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.
New! on the subject of ‘Biodiversity and Rural Development’
Biodata of speakers and discussants
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
Panelists:
– 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
Panelists:
-The alliances between community management and national policies to protect biodiversity
Hon. Blondeau Tatalata, Député National, Coordonnateur UNGC/REPADER, Cameroon [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
