The high-level meeting of the 8th Conference of the Parties to the Biological Diversity Convention (COP-8) got underway Monday, March 27, in the southern Brazilian city of Curitiba, with addresses by Brazilian ministers and foreign dignitaries.
The Brazilian Minister of Environment, Marina Silva, was one of the first to speak. She called for the application of the multilateral environmental agreements that have already been endorsed.
"We are worried about the delay in implementing environmental agreements. We need to move ahead in the ways and forms of applying the numerous decisions that have already been taken by our countries," Silva declared.
In his speech, the Brazilian minister of Foreign Relations, Celso Amorim, reminded his audience that crucial issues are being discussed at the meeting, including respect for the knowledge of traditional populations and the elimination of agricultural subsidies.
The 8th Conference of the Parties to the Biological Diversity Convention began last week, with 3.600 delegates from 173 countries gathered together in the capital of the state of Paraná.
ABr