“An important, just, and great contribution that graphically displays the protection of biodiversity." German Federal Minister for the Environment, Norbert Röttgen, was impressed after his tour of the exhibition from the "Biodiversity in Good Company" Initiative.

The opening of the exhibition was part of the kickoff event for the International Year of Biodiversity.  Surrounded by extinct giants from prehistory, the Chancellor, Angela Merkel, the Executive Director of the UN Environment Program, Achim Steiner, the Yemeni Environment Minister and G77 Chairperson, Abdulrahman Fahdl Al-Iryiani, the Japanese Vice-Minister for the Environment, Issei Tajima, and Ahmed Djoghlaf, the Executive Secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, all spoke in the dinosaur hall of the Berlin Natural History Museum.

Chancellor Merkel made it clear that the conservation of biodiversity has the same dimensions as climate change. She also made clear that the community of states' goal of significantly reducing the loss of biodiversity by the year 2010 will not be reached and called for a turnaround. The kickoff event shall act as a clear signal for this, she said. Furthermore, it should also not be forgotten that the topic needs to be better explained and communicated to the public.

Environment Minister Röttgen also spoke of the special role of business, for whom altruism and egoism should combine. Companies are dependent on biological diversity and profit from its conservation, he explained.  The "Biodiversity inn Good Company" Initiative pioneers with this.  "These companies make the conservation of biological diversity a reality in their economic actions," said Röttgen, opening the exhibition.