Europe Overseas Roundtable on Biodiversity and Climate Change Report of the fourth meeting 28 June 2013, European Parliament, Brussels 1
Contents Abbreviations... 3 Introduction... 4 Actions arising and Progress Report... 4 Participants progress reports, planned activities and emerging issues... 4 Roundtable actions arising from last meeting... 5 Towards EU Overseas Indicators... 6 Presentation by Dr. the Hon. Kedrick D. Pickering, BVI Deputy Premier... 7 Conservation in the British Virgin Islands and a summary of the Caribbean Summit of Political and Business Leaders... 7 Update on the EU s BEST Initiative... 8 Update on BEST... 8 Update on AFD Partnership... 9 Update on the IUCN BEST project on Building Partnerships and Awareness on Biodiversity and Climate Change in Europe Overseas for the Future of BEST... 10 First results of the reviews on the financial mechanisms and Governance... 10 Presentation of the implementation of the Communication and mobilization Strategy... 11 Thematic Discussion: Climate Change Adaptation and sustainable energy... 12 Presentation of the EU Adaptation Strategy and discussion about the role of the EU Overseas for its implementation... 12 ISLE-PACT and SMILEGOV Projects... 13 Thematic Discussion: Upcoming EU Overseas Events... 13 Presentation of the third International Marine Protected Areas Conference (October 21-27, 2013)... 13 Fostering Mobilization of islands and EU Overseas: Championing the Aichi Targets... 14 Islands and CBD COP 12... 14 Mobilizing EU Overseas for the next CBD COP... 14 Summary and Next Steps... 15 Appendix 1: Agenda of the third meeting of the Roundtable, 19 December 2012... 16 Appendix 2: Participant organisations of the third meeting of the Roundtable... 20 2
Abbreviations AFD Agence Française de Développement BEST Voluntary Scheme for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in Territories of the EU Outermost Regions and Overseas Countries and Territories Birdlife Birdlife International BVI British Virgin Islands CBD Convention on Biological Diversity CI Conservation International Coca Loca Connectivity of loggerhead (Caretta caretta) habitats in the South West Indian Océan DCI Development Cooperation Instrument DG Directorate General DG CLIMA European Commission DG for Climate Action DG ENV European Commission DG for Environment EBCD European Bureau for Conservation and Development EC European Commission EEA European Environment Agency EP European Parliament EU European Union GLISPA Global Island Partnership IUCN International Union for Conservation LIFE+ Financial Instrument for the Environment of the EU LPO Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux MEP Member of the European Parliament OCT EU Overseas Country and Territory OCTA Overseas Countries and Territories of the European Union Association OR EU Outermost Region Roundtable Europe Overseas Roundtable on Biodiversity and Climate Change RSPB Royal Society for the Protection of Birds SCBD Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity UK United Kingdom UKOT Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom IMPAC3 Third International Marine Protected Areas Congress 3
Introduction The third meeting of the Europe Overseas Roundtable on Biodiversity and Climate Change (hereafter Roundtable) took place on 28 th June 2013 at the European Parliament in Brussels. The agenda of the meeting is provided in Appendix 1 and the list of participating organisations in Appendix 2. The meeting was opened by MEP Mr Maurice Ponga, who welcomed participants and spoke about the importance of EU overseas entities and the need for adequate funding to support conservation work and on efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change. He assured the Roundtable participants of his continued interest in and active support for the work of the Roundtable. He stressed the importance and relevance of the issues addressed by the Roundtable, wished participants a productive meeting and announced the organisation of a conference of the EP Intergroup in December on the new Association agreement between EU and the OCTS proposal back to back to the OCTA Forum. The chairman of the meeting also welcomed participants and after presenting the agenda to participants announced the agenda adopted. Actions arising and Progress Report Participants progress reports, planned activities and emerging issues Birdlife presented their new strategy adopted last June in Ottawa. The strategy would involve nine different programme areas and Birdlife would be working with partners across the globe, such as the RSPB in the UK, VBN in the Dutch Caribbean and LPO in France. Birdlife s work involves many different aspects such as building technical capacity, monitoring, field projects etc. Participants were told that Birdlife has 6 regional offices across the globe and that their European office was focussed on supporting partners with regional strategic oversight and bringing on the ground scientific evidence to the attention of decision makers. RSPB reported about the organisation s governance review of UK s overseas territories (OTs) and mentioned a lack of legal frameworks, lack of EIA s and a lack of political will, which has meant that biodiversity in these Territories is under threat. The representative mentioned how RSPB have been building partnerships with local organisations and that their work has recently involved prioritising eradications for island restoration. RSPB has also carried out research projects across UK OTs. The representative said that in assessing extinction risks in OTs, the idea is to have better information regarding monitoring of such species and that their own research shows that there is a lack of data about some groups of species. RSPB would like to see the JNCC become a store for such data and one of their main goals concerning UK OTs is to further prevent extinction of species. Copies of the review of governance in UK OTs could be sent to participants on request. 4
IUCN France reported on their work in Mayotte where their most recent focus has been on developing a local biodiversity strategy for Mayotte in close collaboration with local actors and experts. The strategy has taken its lead from the Law of Grenelle and the French Biodiversity Strategy which require a regional approach. IUCN France has been working in Mayotte because biodiversity issues have a high importance there. In 2014 Mayotte will become a European Outermost region. One of IUCN France s other area of interest in Mayotte regards strengthening the work of local actors and to this end they helped create a platform with all multiple stakeholders to discuss and develop actions to: protect biodiversity, improve governance; and facilitate funds for collaborative projects. IUCN France recently produced a publication assessing biodiversity conservation challenges in Mayotte and during a workshop they hosted in April 2013 they managed to define and give detail on three of the main issues related to protecting biodiversity in Mayotte, being: a lack of conservation work; the need to mainstream sustainable development, and the need for improved knowledge. IUCN France told delegates that each actor during the workshop proposed the sorts of actions needed to protect biodiversity and where by over 200 actions were proposed (For more information see the Mayotte country focus). At a second seminar, the stakeholders assessed the proposed actions, in order to find the priority ones. Following-up on the strategy IUCN will now be working on its political endorsement to ensure the strategy is implemented and they will be working to create a mechanism to support local stakeholders. The French Ministry of Ecology, Developpement and Energy spoke about the new framework agreement between IUCN and France. The agreement is between three government units and is the third agreement of its kind, the representative said. Three main subjects of the agreement would regard: world governance; biodiversity in Africa; and conservation and restoration of marine biodiversity in overseas territories. One of the aims of the project is to develop the work between French national experts and IUCN on conservation work. The project will last for four years and the agreement contribution amounts to 8 million Euros. In addition to the main areas of focus the project will also include work dedicated to the Red List; African countries; overseas entities and high seas governance. Roundtable actions arising from last meeting IUCN then gave a short update on the Roundtable and recent events such as the meeting of the European Parliament s Intergroup which highlighted islands issues in relation to conserving biodiversity, actions to mitigate and adapt to climate change and on funding. Delegates were told that speakers from a wide array of organisations were involved and that the event was an important move for political reasons so as to raise awareness on island issues in the European Parliament. During the discussion IUCN mentioned the significance of Mayotte s biodiversity strategy as the island prepares to become an EU outermost region in 2014. IUCN said that it gives a strong signal to the European Commission and specifically to DG REGIO to consider how Mayotte can be supported 5
by the EU. It is important to stress the importance of biodiversity in Mayotte and make sure that biodiversity protection and sustainable use of ecosystem services are recognised as priorities by those involved in the programming. Both Birdlife and IUCN have corresponded with the Commission on this topic. The European Commission stated that such communications were viewed much stronger by the European Commission if they were and submitted jointly. The Commission also said that funds were available but that the priorities needed to be made clear in order to ensure that funds are allocated sustainable development. There was also a discussion concerning the use of different European funds for European overseas entities such as Life+ funds and DCI fund, Birdlife commented that although there were different envelopes available for applying to, because the different funds had alternative areas of focus there was no way of assuring that funds would go towards European overseas entities. OCTA mentioned that it would be interesting to see how the DCI instrument might support OCTs, and that it is disappointing that OCTs cannot access Life+ funds at present. Birdlife also mentioned that they had been working on the next agreement on Life funds with MEPs and other decision makers in order to ensure some provision for European overseas entities. The opinion of Birdlife was that discussions in the trilogue were not looking very positive in this regard. IUCN asked Birdlife whether their working strategy involved developing national and regional strategies for European overseas entities as well as monitoring and advocacy work in relation to EU policy. Birdlife confirmed that their work was only focused on monitoring and advocacy in connection to EU policy in order to ensure better strategic decision making at the European level concerning European overseas entities. Towards EU Overseas Indicators A representative from the EEA said that by 2015 the mid-term review of the biodiversity strategies in Europe is due. One of the goals of this review will be to better understand how Member States have performed as far as the conservation of biological diversity is concerned. As part of this review the EEA might explore the possibility of assessing EU Overseas as well or perhaps developing some key indicators for overseas entities. The review for the first time would also include a marine biodiversity baseline (as part of the MSFD) in addition to other traditional terrestrial biodiversity baselines. The monitoring of biodiversity would also be important for assessing the capabilities and achievements of European states to protect their biodiversity. The representative was keen to stress that only 18 months are left for the review process and it was important to improve upon the existing knowledge banks they had access to. The representative also mentioned some important developments concerning the UN and the desire to have national accounting systems concerning ecosystems (assessed in a similar way to measurements of national GDP), and which might provide useful for better understanding the state of biodiversity in Europe and its overseas entities. He mentioned that the World Bank was supporting such processes and that states like Mauritius and Trinidad and Tobago were getting involved in this approach. A representative from DG ENV said that it was good to hear about the developments concerning biodiversity indicators. The suitability to organize a meeting of the EU Ad Hoc expert working group 6
on biodiversity and climate change 1 was brought up. IUCN reiterated that the Roundtable was designed specifically for sharing of such ideas, and indeed said that if such a working group could be set up then IUCN and indeed several partners of the Roundtable would have important expertise to bring to such a group. Both Birdlife and RSPB said that one of the problems with European overseas entities is there is a lack of monitoring of biodiversity and that very few of the states are involved in the CBD. They said their opinion was that the UK should be responsible for halting biodiversity loss in UK overseas territories. IUCN France said that they will soon publish a report that is assessing biodiversity in twelve French overseas territories and that it should be ready in September this year. OCTA mentioned that OCTA was considering developing a network on statistics that could be useful for improving knowledge of biodiversity in overseas countries and territories. The Roundtable concluded on: Participating in a technical meeting on Indicators with EEA and DG ENV. Presentation by Dr. the Hon. Kedrick D. Pickering, BVI Deputy Premier Conservation in the British Virgin Islands and a summary of the Caribbean Summit of Political and Business Leaders 2 The Deputy Premier of the British Virgin Islands, Dr. The Hon. Kedrick D. Pickering gave a special presentation on the Caribbean Challenge Initiative and recent work on biodiversity conservation and climate change in the British Virgin Islands. He told delegates how the idea behind the Caribbean Challenge Initiative (CCI) first arose in 2008, and had been strongly supported by Sir Richard Branson. The initiative involves industry, government, and NGOs and the common goal is to conserve marine and coastal areas. Dr. Pickering told the Roundtable that numerous governments from several islands had taken part in the event where8 Caribbean governments signed a leader s declaration underlying commitments to supporting the conservation of the region s marine environment by 2020. Delegates were also told that 15 companies signed the Corporate Compact a specific commitment to support conservation and that each company had to state how they would support the project. Dr. Pickering also remarked that the CCI highlighted that the islands involved didn t just need external support but that they could achieve real conservation and climate change mitigation and adaptation measures. Dr. Pickering also spoke about the activities of the BVI and their three main priorities which were: the protection of sharks and rays; a regulatory framework for marine conservation; and a commitment to move from fossil fuels to renewable. He also made a commitment to fully implement the BVI protected areas system plan adopted in 2008; that calls for 33% of the marine, 1 For the documentation see EUROPA > European Commission > CIRCABC > env > biodiversity_climate; the group was active from 2008-2009 and produced a Discussion Paper Towards a Strategy on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/pdf/discussion_paper_climate_change.pdf 2 For the statement please see: https://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/deputy_premier_intervention_at_eu_overseas_roundtable_june_2013_2.pdf 7
coastal and terrestrial environment to be protected. Dr. Pickering told delegates about work in the BVI and gave an example of one of the islands that has a solar farm, and an aim to become carbon neutral. Dr. Pickering also discussed the BVI climate change strategy and talked about the government s continuing work on establishing the Virgin Islands Climate Change Trust Fund that will support climate change adaptation and mitigation activities. He said that BVI is the most advanced island in Caribbean with regards to climate change action. Other objectives of BVI include sustainable yachting, in part through use of smart legislation and developing a wetland management plan. Dr. Pickering finally mentioned that the BVI would was about to take on the Chairmanship of OCTA where they want to express the need for sustainable development. The Pact of Islands mentioned that on renewable energy there were several similar programmes being put in place across EU islands and encouraged the BVI to be involved in these processes in order to share best practice and expand on current initiatives. RSPB mentioned that they work closely with the BVI and asked what impressions Dr. Pickering has about the development of the Caribbean Challenge and the potential of BVI to encourage other UK OCTs to join the initiative. In response Dr. Pickering said that the Cayman Islands was part of the project and that they would do all they could to encourage other islands to join as well. He also said that CCI needs a permanent secretariat in order to scale up the work of the CCI and indicated that BVI might be a suitable location. Dr. Pickering also commented on further questions and remarks and that the US$ 73 million commitment made during the CCI conference was the total sum of commitments by stakeholders as opposed to a formal fund to be established. IUCN indicated the organization of a special Island Event where the Caribbean Challenge could be presented in order to showcase the leadership of Islands in marine conservation and the capacity of Islands to champion the Aichi Targets. IUCN added that the BEST project MANG will develop methodologies on Wetland sustainable conservation and that collaboration with BVI could be interesting. Update on the EU s BEST Initiative Update on BEST DG ENV gave an update on projects funded through the BEST Preparatory Action and reported on first results and milestones including new designated protected areas in la Reunion and Mayotte; in Tahiti the stock of a threatened and emblematic bird species could be improved through the eradication of rats and awareness raising; and a phare-project in New Caledonia where all three provinces are involved in engaging local people in initiatives with the aim of building upon existing knowledge, supporting management action and strengthening collective governance. She also mentioned a project run by the CBD secretariat which included participation of OR/OCT representatives in the launching event for the pilots in the margins of Rio+20 and a workshop later in 2012. The project successfully contributed to raise awareness for and the visibility of OR/OCT at the international level, notably in relation to the CBD. The reference to the BEST Preparatory Action in the CBD COP XI 15 decision concerning the revision of the Programme of Work on island biodiversity, and the increased collaboration with GLISPA (Global Island Partnership), are remarkable evidence for this. DG ENV pointed out that the BEST initiative is still work in progress and lessons can be learnt from on-going projects. DG ENV drew the attention to the open call for tender to implement the 8
third and last year of the BEST Preparatory Action. DG ENV also highlighted a recent FP7 project concerning Strengthening European research cooperation for smart and sustainable management of tropical and subtropical biodiversity in outermost regions and overseas countries and territories. The project is the follow-up to the ERA-net NETBIOME During the discussion Birdlife and the RSPB mentioned that they would not participate in the open call for tender because they did not agree with the content of the tender itself and that their members were also not happy with the tender specifications. Considering the importance of smart collaboration which has been stressed at several occasions the Commission expressed its regret with regards to the statement of Birdlife and RSPB. A representative from the UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum said that the objectives of the tender were confusing and that the objective to develop a financial mechanism would be many years away. The representative reminded that it was not appropriate to discuss the content of the tender specifications during this roundtable meeting. Any question with regards to the tender specifications should be put forward via TED (electronic system for tendering). IUCN commented that the BEST Preparatory Action had been quite successful thus far and that they understood the frustration but they recognise that the choice for a call for tender to implement the third and last year of the BEST Preparatory Action constitutes an investment for the future which shall hopefully allow the continuation of the BEST Initiative beyond the lifetime of the Preparatory Action. Birdlife commented again and said they felt the tender would not deliver on the goals it set out and that money is needed urgently for on the ground work. It was also mentioned that the ecosystem profiling part of the tender would allow for important monitoring work to be carried out in European overseas entities. The French Ministry of Environment commented that France supports the desire of the European Commission to put in place a new financial mechanism. Although they agreed the 4 year timeframe was a lengthy period, they were overall happy with the tender. They also stated that during the time frame of the tender s application, the UK would hold the presidency of the EU and thus it might provide a political opportunity to reinforce the need for a dedicated funding mechanism for European overseas entities. Update on AFD Partnership AFD gave a presentation on France s work with European overseas entities (and apologised for his colleague not being able to take part in this Roundtable). AFD provides strong financial support for work related to the protection of biodiversity and adaptation to climate change. He said that France is actively investing in both private schemes and focusing on grassroots activities related to marine conservation. Their strategy is also focussed on ensuring that economic activities are in harmony with environmental concerns. The representative mentioned funding support, specifically to 9
Mayotte, and other islands. The representative also said that France understood the differences in opinions related to the European Commission s open call for tender for work on BEST but supported the tender to aid future work. The representative also said that France was very interested in bilateral relations with other overseas states and mentioned a new agreement with IUCN and whereby eight hundred thousand Euros would go towards conservation work with Europe overseas. Here, the funds are being focused on marine and coastal wetlands and work conserving turtles and the future of BEST. A presentation was then given on the two projects of the BEST reserve list funded by AFD on a voluntary basis. A representative from Kelonia, who also covered the work of the Coca Loca project, gave detail on: the assessment they had carried out on the relative importance of major anthropogenic threats on Loggerhead turtles in the territorial waters of Reunion; work on strengthening actions to directly reduce the local impact of such threats; and work to initiate an equivalent process in Mayotte. It was also noted that the project had also attempted to support conservation work at the local level (e.g. working with fishermen to reduce bycatch), regional and to support an exchange of information amongst researchers across the West Indian Ocean. IUCN shared the apologies from ATEN for not being able to attend due to a conflict of agenda gave an update on the MANG project related to wetland areas in European overseas entities. The representative said the project focussed on sharing information and developing methodologies for monitoring impacts on wetlands. The project also focussed on involving partners and other in workshops and the like regarding wetlands. The MANG project had several objectives in order to better manage wetlands and to work with different stakeholders and regional bodies. The project also aimed to develop methodologies to monitor and assess biodiversity and the status of different wetlands and on improving the management of wetlands. IUCN underlined the partnership approach that is fully in line with the EU Biodiversity Strategy. Birdlife mentioned that like Kelonia they had also run projects working with loggerhead turtles and asked if Kelonia was in touch with NGOs in Greece. The representative of KELONIA confirmed that they would be interested in collaborating on such as project with Kelonia. WWF said that they too had a strong project with leatherback turtles in French Guiana in order to better understand their biology and they have a lot of experience to share in this regard. They have also worked to better understand how to prevent bycatch of turtles and would be happy to share information concerning different methodologies in this regard. Update on the IUCN BEST project on Building Partnerships and Awareness on Biodiversity and Climate Change in Europe Overseas for the Future of BEST First results of the reviews on the financial mechanisms and Governance A representative from Biotope / Green Ant provided an update on a current study they are undertaking on financing mechanisms as part of IUCN s project on Building Partnerships and Awareness on Biodiversity and Climate Change in Europe Overseas for the Future of BEST. The representative said they had looked at existing conservation/climate change funds and how they 10
have been implemented. They investigated the funding need for biodiversity in the ORs and OCTs using a methodology developed by the CBD for assessing the cost of achieving the Aïchi targets globally. For Europe overseas, the calculation built on data concerning the share of coral reefs and Exclusive Economic Zones under the responsibility of ORs and OCTs. They said they had also looked at different examples of financing mechanisms such as ones developed through governments, private donors, and innovative mechanisms such as biodiversity offsets and green taxes. The representative said public funds were largely available, and that innovative options should be considered and that any financing mechanism for biodiversity overseas would need a strong strategic approach. He said they were finalising the study and would be keen to take into account the views from the project s steering committee and the participants involved in the Roundtable. A representative from Green Park Consultants spoke about the study looking into governance issues in relation to the voluntary BEST scheme. Both studies are interlinked. The representative said that for the study to be effective it would also require strong input from a varied pot of stakeholders and encouraged the next Roundtable to further consider the ongoing development of the study. A representative from the AFD questioned the usefulness of the figures proposed by the consultants concerning funding needs for overseas biodiversity. During the discussion Birdlife said that some of the proposed figures made an important point, in that if biodiversity in Europe overseas is to be protected it will require substantial investment and that the figures did not reflect the planned investments but rather recommended a figure for achieving biodiversity goals. This later point of view was reiterated by Biotope / Green Ant who also said that the figure proposed for the protection of EU overseas biodiversity reflected what should be potentially invested (the need ) as opposed to what could realistically be invested in the short term. A representative from the government of the BVI stated that they would be very interested in receiving more information once the study had been developed further and asked if attention had been give to national administrations and the way they had provided funds to conservation work in EU overseas. Several comments were made relating to the study on the financing mechanisms. Birdlife asked whether the study would assess the scope of different existing funding mechanisms and OCTA stated that they disagreed with some of the figures in the report. Biotope / Green Ants stated that any input on figures would be appreciated and also that the scope for ORs and OCTs of the different financing mechanisms used to illustrate possible designs had been considered but only to some degree.. Presentation of the implementation of the Communication and mobilization Strategy IUCN and EBCD then gave a short update on the communications and mobilization strategy for the project. IUCN stated that the strategy was a living document and very much intended for participants to give updates throughout the project and to use it for their own ends. Updates concerning the communications work of IUCN included the launch of a Twitter account, news stories on the IUCN website and updates on the Overseas forum. EBCD gave an update on recent events including an event of the European Parliament Intergroup on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development that concerned island s issues and had a strong focus on European overseas entities. 11
Thematic Discussion: Climate Change Adaptation and sustainable energy Presentation of the EU Adaptation Strategy and discussion about the role of the EU Overseas for its implementation A representative from DG CLIMA spoke about their work on the EU climate change adaptation strategy. He started by saying that the islands have historically been laboratories of sustainability, for both good and for bad. He mentioned the importance of adaptation and how there was a lot of good will for adaptation. He mentioned that although the European Commission s strategy did not explicitly cover Europe overseas, there are some relevant points. He also mentioned that there were still gaps in knowledge concerning climate adaptation and that there was a strong case for action at the EU level particularly when considering that some shared resources (e.g. fisheries) might be impacted by climate change. He mentioned three priorities of the Commission: promote action of member states; increase knowledge; and mainstream adaptation into other policies. He said 850 million Euros had been put aside for climate action, and hoped that some of this would go towards European overseas entities. He mentioned a web tool Climate Adapt co-managed by the EEA and the Commission concerning adaptation work in metropolitan Europe but that there could be potential to expand to overseas areas. The representative also mentioned efforts concerning mainstreaming adaptation into all policies and said that there was also an opportunity here for European outermost regions. Finally, he mentioned a Green Paper on insurance related to adaptation and the need to look at ecosystem services where there must be good examples of protecting ecosystem services in Europe overseas. Biotope mentioned that that they were evaluating innovative finance mechanisms that had supported adaptation strategies such as mangrove protection. Birdlife asked about the fact that only 15 Member States had drafted adaptation strategies and on how guidelines produced by the Commission would be used for mainstreaming adaptation. The Commission representative responded that the adaptation strategies drawn up by Member States were voluntary and that they were closely following developments of Member States. Birdlife further asked how DG CLIMA are working with other DGs to ensure that both adaptation and mitigation are mainstreamed into all initiatives. The Commission stated that they are working closely with other DGs and have been producing facts sheets for the interest of other DGs to assist them in mainstreaming adaptation and mitigation initiatives. Finally Birdlife also asked about how the Commission would approach the subject of initiatives launched by Member States which have had an adverse affect on dealing with the possible consequences of climate change, such as the possibility of greater flooding (e.g. Madeira). The Commission said that it had to respect the principle of subsidiarity and that they can encourage green architecture for the future and make them aware of alternatives. IUCN also asked if DG CLIMA were tackling ocean acidification. The Commission stated that they did not have a specific line on ocean acidification and that further research was needed in this area. 12
ISLE-PACT and SMILEGOV Projects A representative from the Isle-Pact and Smilegov projects gave a presentation on the role of European islands and their work to exceed environmental and conservation targets for 2020. He mentioned the importance of greening energy supplies and the work of Isle-Pact in setting out action plans for achieving sustainable energy supplies. The representative mentioned that 64 islands had signed the pact of islands and that a long process of identifying projects that were bankable and most effective have been identified. Their research has shown that implementing 53 of these projects would lead to a reduction of 18 million tonnes of CO2. The organisation has also been trying to have the pact officially recognised as an EU initiative but they have seen very little interest from the European Commission on this proposal. On the Smilegov project, the representative spoke about the organisation s desire to improve island governance across different levels (e.g. grassroots, national, and regional). The project came to a close in 2012 but there were some clear conclusions for best practice, one of these resulting from the work of Samso Island in Denmark where the island had invested heavily in renewable energy. One of the reasons for the success there has been because of community ownership of the energy sources (i.e. wind farms). The representative also mentioned a lack of funding in the Smilegov project for the period between 2015 and 2020; especially for the work dedicated to improving governance liaison between local, national and regional stakeholders. The project, however, was also looking at addressing which measures would also require the least public funding support for the biggest return. It was also mentioned that the project is not just dedicated to energy but also has looked at waste management, smart investment and eco universities. In the discussion that followed the presentation, OCTA asked about whether the project was suitable to OCTs and the representative from Isle-pact and Smilegov said that the project was very much open to overseas entities. On funding, the representative also mentioned that one of the problems they have faced is that potential revenue schemes are difficult at present, as there is no dedicated funding for EU islands. IUCN remarked that there were a lot of shared synergies between the Isle-Pact project and the BEST programme and asked about how the relationship between island clusters and Member States, and EU institutions could be improved. Isle-Pact responded by stating that local actors and local authorities would be working together, and through giving local actors the capacity to work on developing their own plans. Thematic Discussion: Upcoming EU Overseas Events Presentation of the third International Marine Protected Areas Conference (October 21-27, 2013) In a change to the original agenda a representative from IUCN gave a presentation on the third International Marine Protected Areas Conference (IMPAC3). It was mentioned that over 800 proposals for presentations were received and that the event would last 5 days, taking place Marseille, with a two day high level event in Corsica at the end of the week. The focus of the event will be on achieving the Aichi targets and that one of the main deliverables of the congress is to produce a declaration on this. The event will also look at the issues of climate change, ecosystembased approaches in MPAs, and will assess what MPAs mean for culture and society i.e. this will look 13
at how MPAs are implemented and their effect on local communities. The event is expecting more than 1000 participants for the conference. There will be several plenary and workshop sessions and in the final plenary sessions the outcomes of the different sessions will be highlighted in order to find some key conclusions of the conference. Fostering Mobilization of islands and EU Overseas: Championing the Aichi Targets Another IUCN representative mentioned that there would be a special session dedicated to islands and their role in achieving the Aichi targets at the IMPAC3 event and that members of the Roundtable were encouraged to take part in the event, particularly to help with highlighting Bright Spots. On the same topic, a representative from the GLISPA then spoke about their desire to work more with EU overseas and for interested stakeholders to join their consortium. She spoke about their desire to highlight Bright Spots examples of where there have been successes in conservation and improvements to livelihoods and that Roundtable members were encouraged to propose examples. She also mentioned the event on islands at IMPAC3 and the desire to share best practice on how to better conserve marine ecosystems. The representative also mentioned that H.E. Mr. Ronny Jumeau - Chair of the Global Island Partnership Steering Committee and ambassador of the Seychelles to the UN - would attend the event at IMPAC3. Birdlife asked whether there would be any sessions on how to fund MPAs and the representative from IUCN said this issue would be considered at the conference. Islands and CBD COP 12 A representative from the French Ministry in charge of Overseas then spoke about France s desire to hold an event as a five year follow up the La Reunion conference. The date of the event has not been finalised yet but tentative topics are: assessing the state of the commitments made at La Reunion; showcasing a framework for EU involvement with overseas entities; and reviewing progress in achieving the Aichi targets relevant for islands. The representative also gave an update on what developments had taken place since the last Roundtable and mentioned the financial commitments of the UK and the Netherlands to overseas entities. The representative also said that it would be important to have a higher level steering committee on EU overseas issues and this might be more practical subsequent to the European Parliament elections in 2014. Mobilizing EU Overseas for the next CBD COP The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) gave a presentation stressing first the importance of the rich biodiversity in European overseas islands and the capacity of the EU and its Member States to achieve the goals and targets of the Convention. He spoke about 2014 being the UN s year of the SIDS and the conference planned by the UN on SIDS in Samoa in 2014. The conference would be of critical interest to the Roundtable because of the focus on the sustainable development of islands overall (and not only SIDS). He also praised the work of GLISPA in championing the cause of islands and the work of the CBD in trying to help islands develop and implement biodiversity strategies. The representative mentioned the vision of the Blue Economy approaches as a way to ensure sustainable development and the desire of the Secretariat of the CBD to reach out to European overseas islands on these issues. The representative also mentioned that 14
more and more European islands were getting involved in the work of the CBD and that he was pleased to hear about a follow up summit to the La Reunion conference including the BEST Preparatory Action. He praised the commitment of France and the Netherlands in supporting islands on conservation issues and France s financial commitment to IUCN. The representative from GLISPA then also spoke about the focus of 2014 on islands and that GLISPA was planning an array of events related to the CBD conference on SIDS and that again proposals of European Bright Spots would be welcomed. It was also mentioned in the discussion that since the last COP of the CBD, many developments had taken place concerning islands and that the integration between islands had improved a great deal. These developments should mean that more concrete actions are possible in the near future. OCTA mentioned that three overseas territories took part in the last COP of the CBD and that they would be keen for more of their members to attend the summit. The representative also mentioned that OCTA would be keen to help make concrete proposals for action to achieve the Aichi targets. The representative from DG ENV made the point that the majority of EU citizens are simply not aware of the opportunities ORs and OCTs can provide to contribute to achievement of European and international biodiversity target. There are many things developing in this arena and it should be the goal of the Roundtable partners to work closer together to seize the opportunities. Summary and Next Steps A representative from IUCN then wrapped things up and mentioned again how the Communications and Mobilization strategy was very much intended for members of the Roundtable to use themselves and to update. She also thanked the participants for their attendance and suggested another meeting of the Roundtable in September to follow up on discussions particularly on the studies related to governance and financing. It was also proposed to include an extra day alongside the Roundtable event to discuss the French proposal for a follow up conference to La Reunion. 15
Appendix 1: Agenda of the third meeting of the Roundtable, 19 December 2012 16
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Appendix 2: Participant organisations of the third meeting of the Roundtable # Organisation 1 Agence Française de Développement 2 Aruba Gov 3 Biotope 4 Birdlife/CI 5 British Virgin Islands Government 6 CBD 7 Green Park Consultants 8 CPMR 9 Defra (UK) 10 European Commission DG CLIMA 11 European Commission DG ENV 12 EBCD 13 EEA 14 French Gov 15 French Polynesia 16 GLISPA 17 Green Ant Advisors 18 IUCN GMPP 19 IUCN France 20 Kelonia 21 MEP Maurice Ponga 22 Ministère de l'écologie 23 OCTA 24 RSPB 25 Sodepar 26 UKOTCF 27 WWF 20