UNEP-WCMC releases electronic report on the connections between biodiversity and poverty reduction in support of discussions at the G8 summit in Heiligendamm on the sustainable use of natural resources, and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals in Africa.

The report reviews current scientific knowledge regarding the links between biodiversity and the sustainable provision of ecosystem services, and considers the implications of these links for development policy. It does not set out to assess the economic value of biodiversity, the understanding of which will be fully reviewed through the recently-announced Potsdam Initiative , in a similar manner to that of the recent Stern report on the economics of climate change. However, this report makes a key contribution to our understanding of the reliance of people on biodiversity around the world.

Building on the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment , the report considers biodiversity in the broadest sense, to include variety at the genetic, species and ecosystem levels, and interactions between components of biodiversity, and therefore moves beyond a consideration of species diversity alone. The links between biodiversity and ecosystem services presented in this report underpin the relationship between the environment and development, and as such contribute towards an understanding of the most effective national, bilateral, and international efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, and an improved understanding of the true values of biodiversity.

The full report will be published in October this year, as a contribution to the 2007 Trondheim Conference on Biodiversity, the theme for which is Ecosystems and People - biodiversity and development - the road to 2010 and beyond.

Read the report

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is holding its triennial conference in The Hague from 3 to 15 June.

Among other issues, the participating Governments will consider some 40 new proposals for amending the rules for specific species. Many of the 40 proposals reflect growing international concern about the accelerating destruction of the world's marine and forest resources through overfishing and excessive logging.

UNEP-WCMC, on behalf of the government of the Netherlands, prepared three of these proposals, to include South and Central American cedar and three species of rosewood, in Appendix II. UNEP-WCMC provides a range of information management services to support the effective implementation of CITES, and produces an updated Checklist and Annotated Appendices after each CoP. Details are available here .

Reports of CoP14 activities are available each day from the Earth Negotiations Bulletin .

The Arctic Experience: Arctic biodiversity beyond Polar Bears

Biodiversity and Climate Change is the theme of this year’s International Day for Biodiversity. UNEP/GRID-Arendal and UNEP-WCMC are working with the Convention on Biological Diversity, The Convention on Migratory Species, the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement and the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program in highlighting the threats to Arctic biodiversity from climate change. Vulnerable species include the Polar Bear, but also a range of other species. To learn more about Arctic biodiversity and in particular Reindeer, Arctic Char, Red Knot and Ivory Gull, click here .