4 June 2007, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Amsterdam and the Dutch NGO 'Natuurmonumenten' have signed the Countdown 2010 declaration in the Amsterdam botanical gardens. The signing by the Dutch capital was a successful ending to the ECNC/IUCN project ‘Countdown 2010 in the Dutch region’ which was funded by the Dutch ministry for Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality.

Amsterdam pledged to invest 12 million Euro for biodiversity conservation and implement a 2010 plan of action that will augment the efforts already undertaken by the City of Amsterdam.

The declaration was signed by the chairman for the Executive Committee for Environment, Marijke Vos and the director of Natuurmonumenten, Teo Wams. Natuurmonumenten maintains several important natural reserves near the city and expects that by working in partnership with the city government more can be done to protect the fragile ecosystems in those reserves around the city. The city also employs ecologists that work closely with the spatial planning department to ensure that locally living species can survive. Within the city perimeter it protects 143 plant species of which some are on the IUCN Red List.

Sebastian Winkler, Head of Countdown 2010, welcomed the commitments of the city and emphasized that this further underlined the Netherlands as leader in the Countdown 2010 process. He also challenged the city to become a European champion for local biodiversity, similar to what London is for climate change and what due to ECNC’s efforts the Dutch Province of Noord-Brabant is on a regional level.

For more information visit www.countdown2010.nl or www.countdown2010.net.