10 & 11 October 2006, ’s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands

During a national seminar three Dutch municipalities, one district of Amsterdam, the NGO Brabants Landschap, and the Netherlands Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality signed the Countdown 2010 declaration. In doing so, they explicitly express their good intentions to help achieve the 2010 target to halt biodiversity loss by 2010.

This seminar, organized by ECNC, IUCN Netherlands Committee and the Province of Noord-Brabant on 10 and 11 October 2006 in the Province House of the Province of Noord-Brabant, attracted some 150 representatives of local and regional authorities, NGOs, economic sectors and national government.

The seminar aimed at stimulating the various stakeholders to learn from each other with regard to biodiversity conservation. It focused on questions such as what a local authority can do in practice, how stakeholders jointly can be more effective, how citizens can be involved, what can be expected from regional and national government to facilitate processes, and how progress can be measured. During six parallel workshops, a plenary forum debate, and a biodiversity expo the participants had the opportunity to exchange ideas, pose topical questions to national organizations, and jointly formulate possible future action.

Action is needed in the form of, among others, increased guidance for the local actors in best practice, facilitation and what is and is not possible, and some sort of helpdesk. A recurrent theme throughout the seminar was the wish by all for a stronger stimulation of citizen involvement, of which a number of enthusiastic examples were presented. Regional Minister for the Environment, Mrs A. Moons, proudly presented what the Province of Noord-Brabant is already achieving within the 2010 framework. She said that ‘nature and landscape are serving as a development force’ within the Province, rather than an obstacle to development. The seminar also agreed that biodiversity is close to people and introduced the PIMBY syndrome: Please In My Back Yard!

The seminar was closed by the signing of the Countdown 2010 declaration, by which the signatories gave a good example to others. Director for Nature of the Netherlands Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, Mr G. Raaphorst, turned the Ministry’s long-standing support for the 2010 target into reality by signing the Countdown 2010 declaration, hereby underlining national support for the initiative and serving as an example for other countries to follow.

For more information contact Hanneke Wijnja, wijnja@ecnc.org.