Forests and what businesses can do to protect them will be the focus of the second annual Global Business of Biodiversity (GBOB) Symposium, taking place in London next month.
Industry leaders, Governments and
biodiversity experts from across the globe will meet this November in London for the
Global Business of Forests (GBOF), which is being staged to engage a broader, cross-sector of businesses in the need for
sustainable development and
investment in
forests as sustainable economies.
The event aims to raise awareness of the emerging opportunities within the business of
biodiversity, specifically with how companies can help tackle the effects of deforestation. Companies attending the event include PUMA, PepsiCo, Danone, BSkyB, United Utilities, Shell and JP Morgan. It aims to attract a broad range of industry sectors, including banking and finance, communications, hospitality, sport and leisure, retail,
food and beverages, oil and gas, mining, pulp, paper, timber and packaging.
"[This] is an extraordinary opportunity to promote the first ever International Year of Forests 2011 and its message, 'Forests for People," Jan McAlpine, director of the UN’s Forum on Forests (UNFF) said.
Threat to business from biodiversity lossThe urgent need for businesses to have an active interest in protecting and conserving forests on both an environmental and economical level were outlined at last year’s GBOB, which published a report
The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB), highlighting the threat and opportunities posed to businesses by the decline of biodiversity. This year’s event is considered a crucial debate in the lead up to next year’s UN Summit on Sustainable Development Rio+20.
"Since the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992, the focus on forests internationally has pretty much been exclusively on the environmental concerns – genuine concerns, but without regard to the other important functions of forests in providing economic benefits," McAlpine said. "The aim of United Nations Forum on Forests is to raise awareness of the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests."
Among those attending this year’s event will be UK Secretary of State for the Environment, Caroline Spelman, the European Commissioner for Environment, Janez Potocnik, and the Indonesian State Minister for the Environment, Prof. Dr. Ir. H. Gusti Muhammad Hatta, M.Si.
The symposium takes place on November 28 at The Institution of Engineering and Technology in London.
A follow-up report to last year's TEEB is set to be published in December.
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