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The B@B Platform at the Green Week
11 May 2012. The EU Business @ Biodiversity Platform will participate in the Green Week – the biggest annual conference on European environment policy, organized by the European Commission.
During Green Week the Platform will be presented at the stand hosted by the European Landowners' Organization, one of the implementing partners of the B@B Platform. Visitors will have the opportunity to meet with representatives from the B@B team and get acquainted with the Platform's activities and outputs. A selection of case studies showcasing best practices in the private sector will also be available for visitors at the stand.
The ceremony for the European Business Awards for the Environment (EBAE) will be held during the Green Week. For the first time a new 'Business and Biodiversity' Award will also be given to a European company with outstanding achievements in halting biodiversity loss and supporting natural ecosystems. The 14 nominees for this year's Awards will be promoted and will have their projects exhibited during the Green Week. The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Brussels on the evening of Thursday 24 May 2012.
Green Week is organized for the 12th time and will take place from 22 to 25 May 2012 in Brussels. This year's theme is "Water". Over the past decade, the conference has established itself as an unmissable event for anyone involved with protecting the environment. The 2011 edition attracted more than 3,000 participants from government, business and industry, non-governmental organisations, academia and the media.
Interested parties can register for the event via this link.
European Commission call for proposals on eco-innovation
11 May 2012. A recently launched call for proposals by the European Commission Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry invites interested parties to apply for funding for projects connected with eco-innovative products, techniques, services or processes which aim at prevention or reduction of environmental impacts or which contribute to the optimal use of resources.
The specific objectives of this call are to promote the adoption of new and integrated approaches to eco-innovation in fields such as environmental management and environmentally-friendly products, processes and services; to encourage the uptake of environmental solutions by increasing the market and by the removing the barriers to market penetration; to promote high-added value products, processes, technologies or services; and to increase innovation capacities of SMEs.
The main priority areas of this call for proposals are materials recycling, sustainable building products, food and drink sector, and water. The call is open to any legal organisation in the EU, the European Economic Area (EEA), candidate countries and third countries. The deadline for the submission of proposals is 6 September 2012.
Further information can be found here.
"Achieving Scale" with the Business Day 2012 ahead of Rio+20
11 May 2012. The Business Action for Sustainable Development (BASD) Business Day 2012, the official United Nations Major Group Business and Industry event, is a high-profile platform for interaction between business leaders and policy-makers. The 2012 edition runs under the theme "Achieving Scale" and the role of trade and investment in sustainable development. It will include a wide range of business, government and NGO participants, and will address both sector and cross-cutting issues.
The Business Day will identify key actions and catalysts to drive scale in sustainable development to input to the Rio+20 Conference and foster collaborative action among participants. A variety of sector-oriented dialogue sessions will highlight business solutions, commitments to action, and hurdles to achieving scale. Sessions currently planned include: Agriculture, Cement, Chemicals, Consumer Goods, Energy/Power, Forestry, Materials, Oil & Gas, Transport, or others.
A working "roundtable" luncheon for senior government, business and UN officials will also take place. Participants will include Heads of State, CEOs, and senior leaders from key stakeholder groups.
The event will take place on Tuesday 19 June in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
More information can be found via this link.
Registration for the event can be made via this link.
Creating opportunities for financing biodiversity
27 April 2012. On the second day of the 1st European Biodiversity Summit, held on the 17th and 18th of April in Stuttgart, Germany, one of the sessions focused on the opportunities for financing biodiversity and exploring the economic value of biodiversity for investors.
The aim of this session was to highlight new developments in financing biodiversity conservation through tapping private capital sources and to show the status quo of markets for biodiversity. Biodiversity is an interesting candidate for investors with a public mandate, but in order to get private sector investors involved, the financial sector has to become more convinced of economic value of biodiversity. Both private as well as public sector investors are willing to scale up their investments in biodiversity, if a stronger business case for doing is developed.
The lively session provided interesting and useful insights into both the considerations of investors with a public mandate and private sector investors towards financing biodiversity as an asset, next to possibilities to build a stronger business case for biodiversity to increase the interest of a wide range of investors. The reports and presentations from this session, as well as the other parts of the summit, will soon be available here.
For more information on the session and the panel members, visit the website.
Copa-Cogeca holds major debate on EU biofuel policies and land use changes, warning EU model for calculating impact of biodiesel on emissions is flawed
27 April 2012. Copa-Cogeca held a major debate this week on European Biofuel Policies and the impact of land use changes on greenhouse gas emissions, warning that the EU model for calculating the impact of biodiesel on emissions is fundamentally flawed and differs greatly from models and classifications used in the US. In the US, the benefits of canola biodiesel in terms of reducing emissions are highly renown, Gerard Tubery, Chairman of Copa-Cogeca Working Party on Oil seeds and Protein Crops stressed.
The move came after the reports evaluating the impact of land use change on greenhouse gas emissions relating to biofuel demand in 2020 which were commissioned by the EC from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the Joint Research Centre (JRC) were discussed in further detail in Copa-Cogecas Working Party. Mr Tubery insisted “It’s ludicrous that the reports promote the idea that rapeseed biodiesel is worse than bioethanol. This is not the consensus view at international level. Indeed, the U.S. canola biodiesel is recognized as an advanced biofuel”.
Copa-Cogeca Secretary-General Pekka Pesonen said biofuels offer many advantages in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, providing employment in EU rural areas. And they can be produced in the EU in a sustainable way, without being responsible for indirect land use changes.
Increased biofuel production in the EU also relieves land pressures in non-EU countries and helps to combat deforestation of tropical rainforests. The development of biodiesel is also important as the rapeseed plant can be used simultaneously for both biodiesel production and as a cheap feedstuff for animals. In fact, only part of the oilseed, cereals and sugar beet used to produce biofuels is actually converted into energy. The majority stays in the feed sector and is used as animal feed, with 6-8 million tonnes of rapeseed oil used in biodiesel out of 160 mt of vegetable oils and fats global supply.
It is consequently unacceptable to use these reports to allow an impact assessment of political options for an EU legislative proposal on indirect land use changes related to biofuels in 2012, Mr Pesonen concluded.
Source: http://www.copa-cogeca.be/Download.ashx?ID=903173&fmt=pdf
UNEP highlights study on the role of bats in transitioning to a green economy
27 April 2012. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has highlighted a new study on how Mexican bats with Brazilian roots are boosting the US cotton industry. The study was published in the journal "Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment," and was co-authored by Rodrigo Medellin, Ambassador of the Year of the Bat and Scientific Councillor to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS).
UNEP notes the importance of bat conservation, as supporting ecosystem services are critical to a transition to a low-carbon, resource efficient green economy, one of the themes of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20).
According to the study, in the summer the Brazilian free-tailed bat migrates from its habitat in central Mexico to breeding grounds in the north of the country and south western areas of the US, where it feeds on moths and other agricultural pests. According to the study, the natural pest control that bats provide has an economic value of US$740,000. The study takes into account the value of cotton crops that would have been lost in the absence of bats and cost savings made through the reduced use of pesticides.
According to Medellin, it is important to conserve bat habitats worldwide for the sake of their economic benefits alone. He also highlights that the CMS-backed Year of the Bat 2011-12 is an essential tool to convey the value of ecological services bats provide to human economies and the health of ecosystems.
B@B Platform: what's next?
16 April 2012. As the EU B@B Platform gets to its third and last year of activity, a workshop organised by the European Commission's DG Environment addressed the future of the Platform and cooperation with similar national initiatives.
On 22 March, Pia Bucella, Director of Nature, Biodiversity and Land use at the European Commission (EC) opened the event attended by around 50 representatives of companies, NGOs and Member States by stressing on the importance of businesses being part of the biodiversity policy agenda.
Francois Wakenhut, Head of Biodiversity at the EC stated: “The EU B@B Platform is a great tool for the Commission to connect with the private sector in delivering on the EU Biodiversity Strategy targets and actions. Building on this and the lessons we have learnt after almost 3 years of the initiative, we are looking into options for expanding it in the future by attracting more partners from the business sector and mobilizing small and medium enterprises to join the process”.
A number of national Business and Biodiversity initiatives were presented during the meeting. Among them there were the German Biodiversity in Good Company initiative, the Nordic Council platform comprising Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland, the UK and Belgian national platforms, as well as the Leaders for Nature initiative of the IUCN National Committee in The Netherlands. Synergies with those initiatives were central to the discussions on the future of the EU B@B Platform.
An electronic questionnaire will be forwarded to the Platform participants in order to determine the most appropriate setup for the future initiative and how it could best fit the participants’ wishes and needs.
A number of studies and reports have been produced by the Platform with the aim of identifying and sharing best practices on the business contribution to biodiversity conservation. You can read more on the B@B website. The Platform has recently launched a publication compiling case studies from the private sector. See here.
TEEBelgium D0 conference
16 April 2012. On the 27th of April, the University of Antwerp, the Belgian Science Policy office, and the partners of the Belgium’s ecosystem services (BEES) project will host the final conference of the Belgium’s Ecosystem Services (BEES) at the Royal Academies for Science and the Arts of Belgium.
The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) are profoundly changing the way society manages and uses its natural resources. In a broad range of policy domains, questions are raised concerning the dependency on sound ecosystem functioning, and how to cope with opportunities and externality costs caused by erosion of ecosystem services. The scale and magnitude of this problem calls for cross-policy domain involvement and cooperation of scientists, policy makers and major economic stakeholders.
The TEEBelgium D0 conference will:
- Present the prospects and challenges for development of a TEEBelgium initiative, based on the results of the BEES project (Belgium’s Ecosystem Services).
- Debate conclusions of ecosystem service prospects for the finance, business, agriculture and nature conservation domains with international experts and Belgian policy makers.
For more information about the conference, updates, and to register for participation, please refer to this website: http://www.teebelgium.be.
Read moreNature tourism boosts local economies along with environmental conservation
16 April 2012. Nature-based tourism boosts local economies while conserving the natural environment, according to University of Florida research. Studying nature tourism businesses in Costa Rica, Taylor Stein, report author and University of Florida associate professor with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, found that successful ones “usually invested in environmental protection and maintenance,” while “tour businesses of all sizes circulated money throughout local economies,” according to a UF news report.
Providing patrons an environmental ‘feel-good’ factor about their vacations is a key strategic element for Costa Rica’s larger, successful ecotourism businesses, but successful nature tourism businesses “walk the walk” as well as “talk the talk,” Stein found.
“It used to be that you didn’t see hotels bragging about the fact that they don’t wash the bath towels every day of your stay,” he was quoted as saying. “But now, it’s rare not to see these signs in most hotels. If that makes customers happier, the hotels will do it.”
Besides helping customers know and feel they’re supporting a healthier, more sustainable natural environment, successful nature tourism businesses in Costa Rica also go the extra yard when it comes to highlighting their businesses actual “green” practices and the value and importance they place on environmental conservation. “They provide environmental education to visitors, supported conservation initiatives, recycled waste and used environmentally friendly equipment,” the UF report notes.
Stein also found that successful nature and ecotourism businesses in Costa Rica are also intensely focused on local spending and business networking. In addition to employing local residents, they focus on purchasing supplies locally and use local lodging.
14 companies nominated for the 2012 European Business Awards for the Environment
30 March 2012. The shortlist for the 2012 European Business Awards for the Environment (EBAE) has been revealed, following a two-day jury meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark. The 14 finalists come from Belgium, France, Germany, Spain, Austria, Portugal, Slovakia, Finland and the United Kingdom. The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Brussels on 24 May 2012, during Green Week, the European Commission's annual conference on environment policy. The European Business Awards for the Environment are granted to innovative companies that successfully combine innovation, competitiveness and outstanding environmental performance.
European Commissioner for the Environment Janez Potočnik said: "To prosper in resource-constrained world, our economies must become more efficient in their use of natural resources. The European Business Awards for the Environment show that this is possible. They reward companies that are making the best possible use of resources throughout their life cycle to create as much economic value and as little environmental impact as possible."
The finalists were selected from 156 submissions, originating from 24 European Member States and candidate countries. The high number of applications – a 10 % increase compared to the 2010 competition – highlights the increasing environmental commitment of European businesses and their willingness to adopt eco-innovative practices, despite the current economic climate.
The Business and Biodiversity Award shortlist:
Café Direct - SME - United Kindgom. Project Title: Adaptation for Smallholders to Climate Change (AdapCC)
Slovenské elektrárne, a.s. - major Corporation - Slovakia. Project Title: Energy for Nature: Saving most precious animal species in Slovak mountains (the Tatras National Park)
Voies Navigables de France - major Corporation – France. Project Title: Restoring the French waterways embankments in an ecological engineering approach.
Tilburg Urban Infrastructure Initiative
30 March 2012. A group of global businesses have worked with the city of Tilburg in The Netherlands to find ideas that can accelerate progress toward the city's climate neutral vision. The companies are part of a unique project (the Urban Infrastructure Initiative or UII) bringing multi-sector expertise to help cities achieve their sustainability visions. A group of five companies together with WBCSD (AGC, CEMEX, Schneider Electric, Siemens, and TNT) active in energy efficiency, equipment, materials and logistics pooled their resources to identify practical solutions. Tilburg's climate vision was the focus. Housing, transport, business estates and energy supply were the target areas.
The Urban Infrastructure Initiative vision is a world where cities provide a sustainable environment for people to live, work, move and play. The aim is to work with cities to implement more effective and affordable sustainable solutions. The initiative was launched in 2010 by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) as a business contribution to urban sustainability. It brings together companies with vast knowledge, skills and experience in sectors including energy and water, mobility and logistics, building materials, engineering, equipment and support services. They have global coverage and are active in all stages of the infrastructure lifecycle.
You can find the report here.
Yes to 'Innovating for Sustainable Growth' in the food and drink industry
30 March 2012. The food and drink industry has a key role to play in moving towards a more sustainable use of renewable resources. The industry therefore welcomes the recognition within the Commission's Communication of the role Europe's food manufacturers play in responding to global challenges such as human health; mitigating the effects of climate change; helping to preserve natural resources and ensuring the highest standards of food safety and food security in Europe.
Encouraging innovation is central to bolstering the competitiveness of Europe's food industry both at home and worldwide. The current EU framework creates a number of bottlenecks to innovation for food operators, for example, lengthy lead-times for companies seeking to bring new products and processes to market for Europe's 500 million consumers, which, in turn hinders investment in R&D by manufacturers.
In particular, food manufacturers welcome the three aspects identified in the Communication, and will continue to work with stakeholders (via the European Technology Platform (ETP) Food for Life, for example) to encourage the uptake of innovative technologies and processes for Europe's bioeconomy. As Europe's first manufacturing industry, accounting for over 274,000 companies (99.1% of which are SMEs) and employing over 4 million people directly, food operators want to see the creation of an environment in which the sector can flourish, creating jobs and opportunities in these difficult economic times
World Food Game: innovative and sustainable minds working together
16 March 2012. Rabobank, a Dutch bank, has just recently started an initiative called the World Food Game. Its aim is to involve young people (between 16 and 25 years old) in the creation and launch of a game about cooperatives and food supply chain sustainability. In their words this is "a game [addressing] cooperative entrepreneurship with the world food problem as its theme".
On a dedicated Facebook page participants can contribute ideas and comment on other people's inputs about how the game should look like, what the rules should be, as well as the humour and fun aspects of the game. By going to the Facebook page and 'liking' World Food Game, users join the co-creation platform. Alongside the online dialogue, 6 separate co-creation "sprints" will be created at various colleges and universities in The Netherlands. The organizers of these workshops will be using an innovative method of learning called Mind Sessions (in Dutch) - an iPad game designed to create outputs, solutions and insights through fun and design-thinking
If you want to get involved, visit the World Food Game on Facebook
The Twitter hashtag is #WorldFoodGame.
Tesco and RSPB unite to protect rainforests
16 March 2012. Tesco and the RSPB, the Royal Society for Protection of Birds, Europe's largest wildlife conservation charity, have announced a ground-breaking partnership called 'Together for Trees' to help protect rainforests around the world.
Deforestation is a major cause of climate change – it causes more carbon dioxide to be released into the atmosphere than the world's transport sector.
The UK's biggest retailer and the charity have teamed up to increase awareness of the deforestation crisis and raise essential funds to support on-the-ground conservation work to tackle the problem.
Together For Trees aims to raise over £1million for the RSPB in its first year. Customers will be able to help save endangered rainforests every time they re-use a bag. They will be able to donate their green Clubcard points, Clubcard vouchers or give money directly to the programme via a new website www.tesco.com/trees. Tesco is additionally contributing £75,000 from the sale of its new range of "Together for Trees" reusable bags.
Picture by tauntingpanda
FMO and Triodos bank launch Upsides.com
16 March 2012. FMO and Triodos Bank have launched the online magazine Upsides.com with the slogan 'Upsides changes, discovers, believes and inspires' (www.upsides.com). It offers an international platform for the vision and accomplishments of business leaders, entrepreneurs and bankers from Latin America, Asia and Africa. Upsides.com is the only magazine that approaches sustainable development in emerging markets from a responsible finance perspective. It offers interviews with thinkers and doers who are capable of aligning profitable business with the needs of society and do so within the boundaries of our ecosystem.
For more information see here.
First European Biodiversity Summit for business
2 March 2012.The European Biodiversity Summit is the only event on sustainability and biodiversity in Europe with a distinct business focus. It will take place on 17 and 18 April 2012 in Stuttgart, Germany. IUCN is among the main organizers of the Summit.
The 2-day event will provide the latest information on biodiversity valuation, new EU regulations and the link to climate change. Practical examples of how business can seize biodiversity opportunities will be presented. High-level representatives from companies such as Unilever, Iberdrola, Otto Group and Robert Bosch will join prominent politicians and leaders and present keynotes in front of more than 500 participants.
The market place exposition during the Summit will give participants the opportunity to connect with these businesses as well as with NGOs, politicians and scientists. The plenary sessions of the conference will be complemented by diverse expert workshops focusing on business- and biodiversity-related topics, ranging from legal compliance and biodiversity finance to supply chain management and valuation of nature. The Summit is organized by the European Business and Biodiversity Campaign, an initiative funded under the EU LIFE Programme.
The European Biodiversity Summit is an opportunity for corporations of all sectors throughout Europe to demonstrate their leadership in sustainability and biodiversity.
To register for participation, click here.
You can find the flyer here.
You can find a detailed programme here.
Picture by Srdjan Cicovacki
Commission calls for a stronger response to soil degradation
2 March 2012. Soil degradation is a worrying phenomenon in the EU. Between 1990 and 2006, at least 275 hectares of soil per day were permanently lost through soil sealing – the covering of fertile land by impermeable material – amounting to 1,000 km² per year, or an area the size of Cyprus every ten years. Soil erosion by water is estimated to affect 1.3 million km² in Europe, an area equivalent to 2.5 times the size of France. Soil degradation affects our capacity to produce food, prevent droughts and flooding, stop biodiversity loss, and tackle climate change. These are some of the main findings of two new reports on the policy and scientific aspects of European soil presented by the European Commission.
Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik said: "These reports highlight the importance of preserving European soils if we are to safeguard supplies of quality food and clean groundwater, healthy recreational spaces, and lower greenhouse gas emissions. We need to use the resources from our soils more sustainably. The best way to do this would be through a common approach across the EU. The Commission has put legislative proposals on the table, and I hope our new reports will help Council and Parliament move towards action."
The reports underline the need for action to prevent the ongoing deterioration of Europe's soils. Erosion, soil sealing and acidification have all increased in the past decade, and the trend is likely to continue unless challenges such as rising land-use, the inefficient use of natural resources and the preservation of organic matter in soil are addressed. According to the policy report, five years after the adoption of a Soil Thematic Strategy, there is still no systematic monitoring and protection of soil quality across Europe. This means that existing actions are not sufficient to ensure an adequate level of protection for all soil in Europe.
Picture by umpquawild
WBCSD's new training program on business and ecosystems now available
2 March 2012. In an increasingly resource-constrained world, corporations must measure, manage and mitigate their impact and dependence on the ecosystems where they operate and through their supply chains. To help build this capacity into company infrastructure, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) launched its Business Ecosystems Training (BET) program.
BET is designed to improve the understanding of managers and employees across business functions about their company’s direct and indirect impact and dependence on ecosystems, ecosystem services and biodiversity. Designed specifically for business, it incorporates WBCSD methodologies, materials and tools that have been developed over the course of 15 years, as well as material from other institutions.
Visit http://www.wbcsd.org/bet.aspx to learn more about BET and download the freely-available training material.
Successful conservation policy needs monitoring and knowledge
2 March 2012. New research has explored how well different governance systems can achieve desirable conservation outcomes. Results confirmed the importance of adaptive management, which relies on regular monitoring to enable ‘learning through doing’ to refine actions, and suggested that leadership using expert knowledge was also significant in successful governance.
With increasing policy concern about the degradation of ecosystems and loss of biodiversity, there have been a large number of different approaches to reduce the negative effects of human activity on nature. These approaches can vary widely, from community management regimes to state-run protected areas, and also involve a range of economic or social instruments, such as subsidies and taxes, as well as regulatory tools, such as restrictions on access or use. However, to date, there has been no systematic comparison of the effectiveness of these different approaches.
The study, conducted under the EU GEM-CON-BIO1 and TESS projects2, analysed 26 local/sub-national and eight international conservation initiatives for three important outcomes: enhancing the delivery of ecosystem services, ensuring sustainable use of natural resources and maintaining biodiversity. The three outcomes were scored using expert judgment, whilst the governance system was described using data from questionnaires collecting ecological, economic and social information. Five main indicators were identified to describe the governance system: adaptive management; knowledge leadership, i.e. the frequency of consultation with a higher authority; use of regulatory tools; state/private management and the management priorities in terms of economic, social or ecological goals.
Wetlands and Tourism
2 March 2012. The World Wetlands Day theme for 2012 is Wetlands and Tourism and is linked to the theme for the next meeting of the Conference of the Parties, COP11: Wetlands, Tourism and Recreation, which will take place in July 2012, in Bucharest, Romania.
Wetland tourism has benefits both locally and nationally for people and wildlife – benefits such as stronger economies, sustainable livelihoods, healthy people and thriving ecosystems. At least 35% of Ramsar Sites around the world record some level of tourism activity and this percentage is consistent throughout all regions. Of course it is important to consider tourism in all wetlands – not just those designated as Ramsar Sites – since the Contracting Parties to the Convention are committed to managing all wetlands.
It is worth noting that tourism is one of the many services that wetlands deliver. Ensuring well-managed tourism practices in and around wetlands and educating tourists on the value of wetlands contributes to their health and the long-term benefits that wetlands provide to people, wildlife, economics, and biodiversity.
Rainforest Alliance spices up sustainability with new standard
2 March 2012. The Rainforest Alliance announced that it has teamed up with the Sustainable Spices Initiative (SSI) to interpret the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) standards to incorporate the sustainable production of spices. SSI is the first major program to address sustainability in the production of spices and this announcement marks the 11th World Spice Congress in Pune, India.
Founded by the Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH) and four leading players in the Dutch spice market, this major spice program will aim to implement SAN standards to the production of 34 different types of culinary spices. These standards will address key issues in the production of spices, including loss of biodiversity, heavy use of agrochemicals and poor conditions for workers - problems which plague the production of spices globally.
Infrastructure industry sees "green"
16 February 2012. Some 200 companies and practitioners gathered last week at a European meeting to discuss how motorway and railway construction can contribute to biodiversity conservation. Organized by Eiffage, a large construction group, and the University of Paris 1, the workshop was hosted by the European Business and Biodiversity Campaign in Paris.
Case studies dealing, inter alia, with the challenges of bat flights crossing motorways, the effect of road and rail construction on the distribution of newts and the results of landscape restoration in southern France were presented. Legal aspects related to the construction business were reviewed.
"This was not a publicity exercise, or a corporate social responsibility event, but a meeting to exchange practical information, to learn from each other and to raise key biodiversity issues for the construction sector," said Valerie David, Group Director for Sustainable Development of the Eiffage Group.
One of the challenges for the industry in France is how to comply with European rules and regulations, an issue that was addressed in the first session of the meeting. Another key aspect is how to deal with the biodiversity impacts of development projects and avoid and mitigate the damage to the environment. The concept of habitat restoration was discussed, and examples were provided from several regions of France. Compensation for biodiversity impacts, offsets and how to determine the value of biodiversity were also tackled.
IUCN Regional Director for Europe, Hans Friederich, commented: "This was an interesting meeting with a very broad mix of participants, including several IUCN Members and biologists, as well as a large number of industry representatives who may be less convinced about the values of ecosystem services. The case studies that were presented illustrate that many companies are taking biodiversity issues more and more seriously".
The event was organized under the auspices of the European Business and Biodiversity Campaign, a partnership of several organisations including IUCN, managed by the Global Nature Fund and co-financed by the European Commission Life+ programme.For further information please read here.
Visit the EIFFAGE website here.
Germany wins battle to delete biodiversity goals from CAP
16 February 2012. A call for specific biodiversity goals to be integrated into the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) was abandoned at the insistence of Germany during a meeting of environment ministers in Brussels on 19 December.
In its proposal for a biodiversity strategy up to 2020, the European Commission had listed areas of concern that should be dealt with under the CAP. But several member states objected to this, arguing that it prejudged the outcome of ongoing talks among agriculture ministers on reform of the CAP.
The Polish presidency of the EU's Council of Ministers put forward a proposal re-designating the list as theoretical "examples", but this was still not acceptable to Germany. After several hours of discussion, Germany succeeded in having the entire paragraph on biodiversity objectives for the CAP deleted in the final version approved by ministers. This leaves only a vague reference to biodiversity in the CAP in the conclusions.
BirdLife Europe, a campaign group, said the deletion was symptomatic of an overall reluctance by environment ministers to clash with discussions in other Council bodies. The UK was able to water down language on funding for Life, the EU's environmental funding programme, arguing that it prejudged discussions over the multiannual financial framework. Language on fisheries was also made vaguer.
Ariel Brunner, Head of European Policy at BirdLife, said the decision was a worrying sign that environmental goals would not be taken seriously in forthcoming discussions on agriculture, fisheries and budget reform. "Looking at environment ministers compromising for hours on the protection of what should be the core of their political mandate – biodiversity – is a dangerous preview of the fate of biodiversity left completely in the hands of agriculture ministers," he said.
Janez Potocnik, the European Commissioner for the Environment, issued a statement condemning the deletion of the list, adding that the Commission would continue to push for biodiversity objectives to be made part of the CAP during the reform discussions. Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy, a Dutch Liberal MEP and the European Parliament's rapporteur on the issue, said the deletion of language on cross-sectoral integration meant that the strategy was "now a threatened species itself".
For further information please read here.
European Business Awards for the Environment honour biodiversity
16 February 2012. The EBAE Awards will take place on 24 May during Green Week. Beginning in 2012, a new 'Business and Biodiversity' Award will also be presented to a European company with outstanding achievements in halting biodiversity loss and supporting natural ecosystems.
The European Business Awards for the Environment were established by the European Commission Environment Directorate-General in 1987. They are presented every two years and aim to recognise and reward European companies that set an example by successfully bringing together innovation, economic viability and environmental concerns. The scheme consists of five awards, rewarding companies for management practices, products, processes, international business cooperation and biodiversity activities that contribute to economic and social development without detriment to the environment.
The winner of the Business and Biodiversity Award will be selected from companies applying for one of the existing categories. The criteria include, among others, whether the action taken concerns important ecosystem/habitat/species, whether the impact is extensive and if the protection of biodiversity is sustainable.
Find out about the criteria for the Business and Biodiversity Award here.
Find out more on the EBAE Awards here.
New year, new plans!
31 January 2012. The EU B@B Platform has just started its third year of activities. The third year of this initiative seems the right and suitable time to research and discuss economic mechanisms related to biodiversity – one of the main concerns for the business sector. Companies struggle through the financial crises and biodiversity might seem another burden. Hence investigating this topic together with the Platform's participants will help stress the benefits for companies willing to play a role in the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.
For the year 2012, the Platform will maintain the communication with its participants and all other stakeholders involved and release a fact sheet regarding the implementation of the EU Biodiversity Strategy. The website will be kept busy with frequent updates on new case studies, participants' work on conservation, projects and experiences. We will continue our efforts to promote the Platform and distribute the newsletter. These activities will reinforce the important role in communicating with businesses which is crucial in this dialogue.
We will continue the follow up on the EU Biodiversity Strategy implementation through a workshop with Member States Ministries' B@B focal points to discuss their role in implementing the Biodiversity Strategy and the role they see for the private sector in their countries. We will also follow up on previous years assessing and acknowledging companies' performance, through promotion of the new EU B@B Awards, as well as holding a mini consultation with the companies on use of the best practice benchmarking, collecting companies' comments and suggestions propositions. We have recently released a publication including a large number of case studies from the Platform's participants.
For further information please read here.
Quality of nature after winning sand or gravel, a study by the Dutch Butterfly Foundation
31 January 2012. In the Netherlands sand and gravel extraction is common. Society demands added social value to this kind of projects. Opportunities such as widening river systems, nature and development projects near the water occur. The quality of the new nature achieved in these projects is often unknown, but it is very important for the targets and green image of the extractive companies.
The sites 'Omsteg' (former agricultural landscape) in the East of the Netherlands and 'proefproject Grensmaas' (river bank) in the South were used for sand and grind extraction. The quality of biodiversity, especially in comparison to the biodiversity before extractive activities took place, is studied in these areas. For this purpose indicator groups, such as butterflies, odonates (dragonflies and damselflies) and grasshoppers, are studied.
Results from the study show an increase of biodiversity and nature development in both investigated former extraction locations, compared to the beginning of the extraction work. Well executed land management and good aftercare by the extractive companies have been key factors to conserve and enhance biodiversity. The study also underlines that these locations have a very positive function in the landscape for both nature and recreation. In total 59 species of butterflies, odonates and grasshoppers have been found in the areas.
The 'Omsteg' and 'proefproject Grensmaas' have produced different results. Many indicator species were found in 'de Omsteg' whereas in 'proefproject Grensmaas' no such species were found. The development of insects in 'proefproject Grensmaas' already achieved an optimum and has slightly declined. For both sites, good land management is the key to ensure these results.
The new nature created thanks to sand and grit extraction in agricultural landscapes has become an important function for the surrounding area. The grind bank biodiversity at the Grensmaas is decreasing but is still of good quality. In inland areas eutrophication is causing declines too. In these areas, particular small treatments can maintain and improve nature quality.
This study is being carried out at the request of the Dutch Aggregate Association.
Butterfly Association: http://www.vlinderstichting.nl/index.php
Cascade: http://www.cascade-zandgrind.nl/
Banks make ground-breaking commitment on natural capital
31 January 2012. On 14 December 2011, the National Australia Bank and the Rabobank Group announced a ground-breaking endorsement of the Natural Capital Declaration, at a meeting in London.
By endorsing the Declaration, financial institutions re-affirm the importance of natural capital in maintaining a sustainable global economy, and call upon the private and public sectors to work together to create the conditions necessary to maintain and enhance natural capital as a critical economic, ecological and social asset.
The Natural Capital Declaration has been developed during an 18-month global consultation by the United Nations Environment Programme’s Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), the Global Canopy Programme (GCP) and Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV). It will be launched at the Rio +20 Earth Summit in June 2012, addressing the use of natural capital by businesses.
For more information see: http://www.naturalcapitaldeclaration.org/
Source: http://www.unepfi.org/ncd/documents/release_14Dec11.pdf
Database of SAI Platform Members' Projects
31 January 2012. The Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) has recently released a publication featuring more than 60 projects on sustainable agriculture from its member companies. The projects feature a wide selection of countries, commodities and sustainability issues along the economic, environmental and social pillars.
The publication can be found on SAI website using the interactive map as well as a detailed search engine.
For more information see: http://www.saiplatform.org/activities/projects
Assessing the benefits of environmental certification
31 January 2012. The topic of certification often emerges when tackling biodiversity in the food supply sector. Certification is indeed a way to enhance the conservation of biodiversity along the whole value chain and inform customers who are often ready to pay a premium for it. However, the understanding of labels often relies on trust and reputation as few people have precise knowledge of the actual benefits of the certification for the ecosystems. This is because information is scarce and the benefits are hard to evaluate and quantify.
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has recently completed a study on the environmental impacts and benefits of its dedicated programme. The full report was issued at end of 2011 and is the first study ever to examine fishery performance through the whole flow of the MSC assessment process. It focused on improvements in eight key outcome performance indicators that the MSC assessment process measures and tracks over time: stock status, population reference points, stock recovery, retained species, bycatch species, endangered, threatened and protected (ETP) species, habitats and ecosystems.
The study provides tangible results on the benefits of the certification for fisheries and their environment. It demonstrates that fisheries experience both quantifiable environmental changes, such as improved stock status and reduced bycatch, as well as increases in knowledge and certainty about ecosystem impacts. This improvement was documented through changes in key indicators of environmental performance starting at pre-assessment and continuing through and beyond certification.
Through this initiative, MSC is setting an example for certification schemes on the environment and biodiversity protection by providing its users – from fisheries, food processors to end customers – with feedback on their investment which can contribute to increasing trust in labels and the transparency of certification.
More information at the following link: http://www.msc.org/about-us/news/newsitem/new-study-on-environmental-impacts-of-msc-programme-published
Green Passport – Biodiversity in France's Overseas territories
31 January 2012. Throughout the world, tourists in search of environmentally friendly vacations are given a large variety of private and public touristic offers claiming to conciliate leisure and preservation of the environment. This includes protecting biodiversity as one of the concerns of people seeking responsible tourism. However, confronted with the variety of offers, they face difficulties in assessing the real benefits to the environment and ecosystems of their vacation. Standards or guidelines designed or acknowledged by a trustful organization can bring transparency in the offer and help consumers in their choices. The UNEP Green Passport campaign launched in 2008 is an example of helpful information provided to travellers and tourists.
France has recently decided to adapt the UNEP Green Passport initiative to raise tourists’ awareness on biodiversity in French Overseas territories.
The Green Passport is part of the State commitments adopted by the “National Strategy on Biodiversity from 2011 to 2020”. The aim of the Green Passport “Biodiversity in France’s Overseas Territories” is twofold: educate tourists on the protection of biodiversity and enhance this biodiversity as an asset for the development of tourism in Overseas territories. This passport introduces the issues and the richness of marine and land ecosystems to the tourists with some specific natural sites to discover in each of the twelve Overseas territories.
The document has been distributed since November 2011 to passengers at airports or in the main tourist sites. The passport will also be available at the main natural protected areas of each territory and can be downloaded on the website of the Ministry of Overseas France. 300,000 of these passports will be distributed over the coming months, of which 200,000 are in French and 100,000 in English for foreign tourists.
First page of the Passport :
http://www.globalsustainabletourism.com/News/23-The-Green-Passport-Biodiversity-in-France-s-Overseas-Territories.html
More information on the following links:
- On the UNEP Green Passport: http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=528&ArticleID=5757&l=en
- On the French Green Passport “Biodiversity in France's Overseas Territories” http://www.interieur.gouv.fr/sections/a_la_une/toute_l_actualite/outre-mer/passeport-vert-pour-tourisme-durable
Markets: the key to sustainability
31 January 2012. How can more value be added to forests to ensure that they are well-managed and are not converted to other land-uses? The CPF maintains that markets have a crucial role to play in this regard. Recent studies have shown that the potential ecosystem values of forests, when taking into account their benefits to water, biodiversity, carbon storage and other diverse functions, total in the trillions of dollars.
The forest sector has played and continues to play an important and long-term role in the social, environmental and economic development of many countries around the world. The CPF is working to help unlock the potential of markets to realize the value of forests in reducing carbon emissions, conserving biodiversity, providing clean water and other roles that forests play and thereby retain these values in perpetuity.
Picture by PhOtOnQuAnTiQuE
New brochure on the EU Biodiversity Strategy
20 January 2012. The European Commission has recently released a new brochure presenting the EU Biodiversity Strategy adopted last year. The brochure includes a concise explanation of the six targets on which the Strategy is based.
Click on "Read more" to see the file.
Effects of international wood trade on forests: wealthier countries benefit
20 January 2012. International trade in wood and wood products affects forest stocks around the world. A recent study examines the relationship between changes in forest cover and international timber trade at global level. If finds that some wealthier nations with low population density can maintain forest areas while exporting wood; but other, usually poorer, nations, are losing forests through domestic and global demand for wood.
Most societies have converted natural forests to agricultural land and urban areas and exploited forests for timber resources. As income levels rise some areas become much more intensively farmed. Since intensive agricultural practices can reduce the demand for additional agricultural land, forests can recover: a process called 'forest transition'. Wealthier countries with high population densities tend to import forest products while maintaining stable forest cover.
International trade has a major impact on deforestation. Demand for wood in one country can increasingly be met by imports from other countries through international trade. Consumption in one area can therefore affect land use and land transitions in other areas. Additionally, imports can reduce demand for domestic wood and allow local recovery of forests.
Picture by ny156uk
Traditional farming can save threatened species, study finds
20 January 2012. Traditional farming methods are crucial for protecting a number of threatened bird species in the developing world, including bustards, cranes, ibises and vultures, a study has found.
Livestock grazing and features associated with arable farming – such as hedgerows – create environmental conditions that certain birds currently depend on for food, shelter and breeding, the authors report.
But as industrial farming methods eliminate these habitats, these species are threatened with extinction, said Hugh Wright, a researcher in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia, United Kingdom, and lead author of the study, published in Conservation Letters earlier this month.
"There really is no hope for these species if industrial farming continues unchecked," he told SciDev.Net.
Although reintroducing or mimicking traditional farming techniques has had success in conserving wildlife in Europe, "conservation in the developing world has always focused on pristine forest ecosystems and has paid little attention to where farming might be beneficial," Wright said.