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During a meeting of European states in Madrid on 21 January, EU Environment Commissioner Margot Wallstrom said that although EU leaders had agreed on halting the loss of biodiversity at all levels by 2010, much more needed to be done in relation to habitat loss, land use and climate change if this target was to be reached. Environment ministers from Europe, Russia and central Asian countries agreed in Madrid on a proposal to be presented to the upcoming Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP-7), to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, next month. They agreed on, inter alia, developing a network of protected areas both on land as well as on the sea, which currently fall outside of national jurisdictions. The proposal, however, was criticised by environmental groups as not ambitious enough and for lacking financial commitments to implement the plans. Achim Steiner from IUCN - The World Conservation Union reminded delegates of the global impact of decisions taken within Europe, as well as he introduced IUCN’s Countdown 2010 Initiative aimed at promoting action on issues crucial to the success of achieving the 2010 targets.
“Countdown 2010 Initiative takes shape across Europe,” IUCN, 20 January, 2004; “Europe Agrees on Proposals to Save Species,” ENS, 22 January 2004.
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