18 February 2008, Rome – “Biodiversity is vital for human survival and livelihoods; we need to conserve it for future generations. At the same time, the unacceptable scale of hunger and rural poverty in our small planet calls for urgent remedial action,” FAO Deputy Director-General James G. Butler said today. He was addressing the opening session of the thirteenth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice of the Convention on Biological Diversity (18-22 February 2008).