| The most important pieces of biodiversity
legislation in the EU are the Birds and Habitats Directives,
which provide for the establishement of the Natura 2000
Network (see more below).However, as a Party to the Convention
on Biological Diversity, the European Community developed
its own biodiversity strategy and action plan also in
order to deliver the 2010 target to halt biodiversity
loss. Read more about the
EU biodiversity policies>> |
The Habitats Directive of the European Community provides
a framework for the establishment of the "Natura 2000",
which will include a range of important and threatened habitats.
Read more about Natura 2000>>
One of CEEweb's Working Groups focuses on Natura 2000
networks. Its aim is to help these networks establish and
function properly in CEE countries. The point of the activities
is to minimize the threats to biodiversity in this CEE region
caused by human activities. Read
more about the activities of the Natura 2000 Working Group>>
CEEweb is a member of the European Habitats Forum (EHF),
a coalition of international non-governmental organizations
involved in the conservation, rehabilitation and sustainable
use of species, habitats and landscapes throughout Europe.
The main areas of EHF work include the Habitats and Birds
Directives and EU biodiversity policies. The Forum promotes
nature conservation and the sustainable use of natural resources
in Europe, it fosters communication between European nature
conservation NGOs and the European Commission in order to
enhance the effectiveness of their programs. Read
more about the work of the European Habitats Forum>>
The 'Environment for Europe' (EfE) process is
an essential political framework for cooperation on environmental
issues on the continent. It covers the region of the United
Nation Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE) including 55
countries, with the focus moving more to Eastern Europe and
even more in the NIS countries in the last few years. Since
1991 it regularly brings together Ministers of Environment
at Pan-European conferences to formulate environmental policy
and to take important decisions in this area as well as to
review the results achieved. A large number of conventions,
strategies and policies aiming at nature conservation have
been developed during the EfE process, among them the Pan-European
Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy (PEBLDS). Read
more about the 'Environment for Europe' process>>
CEEweb has been involved in the EfE process
since 1994. For a number of years CEEweb coordinated the Biodiversity
Issue Group of Pan-European ECO-Forum that facilitates NGO
input into the EfE process; it took part in implementing and
monitoring the PEBLDS. For the second intergovernmental conference
'Biodiversity in Europe' in Budapest, February 2002, CEEweb
and ECO-Forum organized NGO participation and input together.
The next milestone in the process was the 5th Ministerial
Conference in 2003 in Kyiv, for which CEEweb evaluated
the progress made by CEE countries in biodiversity policy
field.
The 6th
Ministerial Conference took place on 10-12 October
2007 in Belgrade, where CEEweb co-organised the Biodiversity
Stakeholders'Roundtable on behalf of ECO Forum in cooperation
with PEBLDS. The pre-conference on biodiversity and its link
to sustainable production and consumption patterns aimed deepen
the understanding and raise awareness of biodiversity loss
and its link to production, consumption patterns. Besides,
the Pan-European
Biodiversity Picnic campaign by organising a national
event on 22 May, International Biodiversity Day, was launched
on the Biodiversity Stakeholders' Roundtable,
The
Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy was
endorsed at the third Pan-European Conferences of Ministers
of the Environment 'Environment for Europe' held in Sofia
in October 1995, it concerns more than 50 countries of the
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. The PEBLDS
is a European response to support the implementation of the
Convention on Biological Diversity.
PEBLDS provides a platform for experience sharing and actions
in the biodiversity field. CEEweb has been actively involved
in the 2006–2007 reform process of PEBLDS and advocated
for a more
bottom-up approach, which focuses on the implementation of
the Convention on Biological Diversity in Pan-Europe. The
2007 March PEBLDS Council meeting, where CEEweb participated
as an observer, endorsed this future reorientation of the
process. In our view, this change in direction will contribute
to more results on the ground, which will be a benefit for
both nature and the people in the region.
The Joint Secretariat of PEBLDS carries out the daily operations
and is composed of the Council of Europe and UNEP.
In 2005 CEEweb became an observer member of the PEBLDS Bureau
and since then it has taken an important role in activating
nature protection NGOs. In 2006 CEEweb coordinated the NGO
input into the 4th
Biodiversity in Europe conference from the CEE region
on behalf of ECO Forum. In 2007 CEEweb co-organised the
Biodiversity Multistakeholders' Roundtable on behalf of
ECO Forum in cooperation with PEBLDS. In 2008 CEEweb coordinates
collecting national
biodiversity country profiles from the region and will
present them on the 5th Biodiversity in Europe conference.
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