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Europe Overseas Roundtable on
Biodiversity and Climate Change Report of the fourth meeting
28 June 2013, European Parliament, Brussels
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Contents Abbreviations .......................................................................................................................................... 3
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 4
Actions arising and Progress Report ....................................................................................................... 4
Participants’ progress reports, planned activities and emerging issues ............................................. 4
Roundtable actions arising from last meeting .................................................................................... 5
Towards EU Overseas Indicators ........................................................................................................ 6
Presentation by Dr. the Hon. Kedrick D. Pickering, BVI Deputy Premier ................................................ 7
Conservation in the British Virgin Islands and a summary of the Caribbean Summit of Political and
Business Leaders ................................................................................................................................. 7
Update on the EU’s BEST Initiative ......................................................................................................... 8
Update on BEST ................................................................................................................................... 8
Update on AFD Partnership ................................................................................................................ 9
Update on the IUCN BEST project on Building Partnerships and Awareness on Biodiversity and
Climate Change in Europe Overseas for the Future of BEST ............................................................ 10
First results of the reviews on the financial mechanisms and Governance ................................. 10
Presentation of the implementation of the Communication and mobilization Strategy ............. 11
Thematic Discussion: Climate Change Adaptation and sustainable energy ......................................... 12
Presentation of the EU Adaptation Strategy and discussion about the role of the EU Overseas for
its implementation ............................................................................................................................ 12
ISLE-PACT and SMILEGOV Projects ................................................................................................... 13
Thematic Discussion: Upcoming EU Overseas Events .......................................................................... 13
Presentation of the third International Marine Protected Areas Conference (October 21-27, 2013)
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Fostering Mobilization of islands and EU Overseas: Championing the Aichi Targets ...................... 14
Islands and CBD COP 12 .................................................................................................................... 14
Mobilizing EU Overseas for the next CBD COP ............................................................................. 14
Summary and Next Steps ...................................................................................................................... 15
Appendix 1: Agenda of the third meeting of the Roundtable, 19 December 2012 .............................. 16
Appendix 2: Participant organisations of the third meeting of the Roundtable .................................. 20
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Abbreviations
AFD Agence Française de Développement
BEST Voluntary Scheme for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in Territories of the EU Outermost
Regions and Overseas Countries and Territories
Birdlife Birdlife International
BVI British Virgin Islands
CBD Convention on Biological Diversity
CI Conservation International
Coca Loca Connectivity of loggerhead (Caretta caretta) habitats in the South West Indian Océan
DCI Development Cooperation Instrument
DG Directorate General
DG CLIMA European Commission DG for Climate Action
DG ENV European Commission DG for Environment
EBCD European Bureau for Conservation and Development
EC European Commission
EEA European Environment Agency
EP European Parliament
EU European Union
GLISPA Global Island Partnership
IUCN International Union for Conservation
LIFE+ Financial Instrument for the Environment of the EU
LPO Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux
MEP Member of the European Parliament
OCT EU Overseas Country and Territory
OCTA Overseas Countries and Territories of the European Union Association
OR EU Outermost Region
Roundtable Europe Overseas Roundtable on Biodiversity and Climate Change
RSPB Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
SCBD Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity
UK United Kingdom
UKOT Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom
IMPAC3 Third International Marine Protected Areas Congress
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Introduction The third meeting of the Europe Overseas Roundtable on Biodiversity and Climate Change (hereafter
– Roundtable) took place on 28th June 2013 at the European Parliament in Brussels. The agenda of
the meeting is provided in Appendix 1 and the list of participating organisations in Appendix 2.
The meeting was opened by MEP Mr Maurice Ponga, who welcomed participants and spoke about
the importance of EU overseas entities and the need for adequate funding to support conservation
work and on efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change. He assured the Roundtable
participants of his continued interest in and active support for the work of the Roundtable. He
stressed the importance and relevance of the issues addressed by the Roundtable, wished
participants a productive meeting and announced the organisation of a conference of the EP
Intergroup in December on the new Association agreement between EU and the OCTS proposal back
to back to the OCTA Forum. The chairman of the meeting also welcomed participants and after
presenting the agenda to participants announced the agenda adopted.
Actions arising and Progress Report
Participants’ progress reports, planned activities and emerging issues Birdlife presented their new strategy adopted last June in Ottawa. The strategy would involve nine
different programme areas and Birdlife would be working with partners across the globe, such as the
RSPB in the UK, VBN in the Dutch Caribbean and LPO in France. Birdlife’s work involves many
different aspects such as building technical capacity, monitoring, field projects etc. Participants were
told that Birdlife has 6 regional offices across the globe and that their European office was focussed
on supporting partners with regional strategic oversight and bringing on the ground scientific
evidence to the attention of decision makers.
RSPB reported about the organisation’s governance review of UK’s overseas territories (OTs) and
mentioned a lack of legal frameworks, lack of EIA’s and a lack of political will, which has meant that
biodiversity in these Territories is under threat. The representative mentioned how RSPB have been
building partnerships with local organisations and that their work has recently involved prioritising
eradications for island restoration. RSPB has also carried out research projects across UK OTs. The
representative said that in assessing extinction risks in OTs, the idea is to have better information
regarding monitoring of such species and that their own research shows that there is a lack of data
about some groups of species. RSPB would like to see the JNCC become a store for such data and
one of their main goals concerning UK OTs is to further prevent extinction of species. Copies of the
review of governance in UK OTs could be sent to participants on request.
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IUCN France reported on their work in Mayotte where their most recent focus has been on
developing a local biodiversity strategy for Mayotte in close collaboration with local actors and
experts. The strategy has taken its lead from the Law of Grenelle and the French Biodiversity
Strategy which require a regional approach. IUCN France has been working in Mayotte because
biodiversity issues have a high importance there. In 2014 Mayotte will become a European
Outermost region. One of IUCN France’s other area of interest in Mayotte regards strengthening the
work of local actors and to this end they helped create a platform with all multiple stakeholders to
discuss and develop actions to: protect biodiversity, improve governance; and facilitate funds for
collaborative projects.
IUCN France recently produced a publication assessing biodiversity conservation challenges in
Mayotte and during a workshop they hosted in April 2013 they managed to define and give detail on
three of the main issues related to protecting biodiversity in Mayotte, being: a lack of conservation
work; the need to mainstream sustainable development, and the need for improved knowledge.
IUCN France told delegates that each actor during the workshop proposed the sorts of actions
needed to protect biodiversity and where by over 200 actions were proposed (For more information
see the Mayotte country focus). At a second seminar, the stakeholders assessed the proposed
actions, in order to find the priority ones. Following-up on the strategy IUCN will now be working on
its political endorsement to ensure the strategy is implemented and they will be working to create a
mechanism to support local stakeholders.
The French Ministry of Ecology, Developpement and Energy spoke about the new framework
agreement between IUCN and France. The agreement is between three government units and is the
third agreement of its kind, the representative said. Three main subjects of the agreement would
regard: world governance; biodiversity in Africa; and conservation and restoration of marine
biodiversity in overseas territories. One of the aims of the project is to develop the work between
French national experts and IUCN on conservation work. The project will last for four years and the
agreement contribution amounts to 8 million Euros. In addition to the main areas of focus the
project will also include work dedicated to the Red List; African countries; overseas entities and high
seas governance.
Roundtable actions arising from last meeting IUCN then gave a short update on the Roundtable and recent events such as the meeting of the
European Parliament’s Intergroup which highlighted islands issues in relation to conserving
biodiversity, actions to mitigate and adapt to climate change and on funding. Delegates were told
that speakers from a wide array of organisations were involved and that the event was an important
move for political reasons so as to raise awareness on island issues in the European Parliament.
During the discussion IUCN mentioned the significance of Mayotte’s biodiversity strategy as the
island prepares to become an EU outermost region in 2014. IUCN said that it gives a strong signal to
the European Commission and specifically to DG REGIO to consider how Mayotte can be supported
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by the EU. It is important to stress the importance of biodiversity in Mayotte and make sure that
biodiversity protection and sustainable use of ecosystem services are recognised as priorities by
those involved in the programming. Both Birdlife and IUCN have corresponded with the Commission
on this topic. The European Commission stated that such communications were viewed much
stronger by the European Commission if they were and submitted jointly. The Commission also said
that funds were available but that the priorities needed to be made clear in order to ensure that
funds are allocated sustainable development.
There was also a discussion concerning the use of different European funds for European overseas
entities such as Life+ funds and DCI fund, Birdlife commented that although there were different
envelopes available for applying to, because the different funds had alternative areas of focus there
was no way of assuring that funds would go towards European overseas entities. OCTA mentioned
that it would be interesting to see how the DCI instrument might support OCTs, and that it is
disappointing that OCTs cannot access Life+ funds at present. Birdlife also mentioned that they had
been working on the next agreement on Life funds with MEPs and other decision makers in order to
ensure some provision for European overseas entities. The opinion of Birdlife was that discussions in
the trilogue were not looking very positive in this regard.
IUCN asked Birdlife whether their working strategy involved developing national and regional
strategies for European overseas entities as well as monitoring and advocacy work in relation to EU
policy. Birdlife confirmed that their work was only focused on monitoring and advocacy in
connection to EU policy in order to ensure better strategic decision making at the European level
concerning European overseas entities.
Towards EU Overseas Indicators A representative from the EEA said that by 2015 the mid-term review of the biodiversity strategies in
Europe is due. One of the goals of this review will be to better understand how Member States have
performed as far as the conservation of biological diversity is concerned. As part of this review the
EEA might explore the possibility of assessing EU Overseas as well or perhaps developing some key
indicators for overseas entities. The review for the first time would also include a marine biodiversity
baseline (as part of the MSFD) in addition to other traditional terrestrial biodiversity baselines. The
monitoring of biodiversity would also be important for assessing the capabilities and achievements
of European states to protect their biodiversity. The representative was keen to stress that only 18
months are left for the review process and it was important to improve upon the existing knowledge
banks they had access to. The representative also mentioned some important developments
concerning the UN and the desire to have national accounting systems concerning ecosystems
(assessed in a similar way to measurements of national GDP), and which might provide useful for
better understanding the state of biodiversity in Europe and its overseas entities. He mentioned that
the World Bank was supporting such processes and that states like Mauritius and Trinidad and
Tobago were getting involved in this approach.
A representative from DG ENV said that it was good to hear about the developments concerning
biodiversity indicators. The suitability to organize a meeting of the EU Ad Hoc expert working group
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on biodiversity and climate change1 was brought up. IUCN reiterated that the Roundtable was
designed specifically for sharing of such ideas, and indeed said that if such a working group could be
set up then IUCN and indeed several partners of the Roundtable would have important expertise to
bring to such a group. Both Birdlife and RSPB said that one of the problems with European overseas
entities is there is a lack of monitoring of biodiversity and that very few of the states are involved in
the CBD. They said their opinion was that the UK should be responsible for halting biodiversity loss in
UK overseas territories. IUCN France said that they will soon publish a report that is assessing
biodiversity in twelve French overseas territories and that it should be ready in September this year.
OCTA mentioned that OCTA was considering developing a network on statistics that could be useful
for improving knowledge of biodiversity in overseas countries and territories.
The Roundtable concluded on:
Participating in a technical meeting on Indicators with EEA and DG ENV.
Presentation by Dr. the Hon. Kedrick D. Pickering, BVI Deputy
Premier
Conservation in the British Virgin Islands and a summary of the Caribbean
Summit of Political and Business Leaders2 The Deputy Premier of the British Virgin Islands, Dr. The Hon. Kedrick D. Pickering gave a special
presentation on the Caribbean Challenge Initiative and recent work on biodiversity conservation and
climate change in the British Virgin Islands. He told delegates how the idea behind the Caribbean
Challenge Initiative (CCI) first arose in 2008, and had been strongly supported by Sir Richard Branson.
The initiative involves industry, government, and NGOs and the common goal is to conserve marine
and coastal areas. Dr. Pickering told the Roundtable that numerous governments from several
islands had taken part in the event where8 Caribbean governments signed a leader’s declaration –
underlying commitments to supporting the conservation of the region’s marine environment by
2020. Delegates were also told that 15 companies signed the Corporate Compact – a specific
commitment to support conservation – and that each company had to state how they would
support the project. Dr. Pickering also remarked that the CCI highlighted that the islands involved
didn’t just need external support but that they could achieve real conservation and climate change
mitigation and adaptation measures.
Dr. Pickering also spoke about the activities of the BVI and their three main priorities which were:
the protection of sharks and rays; a regulatory framework for marine conservation; and a
commitment to move from fossil fuels to renewable. He also made a commitment to fully
implement the BVI protected areas system plan adopted in 2008; that calls for 33% of the marine,
1 For the documentation see EUROPA > European Commission > CIRCABC > env > biodiversity_climate; the group was
active from 2008-2009 and produced a Discussion Paper Towards a Strategy on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/pdf/discussion_paper_climate_change.pdf 2 For the statement please see:
https://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/deputy_premier_intervention_at_eu_overseas_roundtable_june_2013_2.pdf
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coastal and terrestrial environment to be protected. Dr. Pickering told delegates about work in the
BVI and gave an example of one of the islands that has a solar farm, and an aim to become carbon
neutral. Dr. Pickering also discussed the BVI climate change strategy and talked about the
government’s continuing work on establishing the Virgin Islands Climate Change Trust Fund that will
support climate change adaptation and mitigation activities. He said that BVI is the most advanced
island in Caribbean with regards to climate change action. Other objectives of BVI include
sustainable yachting, in part through use of smart legislation and developing a wetland
management plan. Dr. Pickering finally mentioned that the BVI would was about to take on the
Chairmanship of OCTA where they want to express the need for sustainable development.
The Pact of Islands mentioned that on renewable energy there were several similar programmes
being put in place across EU islands and encouraged the BVI to be involved in these processes in
order to share best practice and expand on current initiatives.
RSPB mentioned that they work closely with the BVI and asked what impressions Dr. Pickering has
about the development of the Caribbean Challenge and the potential of BVI to encourage other UK
OCTs to join the initiative. In response Dr. Pickering said that the Cayman Islands was part of the
project and that they would do all they could to encourage other islands to join as well. He also said
that CCI needs a permanent secretariat in order to scale up the work of the CCI and indicated that
BVI might be a suitable location. Dr. Pickering also commented on further questions and remarks
and that the US$ 73 million commitment made during the CCI conference was the total sum of
commitments by stakeholders as opposed to a formal fund to be established. IUCN indicated the
organization of a special Island Event where the Caribbean Challenge could be presented in order to
showcase the leadership of Islands in marine conservation and the capacity of Islands to champion
the Aichi Targets. IUCN added that the BEST project MANG will develop methodologies on Wetland
sustainable conservation and that collaboration with BVI could be interesting.
Update on the EU’s BEST Initiative
Update on BEST DG ENV gave an update on projects funded through the BEST Preparatory Action and reported on
first results and milestones including new designated protected areas in la Reunion and Mayotte; in
Tahiti the stock of a threatened and emblematic bird species could be improved through the
eradication of rats and awareness raising; and a phare-project in New Caledonia where all three
provinces are involved in engaging local people in initiatives with the aim of building upon existing
knowledge, supporting management action and strengthening collective governance. She also
mentioned a project run by the CBD secretariat which included participation of OR/OCT
representatives in the launching event for the pilots in the margins of Rio+20 and a workshop later in
2012. The project successfully contributed to raise awareness for and the visibility of OR/OCT at the
international level, notably in relation to the CBD. The reference to the BEST Preparatory Action in
the CBD COP XI 15 decision concerning the revision of the Programme of Work on island biodiversity,
and the increased collaboration with GLISPA (Global Island Partnership), are remarkable evidence for
this. DG ENV pointed out that the BEST initiative is still work in progress and lessons can be learnt
from on-going projects. DG ENV drew the attention to the open call for tender to implement the
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third and last year of the BEST Preparatory Action. DG ENV also highlighted a recent FP7 project
concerning “Strengthening European research cooperation for smart and sustainable management
of tropical and subtropical biodiversity in outermost regions and overseas countries and territories”.
The project is the follow-up to the ERA-net NETBIOME
During the discussion Birdlife and the RSPB mentioned that they would not participate in the open
call for tender because they did not agree with the content of the tender itself and that their
members were also not happy with the tender specifications.
Considering the importance of smart collaboration which has been stressed at several occasions the
Commission expressed its regret with regards to the statement of Birdlife and RSPB.
A representative from the UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum said that the objectives of
the tender were confusing and that the objective to develop a financial mechanism would be many
years away.
The representative reminded that it was not appropriate to discuss the content of the tender
specifications during this roundtable meeting. Any question with regards to the tender specifications
should be put forward via TED (electronic system for tendering).
IUCN commented that the BEST Preparatory Action had been quite successful thus far and that they
understood the frustration but they recognise that the choice for a call for tender to implement the
third and last year of the BEST Preparatory Action constitutes an investment for the future which
shall hopefully allow the continuation of the BEST Initiative beyond the lifetime of the Preparatory
Action.
Birdlife commented again and said they felt the tender would not deliver on the goals it set out and
that money is needed urgently for on the ground work.
It was also mentioned that the ecosystem profiling part of the tender would allow for important
monitoring work to be carried out in European overseas entities.
The French Ministry of Environment commented that France supports the desire of the European
Commission to put in place a new financial mechanism. Although they agreed the 4 year timeframe
was a lengthy period, they were overall happy with the tender. They also stated that during the time
frame of the tender’s application, the UK would hold the presidency of the EU and thus it might
provide a political opportunity to reinforce the need for a dedicated funding mechanism for
European overseas entities.
Update on AFD Partnership AFD gave a presentation on France’s work with European overseas entities (and apologised for his
colleague not being able to take part in this Roundtable). AFD provides strong financial support for
work related to the protection of biodiversity and adaptation to climate change. He said that France
is actively investing in both private schemes and focusing on grassroots activities related to marine
conservation. Their strategy is also focussed on ensuring that economic activities are in harmony
with environmental concerns. The representative mentioned funding support, specifically to
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Mayotte, and other islands. The representative also said that France understood the differences in
opinions related to the European Commission’s open call for tender for work on BEST but supported
the tender to aid future work. The representative also said that France was very interested in
bilateral relations with other overseas states and mentioned a new agreement with IUCN and
whereby eight hundred thousand Euros would go towards conservation work with Europe overseas.
Here, the funds are being focused on marine and coastal wetlands and work conserving turtles and
the future of BEST.
A presentation was then given on the two projects of the BEST reserve list funded by AFD on a
voluntary basis. A representative from Kelonia, who also covered the work of the Coca Loca project,
gave detail on: the assessment they had carried out on the relative importance of major
anthropogenic threats on Loggerhead turtles in the territorial waters of Reunion; work on
strengthening actions to directly reduce the local impact of such threats; and work to initiate an
equivalent process in Mayotte. It was also noted that the project had also attempted to support
conservation work at the local level (e.g. working with fishermen to reduce bycatch), regional and to
support an exchange of information amongst researchers across the West Indian Ocean.
IUCN shared the apologies from ATEN for not being able to attend due to a conflict of agenda gave
an update on the MANG project related to wetland areas in European overseas entities. The
representative said the project focussed on sharing information and developing methodologies for
monitoring impacts on wetlands. The project also focussed on involving partners and other in
workshops and the like regarding wetlands. The MANG project had several objectives in order to
better manage wetlands and to work with different stakeholders and regional bodies. The project
also aimed to develop methodologies to monitor and assess biodiversity and the status of different
wetlands and on improving the management of wetlands. IUCN underlined the partnership
approach that is fully in line with the EU Biodiversity Strategy.
Birdlife mentioned that like Kelonia they had also run projects working with loggerhead turtles and
asked if Kelonia was in touch with NGOs in Greece. The representative of KELONIA confirmed that
they would be interested in collaborating on such as project with Kelonia.
WWF said that they too had a strong project with leatherback turtles in French Guiana in order to
better understand their biology and they have a lot of experience to share in this regard. They have
also worked to better understand how to prevent bycatch of turtles and would be happy to share
information concerning different methodologies in this regard.
Update on the IUCN BEST project on Building Partnerships and Awareness
on Biodiversity and Climate Change in Europe Overseas for the Future of
BEST
First results of the reviews on the financial mechanisms and Governance
A representative from Biotope / Green Ant provided an update on a current study they are
undertaking on financing mechanisms as part of IUCN’s project on Building Partnerships and
Awareness on Biodiversity and Climate Change in Europe Overseas for the Future of BEST. The
representative said they had looked at existing conservation/climate change funds and how they
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have been implemented. They investigated the funding ‘need’ for biodiversity in the ORs and OCTs
using a methodology developed by the CBD for assessing the cost of achieving the Aïchi targets
globally. For Europe overseas, the calculation built on data concerning the share of coral reefs and
Exclusive Economic Zones under the responsibility of ORs and OCTs. They said they had also looked
at different examples of financing mechanisms such as ones developed through governments,
private donors, and innovative mechanisms such as biodiversity offsets and green taxes. The
representative said public funds were largely available, and that innovative options should be
considered and that any financing mechanism for biodiversity overseas would need a strong
strategic approach. He said they were finalising the study and would be keen to take into account
the views from the project’s steering committee and the participants involved in the Roundtable.
A representative from Green Park Consultants spoke about the study looking into governance issues
in relation to the voluntary BEST scheme. Both studies are interlinked. The representative said that
for the study to be effective it would also require strong input from a varied pot of stakeholders and
encouraged the next Roundtable to further consider the ongoing development of the study.
A representative from the AFD questioned the usefulness of the figures proposed by the consultants
concerning funding needs for overseas biodiversity. During the discussion Birdlife said that some of
the proposed figures made an important point, in that if biodiversity in Europe overseas is to be
protected it will require substantial investment and that the figures did not reflect the planned
investments but rather recommended a figure for achieving biodiversity goals. This later point of
view was reiterated by Biotope / Green Ant who also said that the figure proposed for the protection
of EU overseas biodiversity reflected what should be potentially invested (the ‘need’) as opposed to
what could realistically be invested in the short term.
A representative from the government of the BVI stated that they would be very interested in
receiving more information once the study had been developed further and asked if attention had
been give to national administrations and the way they had provided funds to conservation work in
EU overseas.
Several comments were made relating to the study on the financing mechanisms. Birdlife asked
whether the study would assess the scope of different existing funding mechanisms and OCTA stated
that they disagreed with some of the figures in the report. Biotope / Green Ants stated that any
input on figures would be appreciated and also that the scope for ORs and OCTs of the different
financing mechanisms used to illustrate possible designs had been considered but only to some
degree. .
Presentation of the implementation of the Communication and mobilization Strategy
IUCN and EBCD then gave a short update on the communications and mobilization strategy for the
project. IUCN stated that the strategy was a living document and very much intended for
participants to give updates throughout the project and to use it for their own ends. Updates
concerning the communications work of IUCN included the launch of a Twitter account, news stories
on the IUCN website and updates on the Overseas forum. EBCD gave an update on recent events
including an event of the European Parliament Intergroup on Climate Change, Biodiversity and
Sustainable Development that concerned island’s issues and had a strong focus on European
overseas entities.
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Thematic Discussion: Climate Change Adaptation and sustainable
energy
Presentation of the EU Adaptation Strategy and discussion about the role of
the EU Overseas for its implementation A representative from DG CLIMA spoke about their work on the EU climate change adaptation
strategy. He started by saying that the islands have historically been laboratories of sustainability, for
both good and for bad. He mentioned the importance of adaptation and how there was a lot of
good will for adaptation. He mentioned that although the European Commission’s strategy did not
explicitly cover Europe overseas, there are some relevant points. He also mentioned that there were
still gaps in knowledge concerning climate adaptation and that there was a strong case for action at
the EU level particularly when considering that some shared resources (e.g. fisheries) might be
impacted by climate change. He mentioned three priorities of the Commission: promote action of
member states; increase knowledge; and mainstream adaptation into other policies. He said 850
million Euros had been put aside for climate action, and hoped that some of this would go towards
European overseas entities. He mentioned a web tool Climate Adapt co-managed by the EEA and the
Commission concerning adaptation work in metropolitan Europe but that there could be potential to
expand to overseas areas. The representative also mentioned efforts concerning mainstreaming
adaptation into all policies and said that there was also an opportunity here for European outermost
regions. Finally, he mentioned a Green Paper on insurance related to adaptation and the need to
look at ecosystem services where there must be good examples of protecting ecosystem services in
Europe overseas.
Biotope mentioned that that they were evaluating innovative finance mechanisms that had
supported adaptation strategies such as mangrove protection. Birdlife asked about the fact that only
15 Member States had drafted adaptation strategies and on how guidelines produced by the
Commission would be used for mainstreaming adaptation. The Commission representative
responded that the adaptation strategies drawn up by Member States were voluntary and that they
were closely following developments of Member States. Birdlife further asked how DG CLIMA are
working with other DGs to ensure that both adaptation and mitigation are mainstreamed into all
initiatives. The Commission stated that they are working closely with other DGs and have been
producing facts sheets for the interest of other DGs to assist them in mainstreaming adaptation and
mitigation initiatives. Finally Birdlife also asked about how the Commission would approach the
subject of initiatives launched by Member States which have had an adverse affect on dealing with
the possible consequences of climate change, such as the possibility of greater flooding (e.g.
Madeira). The Commission said that it had to respect the principle of subsidiarity and that they can
encourage green architecture for the future and make them aware of alternatives.
IUCN also asked if DG CLIMA were tackling ocean acidification. The Commission stated that they did
not have a specific line on ocean acidification and that further research was needed in this area.
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ISLE-PACT and SMILEGOV Projects A representative from the Isle-Pact and Smilegov projects gave a presentation on the role of
European islands and their work to exceed environmental and conservation targets for 2020. He
mentioned the importance of greening energy supplies and the work of Isle-Pact in setting out
action plans for achieving sustainable energy supplies. The representative mentioned that 64 islands
had signed the ‘pact of islands’ and that a long process of identifying projects that were ‘bankable’
and most effective have been identified. Their research has shown that implementing 53 of these
projects would lead to a reduction of 18 million tonnes of CO2. The organisation has also been trying
to have the pact officially recognised as an EU initiative but they have seen very little interest from
the European Commission on this proposal. On the Smilegov project, the representative spoke about
the organisation’s desire to improve island governance across different levels (e.g. grassroots,
national, and regional). The project came to a close in 2012 but there were some clear conclusions
for best practice, one of these resulting from the work of Samso Island in Denmark where the island
had invested heavily in renewable energy. One of the reasons for the success there has been
because of community ownership of the energy sources (i.e. wind farms). The representative also
mentioned a lack of funding in the Smilegov project for the period between 2015 and 2020;
especially for the work dedicated to improving governance liaison between local, national and
regional stakeholders. The project, however, was also looking at addressing which measures would
also require the least public funding support for the biggest return. It was also mentioned that the
project is not just dedicated to energy but also has looked at waste management, ‘smart’ investment
and eco universities.
In the discussion that followed the presentation, OCTA asked about whether the project was suitable
to OCTs and the representative from Isle-pact and Smilegov said that the project was very much
open to overseas entities. On funding, the representative also mentioned that one of the problems
they have faced is that potential revenue schemes are difficult at present, as there is no dedicated
funding for EU islands.
IUCN remarked that there were a lot of shared synergies between the Isle-Pact project and the BEST
programme and asked about how the relationship between island clusters and Member States, and
EU institutions could be improved. Isle-Pact responded by stating that local actors and local
authorities would be working together, and through giving local actors the capacity to work on
developing their own plans.
Thematic Discussion: Upcoming EU Overseas Events
Presentation of the third International Marine Protected Areas Conference
(October 21-27, 2013) In a change to the original agenda a representative from IUCN gave a presentation on the third
International Marine Protected Areas Conference (IMPAC3). It was mentioned that over 800
proposals for presentations were received and that the event would last 5 days, taking place
Marseille, with a two day high level event in Corsica at the end of the week. The focus of the event
will be on achieving the Aichi targets and that one of the main deliverables of the congress is to
produce a declaration on this. The event will also look at the issues of climate change, ecosystem-
based approaches in MPAs, and will assess what MPAs mean for culture and society i.e. this will look
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at how MPAs are implemented and their effect on local communities. The event is expecting more
than 1000 participants for the conference. There will be several plenary and workshop sessions and
in the final plenary sessions the outcomes of the different sessions will be highlighted in order to
find some key conclusions of the conference.
Fostering Mobilization of islands and EU Overseas: Championing the Aichi
Targets Another IUCN representative mentioned that there would be a special session dedicated to islands
and their role in achieving the Aichi targets at the IMPAC3 event and that members of the
Roundtable were encouraged to take part in the event, particularly to help with highlighting ‘Bright
Spots’.
On the same topic, a representative from the GLISPA then spoke about their desire to work more
with EU overseas and for interested stakeholders to join their consortium. She spoke about their
desire to highlight ‘Bright Spots’ – examples of where there have been successes in conservation and
improvements to livelihoods – and that Roundtable members were encouraged to propose
examples. She also mentioned the event on islands at IMPAC3 and the desire to share best practice
on how to better conserve marine ecosystems. The representative also mentioned that H.E. Mr.
Ronny Jumeau - Chair of the Global Island Partnership Steering Committee and ambassador of the
Seychelles to the UN - would attend the event at IMPAC3.
Birdlife asked whether there would be any sessions on how to fund MPAs and the representative
from IUCN said this issue would be considered at the conference.
Islands and CBD COP 12 A representative from the French Ministry in charge of Overseas then spoke about France’s desire to
hold an event as a five year follow up the La Reunion conference. The date of the event has not been
finalised yet but tentative topics are: assessing the state of the commitments made at La Reunion;
showcasing a framework for EU involvement with overseas entities; and reviewing progress in
achieving the Aichi targets relevant for islands. The representative also gave an update on what
developments had taken place since the last Roundtable and mentioned the financial commitments
of the UK and the Netherlands to overseas entities. The representative also said that it would be
important to have a higher level steering committee on EU overseas issues and this might be more
practical subsequent to the European Parliament elections in 2014.
Mobilizing EU Overseas for the next CBD COP
The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) gave a presentation stressing first the
importance of the rich biodiversity in European overseas islands and the capacity of the EU and its
Member States to achieve the goals and targets of the Convention. He spoke about 2014 being the
UN’s year of the SIDS and the conference planned by the UN on SIDS in Samoa in 2014. The
conference would be of critical interest to the Roundtable because of the focus on the sustainable
development of islands overall (and not only SIDS). He also praised the work of GLISPA in
championing the cause of islands and the work of the CBD in trying to help islands develop and
implement biodiversity strategies. The representative mentioned the vision of the Blue Economy
approaches as a way to ensure sustainable development and the desire of the Secretariat of the CBD
to reach out to European overseas islands on these issues. The representative also mentioned that
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more and more European islands were getting involved in the work of the CBD and that he was
pleased to hear about a follow up summit to the La Reunion conference including the BEST
Preparatory Action. He praised the commitment of France and the Netherlands in supporting islands
on conservation issues and France’s financial commitment to IUCN.
The representative from GLISPA then also spoke about the focus of 2014 on islands and that GLISPA
was planning an array of events related to the CBD conference on SIDS and that again proposals of
European ‘Bright Spots’ would be welcomed. It was also mentioned in the discussion that since the
last COP of the CBD, many developments had taken place concerning islands and that the
integration between islands had improved a great deal. These developments should mean that more
concrete actions are possible in the near future. OCTA mentioned that three overseas territories
took part in the last COP of the CBD and that they would be keen for more of their members to
attend the summit. The representative also mentioned that OCTA would be keen to help make
concrete proposals for action to achieve the Aichi targets. The representative from DG ENV made
the point that the majority of EU citizens are simply not aware of the opportunities ORs and OCTs
can provide to contribute to achievement of European and international biodiversity target. There
are many things developing in this arena and it should be the goal of the Roundtable partners to
work closer together to seize the opportunities.
Summary and Next Steps
A representative from IUCN then wrapped things up and mentioned again how the Communications
and Mobilization strategy was very much intended for members of the Roundtable to use
themselves and to update. She also thanked the participants for their attendance and suggested
another meeting of the Roundtable in September to follow up on discussions particularly on the
studies related to governance and financing. It was also proposed to include an extra day alongside
the Roundtable event to discuss the French proposal for a follow up conference to La Reunion.
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Appendix 1: Agenda of the third meeting of the Roundtable, 19 December 2012
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Appendix 2: Participant organisations of the third meeting of the
Roundtable
# Organisation
1 Agence Française de Développement
2 Aruba Gov
3 Biotope
4 Birdlife/CI
5 British Virgin Islands Government
6 CBD
7 Green Park Consultants
8 CPMR
9 Defra (UK)
10 European Commission DG CLIMA
11 European Commission DG ENV
12 EBCD
13 EEA
14 French Gov
15 French Polynesia
16 GLISPA
17 Green Ant Advisors
18 IUCN GMPP
19 IUCN France
20 Kelonia
21 MEP Maurice Ponga
22 Ministère de l'écologie
23 OCTA
24 RSPB
25 Sodepar
26 UKOTCF
27 WWF