Biodiversity
2011: Develop recommendations for EU policy
initiatives: Resource Efficiency and the Green Infrastructure Communication
(European Commission)
Richard Jarvis, council member of the Countryside Council of Wales (CCW), has been
appointed chair of the WG Biodiversity. A first meeting took place in Brussels
on 9 June 2011. The agenda featured a presentation on the EU Biodiversity
Strategy by Hugh Laxton of the JNCC and a discussion paper on Green
Infrastructure written by the chair.
The WG Biodiversity aims at developing recommendations for EU policy
initiatives, notably the European Commission's forthcoming Resource Efficiency
flagship (June 2011) and the planned communication on Green Infrastructure.
Similarly to the WG Energy, the WG Biodiversity will also provide input for
the WG SD's paper on Green Economy.
2009-'10: follow-up of the paper Green
Infrastructure and Ecological Connectivity
Co-chairs: Noel Casserly, The
Irish National Sustainable Development Council
(Comhar), Jan Verheeke, Environment
and Nature Council of Flanders (Minaraad)
Main outcomes 2010
- WG representatives presented the part on green networks of the EEAC Statement 2009 at a lunch session in the
European Commission on 16 December.
- The WG met on 2 March in the Minaraad offices in brussels,
followed directly to the WG Agriculture meeting. It was kept relatively
brief, so that members who were 19 from 13 countries, who attended both
meetings, were able to continue the discussion on the theme for the 2010
statement. With 2010 being the International Year of Biodiversity, the
Belgian EU-presidency also has a focus on Biodiversity. Els Martens of the
Flemish administration gave a presentation on the Headlines of discussion
and preparation of the Belgian presidency in relation to the
Nagoya-conference. The meeting ended with a discussion on a draft letter
of the WG Chairs.
- On 10 March chair of the EEAC, and co-chairs of the network's
Working Group (WG) Biodiversity have written to the new European
Commissioner of Environment, calling for urgent action at EU level and
inter-governmental level to halt the loss of biodiversity. The EEAC WG
welcomes the Commission Communication on Biodiversity of 19 January 2010,
however, expresses its concern as the target to halt the loss of
biodiversity in Europe by 2010 has not been reached. The WG believes that
it is essential for the Spring EU Council to come up with a robust target
for 2020 and to bring forward a European Action Plan with proposals on
mechanisms and instruments to achieve the 2020 target. The WG also states
that the 2020 headline target should be taken into consideration in the
main EU-cross cutting strategies such as the SDS and the "EU
2020" Strategy.
Finally, the WG welcomes acknowledgement in the Commission Communication
of the crucial contribution of "Green Infrastructure" as these
areas can prevent habitat fragmentation and underpin ecological connectivity
as well as support climate adaptation and mitigation objectives. In 2009,
the EEAC issued a statement on sustainable infrastructure for Europe,
including green infrastructure. The EEAC will continue work on this topic
and address it at its Conference in 2010 on Sustainable Land Use. Download
the full letter (pdf.)
On
14 October the WG met in Bruges. The main outcome was the output for
the chair letter to the Commissioner for the Environment Potocnik on "the
EC consultation on future options for biodiversity policy". Myriam
Dumortier, of the European Commission DG Environment gave a presentation on
Invasive Alien Species, which is one of the DG's priorities.
Download
the full letter (pdf)
2009: Contributing with input on green European
networks to the EEAC statement in 2009
Chair: Noel Casserly, The
Irish National Sustainable Development Council
(Comhar)
Main outcome 2009
The
Working Group Biodiversity (WG Biodiversity) met in Bordeaux in October
to elaborate the working plan for 2009. The WG has given input on green networks to the EEAC statement in 2009. The WG Biodiversity is
also in dialogue with the WG Agriculture in the light of the proposed
conference topic for 2010 "Sustainable Land Use".
- On 16 July the WG met in Dublin, kindly hosted by the Comhar (IE). The
WG advanced work on a background paper on Green Networks/Ecological
Connectivity and discussed how the Biodiversity WG could input to the
preparations for the EEAC Annual Conference 2010. The WG also decided to
prepare an updated draft of the green infrastructure paper that feeds into
the EEAC annual conference theme 2009 on sustainable European
infrastructures and to give comments on the EEAC
Forward Looking Paper 2009.
- The WG met on 23 October, in Dubrovnik in order to discuss the working
plan for 2010.
WG
briefing paper: Green Infrastructure and Ecological Connectivity
For the main outcomes of the past years, please continue
reading the archived pages
Copyright © 2000-2011 by European
Environment and
Sustainable Development Advisory Councils, Den Haag. All Rights
Reserved.
Last update on 9 June 2011