CEEweb for Biodiversity

New biodiversity strategy in the EU: can we learn from past lessons for the benefit of people and nature?

2011-05-09T02:39:00.000-07:00

Global biodiversity crisis is the main environmental problem today besides climate change. The extinction of species is 100-1000 times higher than the background rate, with nearly one in six terrestrial mammals and more than one in five amphibians threatened in Europe.

This also has tangible negative effects on the society: biodiversity underpins ecosystem services, which contribute to human wellbeing through the provision of food, water, timber, stable climate, prevention from disasters, recreational opportunities and spiritual values among others.
In order to respond to the challenge and meet global and EU commitments, the European Commission released the new Biodiversity Strategy for the EU titled as ‘Our life insurance, our natural capital: an EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020’ as a follow up if the previous strategy, which expired in 2010. The new strategy includes six main targets, which are to be realized through several actions.
CEEweb for Biodiversity welcomes the new strategy and considers it as an important tool to implement main biodiversity commitments, such as the establishment and management of the Natura 2000 network protected under EU law and green infrastructure.
However, it lacks the political ambition of the EU to respond to the most important drivers of biodiversity loss and thus achieve significant improvements in the state of species and ecosystems.
While the effectiveness of the strategy will depend on the upcoming EU policy reforms on agriculture, fisheries and resource efficiency, as well as the new EU budget (2014-2021), the biodiversity strategy barely touches upon the main drivers behind biodiversity loss , and it fails to sufficiently inspire the necessary reforms and initiatives to deliver the desirable results.
CEEweb will call on the European Parliament and EU Member States to openly debate the underlying causes of biodiversity loss and support a reform of these policies which can address the problem.

“If we really want to protect biodiversity as our life insurance, we have to avoid the pitfalls of the previous strategy. We need to reduce our resource and land use and put ecosystem services at the heart of development planning,” says Klara Hajdu, CEEweb Secretary General.

Az erőforrás-hatékonyságtól az erőforrás-használat korlátozásáig - innovatív eszközök egy fenntartható Európáért

2011-05-09T02:27:00.000-07:00

A 2011-es Zöld Hét során Brüsszelen kívül is megrendezésre kerül számos esemény az Európai Unió országainak különböző városaiban, köztük Budapesten is. Az idei Zöld Hét fókuszában a "Erőforrás Hatékonyság - Használjunk kevesebbet és éljünk jobban!" témája áll. A Zöld Héten hagyományosan, így a budapesti rendezvényen is, különböző ágazatok szakértői, így kormányzati és civil szervezetek, illetve az üzleti és tudományos élet képviselői cserélik ki tapasztalataikat és véleményüket.Az idei témához kapcsolódva különböző szektorokból érkező jeles előadók tárják fel három szekcióban a természeti erőforrások felhasználásának szabályozási vonatkozásait, a megvalósítás során felmerülő kihívásokat és lehetőségeket, illetve az erőforrás használat limitálásának szükségességét és alternatív megoldásait.

Az esemény panelbeszélgetéssel zárul.A rendezvény programja letölthető innen.

A rendezvény regisztrációs lapja letölthető innen.

Kérjük a regisztrációs lapot legkésőbb május 10-ig visszaküldeni az office@welove.hu email címre!

Az esemény az Európai Bizottság támogatásával valósul meg.

CEEweb policy and proactivity - strengthening the ties within our network

2011-05-09T02:13:00.000-07:00

Dear CEEweb Members,

We are happy to invite you to the CEEweb Field Visit program which aims to strengthen the relation between the Head Office and member organizations

Objective: The Policy Office of CEEweb for Biodiversity wishes to make stronger personal and professional contacts with its member organizations. Building on the successful experience gained in 2010, members of the Policy Office will visit CEEweb organizations in 2011 and offer them a two-day-long training free of charge. The focus of the program will be professional and methodical capacity building.

Duration: two consecutive days (from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Participants: a group of minimum 8, maximum 16 people from CEEweb member organizations, thematically related local environmental NGOs or state partners

Language: the program will be held in English. In case translation is needed, trainers should be notified in advance, but the program can be simultaneously translated.

Costs: The CEEweb Office will provide trainers and handouts, but no translation fee, food and rent are covered by the project. Local member NGOs will have to find the venue and organize participants including interpretation.

Contents of the training:

The two-day-long program is about proactive lobbying, which is the main activity of CEEweb. On the first day we deal with the CEEweb policy and the exact content of CEEweb's lobbying activities. On the second day we look at the methodology of successful lobbying: the different levels of proactivity in the NGO sphere.

Day 1: CEEweb policy

1. What is the reason for a common CEEweb policy

2. CEEweb’s mission: what is sustainable development and why is it useful in the work of environmental NGOs?

3. Why is CEEweb’s policy different from other environmental NGOs policies

4. Nature vs. economy: how one value (economic growth) overthrows the others and how this imbalance can be cured.

5. Practical aspects of CEEweb’s policy: the Hungarian climate law

Day 2: Proactivity and success-training for NGO

1. Why do we need this training? The 3 sectors theory: pros and cons of working for an environmental NG

2. The 7 skills of success (Stephen Covey’s famous model

3. The art of goal setting

4. Proactivity as the “One ring to rule them all”: how you can make your work outstandingly efficient by being proactive instead of reactive.

5. Where and how the CEEweb network can becom

The dates for when the visits would take place are quite flexible, which means that we would give you opportunity to suggest a date that is most suitable for you and your team. If you are interested, please contact the Policy Office at ceeweb@ceeweb.org or directly Veronika Kiss, networking coordinator at kiss@ceeweb.org by 16^th May the latest.

I am looking forward to hearing from you

Best wishes

Veronika

Resource use capping - the solution for the rebound effect arising from resource efficiency

2011-03-02T04:26:00.000-08:00

Budapest, Hungary –A recent data developed by Breakthrough Institute and UK Energy Research Centre draw attention to the rebound effect of energy efficiency. This phenomenon finally leads to 10-34% less net resource use savings due to decreased prices and thus stimulated consumption and economic growth. In order to tackle this contradiction, dedicated NGOs and institutions from all around Europe established a resource cap coalition in order to advocate for the limitation of resource use in debates related to resource efficiency.

Dangers of resource efficiency – the issue of the rebound effect or the so-called Jevons paradox

The so-called rebound effect[1] occurs when some of the savings from energy efficiency are cancelled out by changes in people's behaviour. On a consumer level it can be direct (turning up the heating in a newly insulated house) or indirect (spending the money saved on bills on a flight to Spain). And on a macro-economic level, improved efficiency is usually believed to lead to lower prices and more demand.

An article issued in the Guardian[2] collected views of scientists and scientific findings on the rebound effect. Data warn of phenomenon where some of the savings from energy efficiency are cancelled out by increases in other carbon-intensive behavior. Besides, scientists and scientific reports quoted in the Guardian article, up till now many studies have examined the Jevons paradox, but the scientific base on it is still limited.

The idea of Jevons’ paradox was created by William Stanley Jevons in 1865. Jevons’ paradox was noticed in the study” Raw material and the global economy: Oversights and distortions in industrial ecology”[3]. It found that the world economy as a whole showed significant improvements in resource efficiency recently but on the other hand the total resource consumption of the global economy continually increased.

The chapter “Energy Consumption in Transitional economies: Jevons’ paradox for Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Poland” analyses energy data from the Energy Information Administration and proves that Jevons’ Paradox exists in these countries at a macro level[4]. Main findings of the chapter includes that Jevons’ Paradox may be in existence in Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Poland at the macro-level despite the fact that energy consumption and energy intensity have decreased for each of the countries from 1990-2003. Besides, it showed that policies promoting energy efficiency would likely not reduce energy consumption in these countries. Finally it concluded that the urbanization of the population and the liberation of the economic markets are the reasons why Jevons’ Paradox may exist.
The study “Jevons’ Paradox and the myth of technological liberation” indicates that natural resource consumption is constantly growing in the past 200 years despite more efficient technology improvements. It all leads to environmental destruction and causes social and economic problems[5].

The article “Macroscopic rebound effects as argument for economic degrowth” states that economic growth is seen more often as an opportunity rather than a problem[6]. The author is calling to absolute reduction of material, energy and land use and economic degrowth of industrial countries.

Proper measure to tackle the rebound effect – setting limits of resource use
All of the scientific evidence shows that it is high time to develop and implement additional measures in order to avoid the harmful consequences of the rebound effect. Therefore, on the initiative of CEEweb for Biodiversity, dedicated NGOs and institutions from all around Europe established a Resource Cap Coalition (RCC) in order to advocate for the limitation of resource use.
Due to limitation, natural resources would become scarce globally, which would have several positive social consequences besides environmental ones. Limiting resource use also means limiting the use of energy, which would put a pressure on transport and use of chemicals and thus intensive agricultural practices. This inevitably results in the “glocalisation” of the economy, where production and consumption is based much more on local resources. Consequently, people would start consume locally produced goods leading also to a greater appreciation for the true cost of our daily lives. It benefits local economies and poor, marginalised areas, which are now under great pressure within the globalised economy for their natural resources. Furthermore, limiting natural resources also increases the competitiveness of human labour, as labour intensive, but material and energy poor products and services become relatively cheaper on the market. This has a positive impact on employment, while also spur innovation for higher resource efficiency and recycling. Moreover, limiting the total environmental pressure and by that stopping further environmental degradation ensures the maintenance of ecosystem services, which is the basis of local livelihood.

Limiting natural resource use can however be only effective in case of applying holistic approach. Existing measures have failed to tackle the problems also because sectoral responses are given to seemingly disconnected issues, and their effects are often contradictory in the end[7]. In our opinion holistic solutions are needed, which focus on the ultimate causes of today environmental and socio-economic problems. Therefore, the RCC brings together various organizations, which share experience, speak with common voice and take more holistic approach. This enables the RCC to influence more effectively all the ongoing processes both at European and global levels.
RCC strongly believes that in order to tackle overuse of resources, strict regulations should be put in place and indicators should be developed to measure their success. The goal of the RCC is that by 2012 all decision makers realize that capping resource use is essential and by 2014 relevant measures are taken.

[1] http://www.ukerc.ac.uk/support/tiki-index.php?page=ReboundEffect
[2] http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2011/feb/22/rebound-effect-climate-change
[3] Raw material and the global economy: Oversights and distortions in industrial ecology, Bunker, S.G. Society and Natural Resources 9,419-429, 2006
[4] Energy Consumption in Transitional economies: Jevons paradox for Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Poland, John M. PoIimeni, Raluca I. Polimeni, Romanian Journal of Economic Forecasting, 3/2007
[5]. "Jevons' Paradox and the Myth of Technological Liberation," Polimeni, John M. and Raluca Iorgulescu Polimeni Ecological Complexity, Vol. 3, Number 4, Pages 344-353, 2006.
[6] Macroscopic rebound effects as argument for economic de growth, Schneider Francois, Ecological Sustainability and Social Equity, Paris, 2008
[7] Case of biofuels in South-America: due to biofuel related investments local poor population had to leave their home and previous profession

Conservation recommendations to the Hungarian Presidency

2011-02-01T02:52:00.000-08:00

January 27, 2011, Budapest – CEEweb for Biodiversity organized a workshop to provide cooperation forum to the civil society and to create common messages in terms of conservation. On the event, the representative of the Rural Ministry also took part besides various NGOs from all over Hungary. The international event, where NGO co-workers from the previous EU presidency’s host countries also participated, provided opportunities to the Hungarian civil society to get to know the work and tasks of the organizations and to use this knowledge for the Hungarian lobby activities.

The Rural Development Ministry’s representative, Ditta Greguss said ’We find it important that the EU Post 2010 Biodiversity Strategy should be accepted during the Hungarian Presidency in June during the Environmental Council’s meeting.’

Many Hungarian NGOs participated actively in the workshop. During the presentations, the Spanish and the Belgian experience were showed along with the preparation works of the Polish Presidency from the conservation perspective.

’Conservation NGOs have a very specific position in contrast to the decision-makers. Organizations do not need to represent lobby and party interests, therefore, their conscience is clear. They could suggest the most adequate solutions to save biodiversity that is the key to the existence of the residents. Thus, the presidency should listen to them’ stated Péter Lenkei, Clean Air Action Group.

The plenary topics covered the financing of Natura 2000, Green infrastructure and the Resource Efficiency Flagship Initiative. Related to these subjects, the NGOs formed common opinions to be represented to the decision-makers, which were demonstrated in various points at the end of the day. The messages will be finalized this week and send around one more time to provide the opportunity for further comments.

’The success of the presidency is largely depending on the sufficient civil cooperation. Therefore, the today kicked-off process should be further strengthened and should be expanded to international level’ said Veronika Kiss, CEEweb, the programme coordinator of the project.

Further information can be found here>>

Természetvédelmi javaslatok születtek a soros magyar kormány részére

2011-02-01T01:58:00.000-08:00

Civil egyeztetés zajlott a magyar EU elnökség természetvédelmi vonatkozású
kérdéseiben január 27-én, Budapesten. Az eseményen a civil oldal mellett a
kormányzati is képviseltette magát. A nemzetközi esemény lehetőséget
biztosított a hazai természetvédelmi szervezetek számára, hogy
megismerhessék a korábbi elnökségek alatt zajló civil munkát, s azt
hasznosítsák saját érdekérvényesítési munkájukban a fél év folyamán.

Az alkalmon a döntéshozói oldalról a VM vett részt. "Fontosnak
tartjuk, hogy az EU 2010 utáni Biodiverzitás Stratégiának elfogadására még
az elnökség alatt, a júniusi Környezetvédelmi Tanács ülésén sor kerüljön." fogalmazott Greguss Ditta a VM munkatársa.

A civil részről az országos felhívásnak köszönhetően, több megye
szervezete is aktívan részt vett az egyeztető munkában. Az előadásokon
megismerhettük a spanyol és belga tapasztalatokat, és rálátást
nyerhettünk, hogy a lengyel természetvédelmi oldal miként készül saját
elnökségére.

"A természetvédő civil szervezetek különleges helyzetben vannak az EU
döntéshozóival szemben. Nem nehezednek rájuk a lobbi- és pártérdekek, így
tiszta lelkiismerettel, tiszta fejjel a legmegfelelőbb megoldásokat
javasolják a biológiai sokféleség fenntartása érdekében mely az itt élő
lakosság fennmaradásának is záloga. A mindenkori elnökségnek ezért érdemes
rájuk hallgatni." fogalmazott Lenkei Péter, a Levegő Munkacsoport
részéről.

A plenáris ülések kiemelt témái a Natura 2000-es területek finanszírozása, a Zöld
infrastruktúra és a hatékony nyersanyag felhasználás voltak. Az egyes
területekről közös véleményt formáltak a civilek, melyeket pontokba
foglalva ismertettek a nap végén. A közös gondolkodás és műhelymunka
eredménye egy szakmai kérdéseket és javaslatokat összegző dokumentum a
magyar kormány részére, melyet elnöksége alatt sikerrel hasznosíthat. Az
anyag végső egyeztetési köre a héten zárul, s február első napjaiban hozza
nyilvánosságra a CEEweb.

"Az EU elnökségek sikere nagymértékben a kellő civil összefogásban
rejlik! Ennek tükrében a ma elindított folyamatot 2011 első felében
mindenképp erősíteni és a későbbiekben nemzetközi szintre szeretnénk
kiterjeszteni." mondta a nap sikerességéről Kiss Veronika, a
CEEweb program koordinátora.

A dokumentumot e hét elején küldjük el a sajtó képviselői számára.

További információ itt>>

Cooperation among nature conservation NGOs in the light of the Hungarian EU Presidency

2011-01-21T04:45:00.000-08:00

CEEweb for biodiversity organizes a workshop on the Spanish and Belgian presidency's experience and the advantages of civil cooperation for Hungarian NGOs. During the workshop, the conservation priorities of 2011, the civil lobby options and the upcoming steps of the Polish presidency will be discussed.

Time: 2011 January 27
Location: Sziddhárta Központ (Budapest, VI. Andrássy út 98)
Agenda
9:00-9:30 Introduction to the work of the EU Presidencies and the added value of civic contribution - Ditta Greguss, Borbála Baktay, Ministry of Rural Development
9:30-10:00 The successes and failures of the Spanish EU Presidency in NGO view - Annelies Broekman, Ecologistas en Acción
10:00-10:30 The successes and failures of the Belgian EU Presidency in NGO view - Sarolta Tripolszky, European Environmental Bureau
10:30-11:00 Opportunities in civic cooperation in the light of the Hungarian and the Polish EU Presidencies - Pawel Pawlacyk, Naturalist Club Poland
11:00-11:15 Coffee break
11:15-12:30 Nature conservation priorities of the EU for 2011 and opportunities for NGO influence - CEEweb
· Invasive Alien Species
· Green Infrastructure
· Financing Natura2000
12:30-13:30 Lunch
13:30-15:30 Development of NGO messages in small working groups
· Invasive Alien Species
· Green Infrastructure
· Resource Efficiency
· Financing Natura2000
15:30-15:45 Coffee break
15:45-17:00 Finalizing NGO messages in the plenary and discussing ways and means of advocating for them

The workshop is funded by the National Civil Fund.

Further information can be found here>>

Természetvédelmi civil összefogás a magyar EU elnökség fényében - Műhelymunka, január 27

2011-01-21T04:44:00.001-08:00

Január 27-én a CEEweb "Természetvédelmi civil összefogás a magyar EU elnökség fényében" címmel műhelymunkát szervez, amely során spanyol és belga civil szervezetek osztják meg az elnökségek tanulságait, sikereit valamint a nemzetközi civil összefogás előnyeit. A tapasztalatokra alapozva közösen megvitatjuk a 2011-es főbb természetvédelmi prioritásokat, a civil befolyásolás lehetőségeit, valamint a következő lépéseket a magyar után soron következő lengyel EU elnökség fényében.

Időpont: 2011. január 27. Helyszín: Sziddhárta Központ (Budapest, VI. Andrássy út 98)

Program
9:00-9:30 Bevezetés az EU elnökségek munkájába és a civil közreműködés hozzáadott értéke - Greguss Ditta / Baktay Borbála, Vidékfejlesztési Minisztérium Biodiverzitás és Génmegőrzési Osztály

9:30-10:00 A spanyol EU elnökség sikerei és tanulságai civil szemmel - Annelies Broekman, Ecologistas en Acción

10:00-10:30 A belga EU elnökség sikerei és tanulságai civil szemmel - Tripolszky Sarolta, European Environmental Bureau

10:30-11:00 A civil összefogásban rejlő lehetőségek a magyar és az azt követő lengyel EU elnökség fényében - Pawel Pawlacyk, Naturalist Club Poland

11:00-11:15 Kávészünet

11:15-12:30 Az EU 2011-es természetvédelmi prioritásainak bemutatása és a civil hozzájárulás lehetőségei – CEEweb a Biológiai Sokféleségért § Natura2000 finanszírozása § Zöld infrastruktúra § Nyersanyag-hatékonyság § Egyéb témák

12:30-13:30 Ebéd

13:30-15:30 Civil üzenetek kidolgozása a természetvédelmi prioritásokról kis csoportokban § Inváziós idegen fajok § Natura2000 finanszírozása § Zöld infrastruktúra § Nyersanyag-hatékonyság § Egyéb témák

15:30-15:45 Kávészünet

15:45-17:00
A civil üzenetek véglegesítése plenárison, azok érvényesítési módjainak megvitatása

A programot a Nemzeti Civil Alap támogatja

További információ itt>>

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2010-12-23T03:52:00.001-08:00

We would like to inform you that the CEEweb office is closed between 24.12.2010 and 04.01.2011.

We wish you Happy Holidays!

See you in 2011!

We look at the same direction but do we see the same?

2010-12-10T03:43:00.000-08:00

– conference in the name of common solution for the social and environmental problems -

Budapest, HUNGARY– 2010 the international year of biological diversity and the European year for combating poverty and social exclusion, whilst in the first part of 2011 Hungary will host the European Presidency. In this light, the CEEweb for Biodiversity international umbrella organization initiated a common coalition with social organizations to fight social and environmental problems.

The project finalizing conference, ’We look at the same direction but do we see the same?’ took place yesterday to depict the results of the project and other eco-social initiatives, and to look for further cooperation opportunities both among the NGO and thedecision-makers sectors.

2010 – environmental and social problems in the spotlight, 2011 – all eyes on Hungary

Why 2010 is important for us? The UN’s International Year of Biodiversity attempts to achieve that the biological diversity would receive more attention than ever. With this year, the international organization would like to emphasise that the conservation of our nature is for our own sake since the natural resources and the services of the ecosystem provide us for instance, with clean air and water, stable climate and pollination, which are the bases for our social well-being and our economy. Therefore, it is the today’s generation task to conserve biodiversity for the future’s generation, who can thus use them as well as we do – or even better.

2010 is also the European year to combat poverty and social exclusion. To reach these targets various subprograms exist to aid political decisions, social awareness and opinion forming as well as the active participation of people living in poverty.

Above this, in 2010 the Lisbon Strategy’s successor, the EU2020 Strategy was born, which however does not seem to learn from the mistakes of the previous one: it majorly focuses on the economy, economical growth and the recovery from the financial crisis. As a result of it, the strategy does not dedicate sufficient attention to the conservation of biodiversity and natural resources and the reduction of social inequalities.

How can a 10-year-strategy, which determines the main stream of the EU, can be fulfilled without taking into serious consideration the inequality in natural resource use and the management of environmental problems?

In the first part of 2011, Hungary will host the EU presidency. Due to this, the Hungarian NGO sector can lobby for the more emphasised consideration of the ecosocial problems, which may lead to the solution of the above mentioned problem.

Poverty and environmental problems – Common causes, common solutions?

CEEweb for Biodiversity, using the potential of 2010, initiated a unique, common project with social organizations, which aims for the creation of a common strategy to solve both environmental and social problems. CEEweb and its partners would like to influence decision-makers to put more attention on these problems and interrelations.

The ecological (climate change, pollution, loss of biodiversity) and the social problems (unemployment, economic crisis, poverty, depopulation of the countryside) mean gradually enhancing difficulties for the decision-makers and for the whole society. In order to truly tackle them and find their real solutions, not only the cure for the symptoms, a complex and holistic approach should be applied. Consequently, it is important to reveal the various, only seemingly certain sector concerned systems of the multiple problems and their drivers, and to jointly work out solutions. To aid this process, the structure of the finalizing conference of the project

Common Causes, Common Solutions was created in such ways to draw attention on the already achieved outcomes, to put highlight on the importance of common work among green and social NGOs and to demonstrate the already existing and successful projects.

The actual final product of the project, the ‘We look at the same direction but do we see the same?’ eco-social brochure was presented in the conference. The study analyses the so-called ‘holy cows’, (e.g. the limits without growth, jobs vs. environment, restrictions of accessing natural resources that prevent any kind of alterations in the system), and emphasises the importance of a paradigm change and real solutions instead of the end of pipe ones.

This was followed by a panel discussion of decision-makers from various backgrounds, which only further strengthened the importance of eco-social initiatives. ‘There is indeed a crisis, which affects both the social and the environmental sector’ said Dr. Erzsebet Gergely, the Head of the Strategic Department in the Ministry of Rural Development. ‘The solution can only be realized if both sides take steps and we work out a new value system. The wasting and bad management of our resources not only can effect the financial world – in 2010, we already lived up our fair share of natural resources by August, thus, for 4 months we basically ask for a loan from the next generation’.

The afternoon session was based on the Hungarian Climate Bill (that has been promised to be revised by the parliament in the second part of 2011) and its social aspect, whilst the following 8 examples were about successful (or less successful) eco-social examples. The projects demonstrated the importance of local trade, sustainable energy use and self-supplying systems. Besides the successes, many presenters emphasised that current legislation and the recent value system are the main obstacles on the way.

The conference was closed in such hope that the green and social NGOs can continue their cooperation, which further supports and disseminates eco-social initiatives on a Hungarian, and also, on international platforms (www.okoszocforum.hu; www.ceeweb.org).

The ultimate aim of CEEweb is that the final outcomes of the project and the emphasised cooperation should get more attention during the Hungarian Presidency, which can aid the creation of such strategies that address the drivers behind the complex problem matrix.

CEEweb Annual Meeting in Vác

2010-11-17T06:35:00.000-08:00

Hi there! I was very excited before our Annual Meeting which took place between 3-5 November! Now when the conference is finished I can inform you about the results. About 60 participants including CEEweb members and presenters on behalf of other organizations from Europe met in charming Vác in Hungary to share ideas on the topic of Resource Use.

The first day was aimed at kicking off the Resource Cap Coalition with the involvement of interested stakeholders from all around Europe. We had a chance to listen to different presenters with wide range of experience and ideas related to the topic of the resource use and resource efficiency. After each presentation the participants were willing to ask questions and provide some useful comments. Then everyone had the opportunity to discuss the possible role, activities and obstacles of EU Resource Efficiency Flagship Initiative in smaller groups. We ended our day with dinner during which we listened to the presentations of new members. After that we had the possibility to explore Hungarian culture and try different tastes of Palinka. It was a very long and intensive day!

During the next day the members of the Working Groups discussed their activities for the next year. After these meetings we went for a long walk to explore Vác and we had a lot of fun during our excursion! The city turned out to be a nice, quiet place with a beautiful trail close to the Danube River. After the long walk we listened to the reports of the Policy Office on networking, communication and capacity building, EU and Pan-European biodiversity policies of CEEweb in 2010 and we discussed the CEEweb Working Programme for the next 2011 year. At the end of the day all participants had the pleasure to take part in cultural evening during which we tried specialities from different countries.

The third day was devoted to finalizing Work Programme for 2011 and CEEweb Annual Meeting during which the representatives of member organizations voted on new members. The day was packed with lots of discussions and comments. As a result all new applicants as well as the Working Plan for 2011 were adopted.

I would like to say that it was very interesting and timely meeting. I’ve learned a lot and I believe everybody has the same impression. Full of new information and nice memories I look forward to the next event.

Katarzyna

Please find more outcomes of the meeting here and some pics here.

Save Biodiversity Now!

2010-10-21T07:14:00.000-07:00

Dear All,

Please check out CEEweb’s most recent press release about what we would like to be achieved in Nagoya, Japan during CBD COP10. You can read it under "Governments of the biggest biodiversity convention should act now in order to halt biodiversity loss by 2020" already in English, Hungarian, German, Polish, Serbian, Spanish, Ukrainian: http://www.ceeweb.org/viewpoint/documents/PressCorner.html And now I would like to grab also the opportunity to thank for Andriy-Taras Bashta, Katrin Gebhard, Milka Gvozdenovic, Dejan Zagorac, Monika Kotulak, Samuel Martin Sosa to make this happen.

You can follow what is happening in Nagoya at the following links:
http://www.ceeweb.org/workingareas/conventions/cbd/COP10.htm
http://www.cbd.int/cop10/
http://webcast.cop10.go.jp/

Enjoy reading and watching!
Veronika

Demonstrating sustainalble farming

2010-10-14T06:42:00.000-07:00

Two members of CEEweb - Estonian Fund for Nature and Latvian Fund for Nature are working on a project to promote environmental-friendly farming in the project Development of Latvian-Estonian network for demonstration of enviromentally friendly farming practices.

They have chosen 10 environmental friendly farms in Latvia and 10 in Estonia to be linked in a demonstration network. Farm management plans will be prepared to advise best ways of farming in an environmental and financial sustainable ways. Farmers will have several lectures about nature values on the farms and ways to plan their finances, and also ways to tell visitors about what they are doing on their farms. Next spring farmers will have the opportunity to go to an experience exchange trip to Sweden and Latvian and Estonian farmers will visit each other. Special demonstration tools for each farm will be prepared with experts in order to depict the specific features of the agricultural lands and their owners.

During next summer everyone who is interested in this great initiatives of sustainable farming, please visit Estonia and Latvia.

Pan-European NGO preparatory meeting and CBD COP10

2010-08-02T04:53:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-02T02:55:00.000-07:00

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.

Natura 2000 workgroup meeting

2010-07-30T07:16:00.001-07:00

We have showed no sign here on the blog but we are back now! CEEweb had quite a busy month regarding events in July, I'd like to start with reporting the Natura 2000 workgroup meeting in Bled, Slovenia. We spent three days in the beginning of July there. There were about 20 participants including CEEweb members and presenters on behalf of other organizations. We spent the first day on the topic of compensation measures under the Habitats Directive. It was a very thoughtful and edifying session as we could hear a wide range of experiences and opinions starting from the European Commission to case studies all over Western and CE Europe. Then in a short session we discussed the activity of the Working Group for next year which will soon be circulated for adding ideas.
The second day, we got an insight on the post-2010 biodiversity strategies in relation to the CEEweb general policy, after which we tried to work out some recommendations that will also be circulated. At the end of the day we received some updates on the development of Natura 2000 issues from the participating countries. Of course, all these sessions were loaded with very useful comments and conversations. We all learned a lot, I believe.
The third day, we got out from the conference room and took a site visit to the fabulous Triglav National Park. We visited a trail at the Pokljuka peat bog area, and then we headed for the Bohinj lake valley, that we first checked from above from a belvedere and then, from closer, we went for a walk at the lakeside.
I'd like to hereby thank for all the presenters and participants for the input and contribution as well as the local organizers who helped to realise this workshop.
For more info on the outcomes, please check our website.

Relaxing field trip

2010-01-29T00:42:00.000-08:00

Hi All,

Yesterday Ildiko and me took part in an excursion to the closest Natural Park to Madrid. This park is surrounding the river called Duraton, which has created that enormous valley on the left picture. In this valley approximately 600 pairs of griffon vultures are nesting. Luckily, we had the opportunity to take a closer look on them.
This national park also contains some really picturesque villages, reminding back to the medieval ages. But these settlemenst are not only inhabited by humans, but other creatures such as the white storks too. :)

Wishing all of you a relaxing weekend,
Veronika

Conference results

2010-01-28T02:10:00.000-08:00

Hi there! The Conference has now ended. Ildikó, Vera and mysef have done what we could to influence the processes and outcomes. We have taken the word on the preperatory NGO meeting, during the workshops and also in the plenary. We advocated for measures to be included in post 2010 biodiversity policies to tackle the drivers of biodiversity loss. As a tool, among others we have asked for the limitation of energy and resource use in the EU and globally (e.g. through setting footprint targets , energy and resource use targtes). We aslo spoke about the issues which you asked us to raise - e.g. to reserve virgin steppe networks of CEE and ECCA countries, an issue Tatiana has raised. Thanks for all those who have given comments on the position paper!

The conference was not very interactive (there was for example no possibility to give comments after the final message was read out). The recommendations coming out from the Conference are the so called "Cibeles" priorities (named after Cibeles, an ancient goddes who is a symbol of Madrid), you can find the paper here: http://www.fundacion-biodiversidad.es/europeanconference2010 together with the presentations.

To sum up: I have mixed feelings about this outcome - of course it contians many important aspects, which we can be happy about. For example it is important point that the biodiversity targets should be included in the EU 2020 strategy (the post-Lisbon economic strategy of the EU) or that further impetus should be given to the implementation of Natura 2000, so that it becomes a functioning network and doesn't exists on the map only. On the other hand there is nothing included on tackling resource use, unsusstainable consumption or anything like that, which we asked for. Indirect drivers are mentioned (possibly also as an effect of me pointing this out on one of the workshops) but unfortunetaly in an incorrect manner:
"Therefore it is necessary to integrate biodiversity into the key instruments of economic planning. This integration will make it possible to efficiently tackle the indirect and direct drivers of biodiversity loss at a global, European, national and local level." - This means in other words that biodiversity needs to be integrated with GDP or other national accounting systems. This is definetly good, but it is also sure that this alone wont stop the overuse of resources and the consequent continued loss of biodiversity.

So I think we still have some more work in front of us :).
I know Veonika and Ildikó wanted to blog as well, so I leave something to tell for them, too and stop here. Cheers! Saro

From the Madrid Biodiversity Conference

2010-01-27T00:00:00.000-08:00

Greetings from the CEEweb staff from Spain! We are here on a high level EU Biodiversity Conference organised by the Spanish EU Presidency. The EC and MS came here to discuss post 2010 EU biodiversity policies including the new 2020 biodiversity target. To tell you the truth we do not really here new things, and if you have seen our latest e-mails regarding the Conference, this would be nothing new for you. So the point seems to be to rally support from the Member States to support an ambitious new target on the March European Council meeting.
Today I will meet Francois Wakenhut, Head of the biodiversity policy Unit at DG ENV to discuss the CEEweb position on the future target and policies. Hope it will go well :) - I will try to give you a feedback also on this later the day. Cheers, Saro

Welcome to the blog of CEEweb for Biodiversity

2010-01-19T01:45:00.000-08:00

This blog is created to enhance cooperation in achieving our goals. We hope it will provide us with a fun way to share or views. Happy blogging!