A pressing challenge !"#$%&

Size: px
Start display at page:

Download "A pressing challenge !"#$%&"

Transcription

1 A pressing challenge The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) adopted by the United Nations in 2000 have galvanized efforts to meet the needs of the world s poorest nations. The EU is a major contributor, providing 57% of official development assistance (ODA) in the world. This represents an important financial commitment from the EU budget as well as from the aid budgets of EU member states. However, only five years ahead of the 2015 target, many of the MDGs are still significantly off track. Among key reasons is the failure to recognize the contributions of the environment, natural resources and ecosystems to human development and poverty elimination. A lack of consideration for the environmental foundation of development can considerably reduce or even jeopardize the effectiveness of aid, whilst addressing it can increase it. All over the world, there is growing evidence of the strong links between biodiversity conservation and healthy ecosystems on the one hand and poverty elimination on the other. Ensuring environmental sustainability is the overall goal of MDG 7. It encapsulates a comprehensive set of issues including biodiversity loss, air pollution, forest degradation, climate change, fish stocks, clean drinking water, sanitation and the improvement of slums. In its 2010 report on the MDGs, the European Commission points out that the depletion of natural capital resulting from the unsustainable management of natural resources is in many ways undermining development efforts 1. We are far off track from meeting the global target, incorporated into MDG 7, to significantly reduce the current rate of biodiversity loss by The third edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook 2 must be a wake up call. Based on the latest science, it suggests more strongly than ever that placing greater emphasis on biodiversity is a prudent and cost effective investment in social and economic security, poverty-alleviation measures, and in risk reduction for the global community.!"#$%& '() %*+,")

2 Healthy ecosystems provide essential services: they are necessary to stabilise the climate, protect and manage freshwater sources, provide food for human needs, minimise environmental pressures on human health and preserve the diversity of cultures. A study into The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) 3, supported by the European Commission and Member States, has shown that by 2050, if biodiversity loss continues unchecked, the costs would amount to about 7% of global GDP, exacerbating inequality and instability in human societies. An impressive array of EU commitments The EU has frequently emphasized its commitment to the importance of biodiversity and ecosystems for development, for example in the following documents: European Council conclusions (Heads of State or government) Published on March There is an urgent need to reverse continuing trends of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation. The European Council is committed to the long term biodiversity 2050 vision and the 2020 target set out in the Council's conclusions of 15 March Environment Council conclusions Published on March Underlining that inaction represents an unbearable cost, recognising furthermore the key contribution of biodiversity in delivering prosperity and in reducing poverty, the Council agrees to step up the EU contribution to averting global biodiversity loss. EC communication 'Options for an EU vision and target for biodiversity beyond 2010' Published on January 19, 2010 Biodiversity and ecosystem services make a crucial contribution to human wellbeing. They secure the livelihoods of millions all round the world and are essential to reduce poverty and achieve the millennium development goals. Message from Paris Integrating Biodiversity in EU Development Cooperation Final message from the 2006 Paris conference coordinated by IUCN, welcomed by EU ministers at General Affairs Council, December 2006 Provides a set of recommendations for better integration of biodiversity in the EU development cooperation. In 2006 EU General Affairs Council invited the Commission, [ ], to report to the Council on a regular basis on the implementation of main priority actions identified in the Message from Paris. Communication on halting the loss of biodiversity by and beyond Adopted by the EC on 22 May 2006 Sets a roadmap to halting the loss of biodiversity by Includes an EU Action Plan with detailed responsibilities for EU institutions and member States and specific indicators to monitor progress. Reaffirms the need to enhance funding earmarked for biodiversity and to strengthen measures to mainstream biodiversity in development assistance. -./ '(*/(+01# $) *1#$+ 0,2,1 3,#,4 # 4

3 European Consensus on Development Adopted by the EU on 20 December 2005 The EU commits to delivering more and better aid. The Consensus stresses the link between development and environment and that halting biodiversity loss is essential for achieving the MDGs and calls for a strengthened approach to mainstreaming cross cutting issues. The implementation gap In reality, biodiversity remains largely ignored in EU development aid: Back in 2006, a special report from the European Court of Auditors raised concerns that biodiversity and the natural ecosystems that support people s livelihoods were largely ignored by European development cooperation programmes. Since then little progress has been made, either in terms of specific budget allocations or mainstreaming in the programming exercise at country level. Faced with this implementation gap, in June 2009 the EU Council invited the Commission to prepare an ambitious EU wide strategy for integration of environment in development cooperation, to be presented to the Council by late On the International Year for Biodiversity, it is high time for the EU to move beyond rhetoric and good words to action. It needs to take account of lessons learned from previous efforts, recent studies such as the EU-financed TEEB and experience from the country and regional levels including local voices on the ground in developing countries. Improved integration of biodiversity and natural ecosystems in EU development cooperation is critical to ensure the new EU 2020 Biodiversity target 5 is reached, progress in tackling poverty does not slip backwards, the MDGs are met and resilience to deal with climate change is built. This must happen now. An effective integration of conservation and development agendas depends on a wide range of stakeholders. Environmental NGOs themselves have a major role to play and are mobilised to demonstrate on the field the added-value of integrating conservation and development efforts. However, on this issue the EU is potentially the most influential actor worldwide: it has a major responsibility to show leadership and promote a new vision of development. 1,5!"! 1! 6

4 Specific recommendations from BirdLife, CI and WWF for EU Development Cooperation: Time-bound priorities for immediate attention: 1. At the UN High Level Plenary review of the MDGs in September 2010, the EU calls for greater attention to be paid to environmental issues across all sectors, recognising that environmental sustainability underpins progress on human development. Effective links should be made to the High Level Meeting on Biodiversity taking place just before the MDG Summit in New York. 2. As agreed by the European Council in 2009, an ambitious EU wide strategy on the integration of environment in EU development cooperation is prepared in close cooperation with Member States, the European Parliament and civil society organisations (CSOs) both from the South and from the North. Such a strategy should: a. Recognize biodiversity as the foundation to human development and include options for concrete funding and measures addressing biodiversity loss in recipient countries, b. Address the interlinked biodiversity and climate change crisis and the impact they have on sustainable development, c. Recognise the impact of other EU policies (Common Agriculture Policy, Common Fishery Policy, Energy supply, Trade, etc.) on degradation of natural ecosystems outside the EU and the need of coherence between EU policies, d. Use input from CSOs collected through regional workshops to be organised in 2010 and 2011 in the South. 3. In the negotiations of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the EU supports an ambitious vision, mission and targets that recognize biodiversity as the foundation to human development and the need to adjust our social and economic systems to fully consider these values, and supports appropriate financing to achieve these targets. 4. In the negotiations and delivery of climate finance, the EU recognizes the crucial need to maintain and restore ecosystems for mitigation, adaptation and resilience to climate change, and the importance of community-based adaptation measures. This must be linked to an ambitious EU-wide emission reduction target of at least 30% by 2020 to help keep global average warming below the 2 Celsius degrees threshold, above which biodiversity will increasingly be lost and ecosystem function significantly impaired.

5 Core recommendations that underpin effective poverty elimination: 5. The EU and recipient countries recognize the links between biodiversity, climate change and development and actively support processes that better integrate the protection of ecosystems in development policies, particularly in those regions where human communities are the most vulnerable from ecosystem degradation. 6. The EU contributes towards more effective policy coherence for development by recognizing the role of biodiversity, marine and freshwater resources and ecosystem services in delivering food security and sustainable agriculture. 7. The European Commission supports a culture of openness and transparency, and encourages participation through the publication and active dissemination of information on its development assistance, its impacts and the mainstreaming of environment, with monitoring and evaluation tools. 8. The EU provides a leadership role to give biodiversity conservation issues a prominent place in the programming dialogue between the partner country/region and the European Commission, supporting civil society consultation and the full involvement of the national government departments responsible for biodiversity and natural resources. 9. The European Commission develops sustainable, beyond project, sources of funding for biodiversity in developing countries such as trust funds, payments for ecosystem services as well as small grant facilities that can be accessed by CSOs at a country level. 10. The European Commission uses Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEA) and Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) on a systematic basis across all its aid and development programmes and according to current good practice, and supports its use in developing countries. Contacts 7(,8 '1 $ (9'. $:-*+-!" ; 0< 0') 5;$$,% '1 $,. $:-*+!-=66> 0:-*+=-6 ;?< ) #,$ &$ '' $:-*+="-= < 4 4') BirdLife, CI, WWF, June 2010