19-30 May 2008, Bonn, Germany

ECNC's involvement in the 9th Conference of the Parties focussed on Countdown 2010 and communication, business and biodiversity, financial investments in biodiversity, communication for nature and biodiversity conservation, protected areas and ecological networks, and biodiversity conservation in South-East Europe. ECNC contributed to the organization and the discussions of various side events.

In the first week of the conference, ECNC participated in the Countdown 2010 Partners Assembly on World Biodiversity Day on 22 May and ECNC Deputy Director delivered a speech on ECNC's involvement in Countdown 2010 actions. ECNC received an Activity Award for its implementation of commitments towards the 2010 biodiversity target. See for more information http://www.ecnc.nl/jump/page/809/230508.html.
 
On Monday of the second week ECNC organized together with the Countdown 2010 Secretarat and the Swiss government a seminar about Business and Biodiversity, which was attended by over 30 participants. ECNC's Deputy Director Ben Delbaere and ECNC's Programme Manager "Business and Biodiversity" Vineta Goba presented "Biodiversity as a business case". The meeting was chaired by Robert Lamb of the Federal Office for the Environment FOEN.

On Wednesday, ECNC organized a side event on “Communicating nature conservation and biodiversity” during the CBD CEPA Fair, which was opened by ECNC's Executive Director Rob Wolters. ECNC’s Programme Manager "Nature and Society" Aysegul Cil presented the results of the ECNC communication project for Croatia and FYI Macedonia. A new ECNC brochure on this subject was presented during the side event. Aysegul Cil was afterwards interviewed by Montenegro national television.

ECNC's senior Programme Manager Dr. Lawrence Jones-Walters contributed to the side event on "SEBI 2010"- Streamlining European Biodiversity Indicators 2010", together with the European Environment Agency and UNEP.

During CoP9, the ECNC paper ‘Impacts of biofuel production on biodiversity in Europe’ and ‘The European Biodiversity Finance Compendium’ were presented. Both reports, as well as the communication brochure mentioned above, can be downloaded at the bottom of this page.

ECNC had a stand at the conference, organized by ECNC's Communication Officer Hanneke Wijnja, displaying various ECNC reports and Countdown 2010 brochures, including from the Noord-Brabant region.

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