Libreville International Conference 2-3 June 2010

"Bolstering Biodiversity in Africa: Everyone's Problem and Heritage"

LIBREVILLE, Gabon, December 2 - Coinciding with the International Year of Biodiversity, 2-3
June 2010 the Gabonese Republic is hosting an international conference in
Libreville (Gabon) on the issue of safeguarding biological resources in
Africa. The conference will be attended by government and state leaders,
ministers, scientific experts, private companies, representatives of
international organisations and figures from general society.

The Libreville conference has been organised in partnership
with the United Nations Secretariat for the Convention on Biological
Diversity (CBD) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
and will focus on a core issue underlying global concerns, namely "Bolstering
biodiversity in Africa: everyone's problem and heritage".

Gabon, an integral part of Africa's lungs

The Congo Basin, which covers Gabon, Cameroon, Equatorial
Guinea, Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African
Republic, is the world's second largest area of natural tropical rain forests
behind the Amazon region.

The Congo Basin forest alone accounts for nearly 200 million
hectares or 30% of the plant cover on the African continent and 19% of the
world's tropical rain forests.

Furthermore, under the presidency of His Excellency Omar Bongo
Ondimba, Gabon has implemented a policy to preserve natural areas by setting
up a chain of 13 national parks protecting nearly 11% of the country's forest
and water regions.

An international concern

At a time when safeguarding biodiversity in Africa is becoming
a major issue for everyone, the Gabonese Republic is hosting a conference
that will contribute to the international debate on the link between
protecting biodiversity and economic growth. How can we exploit biological
diversity, an asset for the future just like mineral and energy resources, on
a sustainable basis without damaging it? What do we have to do to ensure
success?

The Libreville conference will launch the debate on boosting
awareness by promoting the introduction of a committee of the pan-African
IPBES, the scientific Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and
Ecosystem Services - the equivalent of the IPCC on climate. In addition to
participating in the celebrations for the International Year of Biodiversity
(United Nations resolution no. 61/203), the Libreville conference will also
cover the planned agenda of the 10th Conference of the Parties to the
Convention on Biological Diversity, which will be held in October 2010 in
Nagoya, Japan.

Institutional partner:

* Convention on Biological Diversity: the Convention on
Biological Diversity is an international treaty adopted during the Rio de
Janeiro 1992 Earth Summit that has three objectives: preserving biological
diversity; using it sustainably; and sharing the benefits arising from
exploitation of genetic resources on a fair and equitable basis.

Technical and scientific partners:

* International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN): The
IUCN is the largest global network for protecting the environment, comprising
over 1,000 member organisations from 160 countries including 200 governments
and 800 NGOs, as well as close to 11,000 voluntary scientists and experts
from around 160 countries.

* Gabon parks: A chain of 13 national parks protecting nearly
11% of the country's land and water area.

    Press Contact:
    Agathe Coustaux
    +33-1-58-47-95-35
    Agathe.coustaux@eurorscg.fr

Press Contact: Agathe Coustaux, +33-1-58-47-95-35, Agathe.coustaux at eurorscg.fr