This event enabled local and global leaders to engage in informal discussions regarding how they can work together to conserve biodiversity while addressing development needs.

Livingstone Maluleke, Makuleke Traditional Community, South Africa, stated that traditional ownership of lands must be recognized, and that communities and their knowledge of the natural environment must be completely integrated in conservation. Isabel Soares de Souza, Institute of Sustainable Development, Mamirauá, encouraged the integration of local and global networks, and suggested that different forms of knowledge can compliment each other.

William Atu, The Nature Conservancy, Solomon Islands, noted that very little of the CBD has been implemented, and noted also the need for an ABS regime to prevent injustice. Vitaliano Sarabia, Union of Rural Cocoa Organizations of Ecuador (UNOCACE), encouraged compromise from all sectors, and the empowerment of small communities, the “guardians of biodiversity.” Willy Kostka, Executive Director, Micronesia Conservation Trust, encouraged making funding easier to access, and called for private companies to reinvest profits into the communities from which they are obtained.

John Herity, IUCN, urged community leaders to push national governments to enact policies conducive to community action in support of conservation and development. Manifred Niekisch, Germany, said that while biodiversity is the basis of life, justice is the basis of reasonable living.

Joachim Flasbarth, Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Germany, noted that communicating the messages that have emerged from the Taba depends on local leaders, and not professional marketing. He stressed that the message must be kept simple, adding that “at the end of the day, if I can’t explain to my daughters what I do, this is the wrong approach.” Jock Langford, Environment Canada, noted the recent international gathering of indigenous people, hosted by the Tsleil-Waututh Nation in Vancouver, Canada, which resulted in the drafting of a statement which was presented to CBD COP 8.

Viveka Bohn, Environmental Ambassador, Sweden, said that democracy and equality are fundamental with far-reaching consequences in addition to the CBD. Regarding improving participation, she suggested that people look to successes achieved within the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and international chemicals management processes. Shoji Nishimoto, UNDP, noted that many micro-credit schemes have failed while attempting to adopt approaches more suitable to urban areas. He noted that it is not always in the best interest of small communities to be integrated into the global economy. Brett Jenks, Rare Conservation, urged building upon success stories, identifying markets, and understanding what each local community's competitive advantage is within the market.

Henke Simons, the Netherlands Committee for IUCN, discussed ecosystem services which he defined as the benefits that people obtain from: provisioning services (food, fiber and fresh water); regulation services (regulation of ecosystems processes like climate, disease and floodes); and cultural services (spiritual, recreational and aesthetic benefits). He said that biodiversity is fundamental for the functioning of ecosystems which are required to provide these services.
Koji Nakamara, Kanazawa University, Japan, elaborated on the conservation efforts being undertaken by the Satoyama Nature School such as: control of bamboo expansion, restoration of terraced paddies and transfer of traditional knowledge. He stressed that a long term monitoring of the Satoyama is required and mentioned strategies such as a direct payment system and green tourism.

Paulo Roberto Castella, Secretary of the Environment, Paraná, discussed Sistema Faxinal no Paraná, a traditional forest management system in Paraná, explaining that the settlement is divided into criadouro comum, an area where livestock are kept; terras de planta, where cultivation occurs; and cercas, fences which demarcate these areas, and are vital for the functioning of the forest system. He highlighted challenges such as the growing population, land degradation and high land costs, mentioning that only 42 of 144 original forest systems remain in the State of Paraná.

Rice elaborated on the scientific criteria for identifying ecologically or biologically significant areas. These included: uniqueness or rarity, areas where few alternatives exist and could be significantly harmed; habitats used for critical life history functions; vulnerability, areas highly susceptible to degradation; ecological productivity; and biological diversity and naturalness.

The last criteria mentioned was representativeness. He explained that as long as an acceptable proportion of “representative” areas receive enhanced management, choices can be made regarding which ones to manage in particularly risk-averse ways, and ones which can be managed in a way that is less restrictive yet still sustainable. Rice also discussed considerations in the use of scientific criteria including management feasibility; anthropogenic value and implementation consideration.

Ulisses Confalonieri, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ), discussed the main findings from the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA), stressing that the spread of disease due to ecosystem changes depends on the particular ecosystem, type of land use change, disease-specific transmission dynamics, and the susceptibility of human populations, making generalization very difficult from site to site. Confalonieri noted inherent trade-offs in many types of ecosystems' changes associated with economic development, where the costs of disease emergence or resurgence must be weighed against a project’s benefit to human well-being and health.

Jonathan Patz, Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment, University of Wisconsin, stressed that health is at the heart of the Rio Conventions, noting that climate change leads to extreme weather events, malnutrition, water, food- and vector-borne diseases; biodiversity degradation affecting nutritional changes, disease regulation, medicinal products, and water purification; and desertification which leads to water scarcity, population displacement, droughts, and food scarcity. Patz highlighted three important dimensions for sustainability: social justice (equitable distribution, distributed consumption), a vibrant economy (investment in sustainable technologies, providing services) and a healthy environment.