The year 2010 has been designated by the United Nations as the International Year for Biodiversity with an aim to “achieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national level as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on Earth". This was adopted in 2002 and later endorsed by the World Summit on Sustainable Development and the United Nations General Assembly.
Soil biodiversity was seen as an area needing particular attention especially those below ground systems which support agriculture. This led to the adoption at COP-8 (2006) of the International Initiative for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Soil Biodiversity. The Goals included the promotion of awareness- raising knowledge and in understanding of the role of soil biodiversity and the placing of soil biodiversity conservation into land and soil management practices. Soil biodiversity lies within many programmes especially those involved with the biodiversity of dry and sub-humid lands, mountain and forest biological diversity, the http://www.cbd.int/gti/Global Taxonomy Initiative, and work on technology transfer and cooperation.
However, in 2010 the 21 targets set in 2002 have not been met with the decline in biodiversity noted in the loss of genes, species and ecosystems (executive summary).
“Despite an increase in conservation efforts, the state of biodiversity continues to decline, according to most indicators, largely because the pressures on biodiversity continue to increase. There is no indication of a significant reduction in the rate of decline in biodiversity, nor of a significant reduction in pressures upon it.”
Some achievements have been made, however, in some areas but not sufficiently to reduce the decline in biodiversity.
“However, negative trends have been slowed or reversed in some ecosystems. There are several indications that responses to biodiversity loss are increasing and improving, although not yet on a scale sufficient to affect overall negative trends in the state of biodiversity or the pressures upon it.”
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