Ecologistas en Acción considers that the European Union has failed to keep its compromise to stop biodiversity loss in 2010, due to its constant economical growth. This is affecting the services offered by the ecosystems on which we depend to live.

The excessive exploitation of natural resources, the escalation of agriculture, the increase of water consumption, land occupation by urban development and transport infrastructure, a raise in greenhouse effect gases emissions, oil dependence, waste generation, geographic mobility increase, tourist growth and excessive consumption in the European Union, are the result of the high rates of economic growth in the EU countries. All of this has provoked that each day that goes by, the EU objective to stop biodiversity loss by 2010 is even farther to be carried out.

Although some improvements have been done towards biodiversity protection and the money meant for the defence of natural environment has increased, the truth is that the current economic model, which has as a priority short-time economic profits and as aim the constant growth (regardless of the fact that we live in a finite planet with limited resources), it's causing that each day is more difficult to actually slow down the process of biodiversity loss.

The European Union has valued economic aspect from the Lisbon Agenda (as ratified by the Treaty named after it) over the environmental and social needs, trying to turn EU economy into the “most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, before 2010, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion”.

As recognised by the very European Commission, the European Union will not be able to achieve its aim to stop biodiversity loss between now and 2010, unless a serious additional effort is carried out in the next few years. This is the main conclusion of the first global assessment of the advances developed in the application of the Biodiversity Action Plan.

Ecologistas en Acción understands that since up to this moment none of the different governments have carried out the necessary efforts to reach such aim, it is rather unlikely that in these two years to go the required steps will get off the ground.