In this International Year of Biodiversity, the Conference of Parties (COP10) will meet this month to adopt a new target to slow the global loss of biodiverity. The Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) was ratified in 1993, and in 2002 a commitment was agreed upon by all Parties to achieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national level as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on Earth.

A pair of dingos in Northern Territory, Australia. Photograph: Arco Images/Alamy. From the Guardian.

It is clear that there has been a complete failure to meet the CBD 2010 targets. The rate of loss of biodiversity is alarming, poverty is still rife and the consumption of the Earth’s natural resources is occurring at an unprecedented rate – in a time when the world needs to reduce it’s emissions in order to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

Business as usual is not an option. Governments must accept the failure of the CBD 2010 targets, and take strong action to slow the loss of biodiversity now, rather than commit to a new set of vaguely achievable targets sometime in the future. This is why the Guardian launched the Biodiversity 100 campaign, and will present the final list of actions to governments at the COP10 meeting.

Jessica Walsh coordinated the efforts of several members of the Wilson Lab and Spatial Ecology Lab at UQ, and submitted a set of actions to slow biodiversity loss in Australia, which was published in the Guardian yesterday.

You can still submit your own ideas via the Guardian, but keep in mind that actions should be feasibly achieved, are based on on-ground actions rather than policy changes, have scientific evidence to prove their effectiveness, and would have a large positive impact on  biodiversity in the next decade (or an ecological relevant timeframe). The actions also have to be ‘SMART’, i.e. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-Bound.

Thanks to all of those who participated in developing the actions for Australia: Jessica Walsh, Megan Evans, Hugh Possingham, Peter Baxter, Andrea Fullagar, Megan Barnes, Elizabeth Law, Ayesha Tulloch, Simon Linke, Kerrie Wilson, Lissa Barr, Salit Kark, Mark Boyce, and Maggie Maersk-Moeller