The 17th Brussels Development Briefing on “Biodiversity and Rural Development in ACP countries” took place, at the Borschette Center room 2A, on Wednesday 10th March 2010 (8h30-13h00).
The Briefing discussed the key role Biodiversity plays in rural development, especially for ACP countries, and issues such the relationship between poverty and biodiversity, the effects of biodiversity loss in hunger and food insecurity, governance issues, the Intellectual Property Rights’ challenge, farmers rights policies and legislation at the national, regional and global levels.
Welcome remarks by the organisers: European Commission, ACP Group, Concord, CTA
Panel 1 –Biodiversity and ACP Rural Development: challenges and opportunities
This panel reviewed the major challenges and opportunities of Biodiversity and Development and the links between biodiversity, agriculture and poverty reduction. We discussed the strong links between biodiversity, food security (nutrition and health), traditional knowledge and intellectual property rights and the role of adaptive and resilient biodiverse agriculture in the fight against climate change.
Chair: Joseph Kalders, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Development, Belgium
Panellists:
– Overview of global biodiversity challenges, Dr Damon Stanwell-Smith, Senior Programme Officer, UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Centre, [Presentation]
-The key relationship between biodiversity and agriculture, Dr Emile Frison, Director General, Bioversity International, Italy, [Executive Summary], [Presentation]
-Tropical forests and the impact of forest certification on biodiversity, Prof. René Boot, Director, Tropenbos International and Utrecht University, The Netherlands, [Executive Summary], [Presentation]
-Biodiverse agriculture for a changing climate, Dr Jonathan Ensor, Practical Action, United Kingdom, [Executive Summary], [Presentation]
Panel 2 – Policy responses to include Biodiversity in development strategies
This panel reviewed the needed policies, strategies and actions looking at policy options as to include Biodiversity and strengthen its link to agriculture and rural development in the development strategies and to the post 2010 instruments.
Chair: Sally Nicholson, Senior Policy Officer, WWF European Policy Office, Belgium
Panellists:
-The alliances between community management and national policies to protect biodiversity Hon. Blondeau Tatalata, Député National, Coordonnateur UNGC/REPADER, Cameroun, [Executive Summary], [Presentation]
-Awareness, public education key to environmental sustainability, Fay A. Best, ACP Civil Society Forum, Barbados, [Presentation]
-EC development cooperation and biodiversity commitments, Simon Le Grand, Expert, DG Development, European Commission, [Presentation]
-Biodiversity target in development cooperation: key future challenges, Jean-Claude Jacques, Special Advisor on EU Development Cooperation and the Francophonie / Head IUCN Representation to the EU, [Executive Summary], [Presentation]
Conclusions
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