Biodiversity talks kick off in Nagoya

Biodiversity talks kick off in Nagoya

NAGOYA, Japan - Jochen Flasbarth (R), president of the German Federal Environment Agency and chair of the previous international biodiversity talks, hands a wooden gavel to Japanese Environment Minister Ryu Matsumoto, chairman of the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Nagoya on Oct. 18, 2010, the first day of the forum.

Biodiversity talks kick off in Nagoya

Biodiversity talks kick off in Nagoya

NAGOYA, Japan - Japanese Environment Minister Ryu Matsumoto (L) raises a wooden hammer he received from Jochen Flasbarth (R), president of the German Federal Environment Agency and chair of the previous international biodiversity talks, at the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP10) in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, on Oct. 18, 2010, the first day of the forum.

Biodiversity talks kick off in Nagoya

Biodiversity talks kick off in Nagoya

NAGOYA, Japan - Jochen Flasbarth (R), president of the German Federal Environment Agency and chair of the previous international biodiversity talks, hands a wooden gavel to Japanese Environment Minister Ryu Matsumoto, chairman of the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Nagoya on Oct. 18, 2010, the first day of the forum. (Kyodo)

Biodiversity talks kick off in Nagoya

Biodiversity talks kick off in Nagoya

NAGOYA, Japan - Japanese Environment Minister Ryu Matsumoto (L) raises a wooden hammer he received from Jochen Flasbarth (R), president of the German Federal Environment Agency and chair of the previous international biodiversity talks, at the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP10) in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, on Oct. 18, 2010, the first day of the forum. (Kyodo)