Pan-European NGO preparatory meeting and CBD COP10

The Pan-European NGO CBD COP10 preparatory meeting took place 5-6 July back-to-back with a high-level biodiversity conference in Azerbaijan. CEEweb organized meetings of Pan-European NGOs to discuss a common approach and work out a a post-2010 strategic vision which emphasizes workable but firm targets to stop the loss of biodiversity. The 40 participants coming from all over the continent provided a wide range of ideas and knowledge to form a powerful consensus and recommendations.

For starting, possible joint projects for implementing nature conservation policies in the region were introduced and discussed, and as an outcome, 3 concrete proposals were worked out. After that participants focused on developing a common opinion on drivers of biodiversity loss and how to tackle them, which was presented at the High Level Conference.

This Conference was subtitled 'Biological Diversity and the Achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and took place after the preparatory meeting on July 7. High-level politicians and experts from Pan-European countries were invited to the meeting and discussed the topics in roundtable sessions where NGOs had the opportunity to present the above mentioned recommendations.

Please find more info on the preparatory meeting and the high-level conference here and some pics here.

Saro and Vera in Azerbaidjan

After the conference, Sarolta and I, Vera had the opportunity to spend 10 beautiful and pleasant days in this amazing country. During the first two days we were discovering the surrounding of the Conference venue. We were traveled along the way of the River of Gabala by a little village, called Laza, picnicked on the river shore, climbed up to the most famous waterfall of the area.

After breathing some fresh Caucasian air, we traveled to Baku where we had some sightseeing in the old town and had a swim in the Caspian see. Moreover, we had the chance to see how our Azeri colleagues spend their days with visiting an exhibition area of one of the Azeri nature conservation NGOs.

Spending some time in the hot summer, we packed up and went to the higher Caucasus fro one week. During these days, besides hard trekking up to the Shahdag peak at 4253 meters, we met different communities with different languages and with different customs, but all have one in common: never experienced hospitality.

Check out our pictures having taken during this amazing trip.