Policy Support 2007
Support to the implementation of the CBD and Kyiv targets: Safeguarding Europe’s biodiversity by 2010
ECNC contributed to the organization of the international conference 'European regions as champions for biodiversity 2010 – Europe meets Brabant, Brabant meets Europe’, which was held in Oisterwijk, the Netherlands, on 15 and 16 February 2007. The conference resulted in concrete recommendations on ways and means of putting the European biodiversity 2010 commitments into concrete actions at regional and local levels by learning from inspiring examples and views. The conference host, Noord-Brabant’s Regional Minister for Environment, Nature and Water, Ms Annemarie Moons, presented a report prepared by ECNC on climate change and biodiversity and the role of regions.
ECNC attended the annual meeting of the Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy (PEBLDS) in March 2007. At the meeting ECNC presented results of the SEENET programme, the European Task Force on Banking, Business and Biodiversity, the PEEN mapping process, and the results of the conference 'European regions as champions for biodiversity 2010 – Europe meets Brabant, Brabant meets Europe’.
At the Sixth Ministerial Conference ‘Environment for Europe’, held in Belgrade, Serbia, on 10-12 October 2007, the Ministers adopted the Belgrade Biodiversity Statement, reconfirming Europe’s political commitment to the European biodiversity 2010 target to halt the decline of biodiversity by 2010. ECNC was strongly involved in the conference. ECNC’s Executive Director Rob Wolters co-chaired the Ministerial-NGO Biodiversity Roundtable on behalf of European-ECO-Forum. ECNC organized or co-organized the two official PEBLDS side event seminars at Belgrade:
- European Ecological Network: putting the network into practice, together with the Council of Europe, the SEENET focus group, the Netherlands Government, European ECO-Forum, and other partners;
- Regions and local authorities as champions for biodiversity 2010, together with the Province of Noord-Brabant, Countdown 2010 Alliance, the Governments of Croatia and the Netherlands, UNEP and other partners.
On behalf of ALTER-Net, ECNC organized a side event seminar on the policy-science interface, in particular on how ALTER-Net could assist European governments and other stakeholders in implementing their policies and targets.
ECNC prepared various leaflets and brochures for the Belgrade conference:
- a brochure on PEBLDS achievements since the Kyiv Ministerial Conference (2003), prepared together with UNEP ROE;
- a SEENET brochure on information and lessons learned in implementing the SEENET programme for ecological networks in South-East Europe and the Black Sea region;
- a leaflet on ALTER-Net, focusing on what ALTER-Net could offer to governments;
- a leaflet on the European Biodiversity Resourcing Initiative and the Task Force on Banking, Business and Biodiversity.
Together with UNEP, ECNC was in charge of preparing and distributing press releases for the biodiversity part of the Belgrade Conference.
Funding: ECNC core budget, UNEP.
Partners: UNEP; Council of Europe.
Brabant&Europe (B&E) Partnership for Sustainability / the European House for Biodiversity and Sustainability (EHBS)
In 2007 various activities took place related to bringing together parties in the region of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands and international organizations working on sustainable development.
Special attention was given to cooperation in the framework of Countdown 2010.
Funding: Province of Noord-Brabant (the Netherlands); Municipality of Tilburg (the Netherlands); Netherlands Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality.
Partners: IUCN-International Union for Conservation of Nature; Eurosite (the Netherlands); Province of Noord-Brabant (the Netherlands); Municipality of Tilburg (the Netherlands); Telos (the Netherlands); Brabant Landscape Foundation (the Netherlands); Eindhoven University of Technology (the Netherlands); Natuurmuseum Brabant (the Netherlands).
Biodiversity and the Province of Noord-Brabant
Biodiversity is the key item in cooperation with the Province of Noord-Brabant. Municipalities, waterboards and organizations in Noord-Brabant have been stimulated to join the Countdown 2010 Initiative, to draft local biodiversity plans and to concretize biodiversity activities. More than 50 governmental and non-governmental organizations in Noord-Brabant have signed the Countdown 2010 Declaration.
Together with the Province of Noord-Brabant, ECNC drafted brochures on biodiversity and municipalities, and biodiversity and business. A Brabant Business & Biodiversity Action Plan was prepared for the Province of Noord-Brabant. Assistance was provided for several presentations of the Province and in the preparation and proceedings of the international conference 'European regions as champions for biodiversity 2010 – Europe meets Brabant, Brabant meets Europe’ (Oisterwijk, the Netherlands, 15 and 16 February 2007).
ECNC provides the secretariat of the Noord-Brabant Task Force on Biodiversity and Countdown 2010 and assisted in the preparation of its strategy and action plan and communication efforts.
Funding: Province of Noord-Brabant (the Netherlands).
More details: www.biodiversitybrabant.nl, www.molo.nl
NatureNet Europe
NatureNet Europe – an alliance of ECNC, EUCC-The Coastal Union and Eurosite – continued with its ‘Beautiful Europe’ initiative, through i.a. coordination of Year of the Dolphin activities. A seminar was held in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, in June 2007, and a European Dolphin Fund was established to support activities for dolphin conservation in Europe and the Mediterranean.
Funding: Core budgets of ECNC, EUCC-The Coastal Union and Eurosite.
More details: www.natureneteurope.org
