nature Data 2008
contains a detailed discussion on monitoring
and indicators, presenting both
existing approaches and upcoming
research and development needs in this
subject central to the future of nature
conservation. Nature conservation and
health represent a new area where
synergies can be obtained. In the discussion
of land and resource use as they
relate to nature conservation, particular
Foreword
emphasis is placed on the use of biomass
as a factor of increasing importance.
With this combination of regularly
recurring and topical new subject areas,
Nature Data 2008 comprehensively covers
all important aspects of the conservation
and development of nature and the
landscape in Germany and world-wide. A
large variety of data, information and
maps are supplemented with numerous
pointers for further reading on the BfN
website and elsewhere online. An
appendix section with useful addresses
completes this reference work on nature
conservation.
Such a comprehensive work as Nature
Data 2008 is necessarily a cooperative
effort involving many contributors. I
would like to thank all involved – and
especially the staff of the Federal Agency
for Nature Conservation – for providing
articles, data and information. Nature
Data 2008 would not have been possible
without them.
Prof. Dr. Beate Jessel
President of the Federal Agency for
Nature Conservation
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