Europe Overseas Roundtable on Biodiversity and Climate Change

Report of the third meeting 19 December 2012, European Parliament, Brussels

2

3

Contents

CONTENTS 3

ABBREVIATIONS 4

INTRODUCTION 5

1.ACTION ARISING AND ROUNDTABLE TOR 5

1.1.UPDATES BY PARTICIPANTS 5 1.2. ROLE AND OPERATIONS OF THE ROUNDTABLE 6

2.INTEGRATION OF EUROPE OVERSEAS IN EU MARINE POLICIES 7

3.UPDATE ON THE BEST INITIATIVE 8

3.1 OUTCOMES OF THE LAST BEST OPEN CALLS FOR PROPOSALS AND UPCOMING 2013 CALL IN THE

FRAMEWORK OF THE PREPARATORY ACTION OF BEST (VOLUNTARY SCHEME FOR BIODIVERSITY AND

ECOSYSTEM SERVICES IN TERRITORIES OF THE EU OUTERMOST REGIONS AND OVERSEAS

COUNTRIES AND TERRITORIES) 8 3.2. IUCN BEST PROJECT ON BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS AND AWARENESS ON BIODIVERSITY AND

CLIMATE CHANGE IN EUROPE OVERSEAS FOR THE FUTURE OF BEST 9

4.EUROPE OVERSEAS AND THE EU INVASIVE ALIEN SPECIES (IAS) STRATEGY 10

5.PROPOSAL FOR A STRATEGIC SEMINAR – FOLLOW-UP TO LA RÉUNION CONFERENCE 10

7.CBD IN-DEPTH REVIEW OF THE PROGRAMME OF WORK ON ISLAND BIODIVERSITY 11

APPENDIX 1: AGENDA OF THE THIRD MEETING OF THE ROUNDTABLE, 19 DECEMBER 2012 12 APPENDIX 2: PARTICIPANT ORGANIZATIONS OF THE THIRD 15 MEETING OF THE ROUNDTABLE, 19 DECEMBER 2012 15

4

Abbreviations AAMP Agence des aires marines protégées (French Marine Protected Areas Agency) ACP African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States AFD Agence Française de Développement (French Development Agency) ATEN Atelier technique des espaces naturels (Technical Workshop on Natural Areas of France) BEST Voluntary Scheme for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in Territories of the EU Outermost Regions and

Overseas Countries and Territories BVI British Virgin Islands CBD Convention on Biological Diversity CEPF Critical Ecosystems Partnership Fund CI Conservation International DECC Department of Energy and Climate Change of the UK DEFRA Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs of the UK DFID Department for International Development of the UK DG Directorate General DG CLIMA European Commission DG for Climate Action DG DEVCO European Commission DG for Development Cooperation – EuropeAid DG ENV European Commission DG for Environment DG MARE European Commission DG for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries DG REGIO European Commission DG for Regional Policy EbA Ecosystem-based approaches to climate change adaptation and mitigation EBCD European Bureau for Conservation and Development EC European Commission EEA European Environment Agency EEZ Exclusive Economic Zone EP European Parliament EP Intergroup European Parliament Intergroup on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development EU European Union Europe overseas EU Outermost Regions and Overseas Countries and Territories FCO Foreign & Commonwealth Office of the UK GLISPA Global Island Partnership IAS Invasive Alien Species IBPoW CBD Island Biodiversity Programme of Work IDR In-depth Review IMP Integrated Maritime Policy IUCN International Union for Conservation LIFE+ Financial Instrument for the Environment of the EU MAFF Multi Annual Financial Perspectives MEP Member of the European Parliament NBSAP National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan OAD Overseas Association Decision of the EU 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 TNC The Nature Conservancy UK United Kingdom UKOT Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom WCC IUCN World Conservation Congress WG Working Group

5

Introduction The third meeting of the Europe Overseas Roundtable on Biodiversity and Climate Change (hereafter – Roundtable) took place on 19 December 2012 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 declared open by Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Mr Maurice Ponga, who welcomed participants and assured them 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, and wished participants a productive meeting.

1. Action arising and Roundtable ToR

1.1. Updates by participants The representative of the European Environment Agency (EEA) reported on progress made with the setting-up of an information system on biodiversity and climate change, and renewed his earlier offer to develop a specific module on Europe overseas within that system. He also made mention of the European Climate Adaptation Platform (Climate-Adapt), which includes information on the Outermost Regions (OR) and Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) and allow access to important information and practices. More generally, he noted that the EEA is involved in a number of domains relevant to ORs and OCTs, including marine protected areas (MPA) and invasive alien species (IAS), and that the work of the EEA seeks to strengthen linkages with international instruments such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The big gap to bridge is the definition of indicators for Ors and OCTs since they are fundamental for the monitoring progress. One of the representatives from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Environment (DG Environment) made mention of the draft European Union (EU) Environment Action Programme to 2020, which has been conceived as a shorter, more strategic document than previous Action Programmes. While it may not make specific reference to ORs and OCTs, it provides an opportunity to focus on biodiversity and climate change, and it will be the basis for the activities of DG Environment for the period 2013 – 2020. As this document is about to be considered by the European Council, there is an opportunity to make comments through the appropriate channels. The representative of DG Environment also made mention of current negotiations related to the next financial framework, with some pressure being exerted to include the OCTs as potential beneficiaries of funding. There is however a view that current funding mechanisms, such as LIFE+, are not fully adapted to the needs and conditions of OCTs, because of their time-consuming and high competitive nature, and that a dedicated

6

funding window is needed. It has been emphasized by stakeholders that what is needed is dedicated funding for the Overseas biodiversity. For this reason, the Preparatory Action for the Voluntary Scheme for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in Territories of the EU Outermost Regions and Overseas Countries and Territories (BEST) is particularly appropriate. The representative from the United Kingdom (UK), while noting that funding under the LIFE+ programme is indeed competitive, informed the meeting of the recent announcement of a new Darwin+ Fund1 under the UK’s Darwin Initiative2, which will make funding available specifically for the UK’s OCTs, thus facilitating access and removing competition between OCTs and other applicants. This mechanism will benefit a number of UK’s OCTs and should have a significant positive impact on biodiversity and climate change in Europe overseas. On this matter of funding mechanisms, the representative of the Overseas Countries and Territories Association (OCTA) noted that the rich biodiversity of Europe overseas would bring value to the LIFE+ programme, and he noted that OCTA is setting up a bureau with a team of experts, including one specialised in environment, precisely to provide relevant information and assist OCTs in accessing funding. It has been underlined that OCTs have a huge potential for LIFE+ hosting, with ORs, the most important part of European Biodiversity.

1.2. Role and operations of the Roundtable This preliminary round of interventions allowed the meeting to review the Terms of Reference of the Roundtable, which had been approved at the second meeting, and to discuss some important aspects of its role and operations. It was stressed that the Roundtable is not an organisation and should not behave as one, it is a meeting place and a communication tool, and its usefulness comes primarily from its uniqueness as the only forum where matters related to all Europe overseas can be discussed. The Roundtable should therefore continue to reflect the diversity of situations and perceptions, and, whenever it is relevant, it can help to voice messages of some the Roundtable members in order to channel strategic statements and positions. Conclusions – the Roundtable therefore concluded that:

the Terms of Reference that were agreed at the second meeting remain adequate and do not need to be modified

1 This The Fund aims to provide a simpler and more co-ordinated mechanism to support OT natural environment issues by acting as a ‘one-stop-shop' source of funding. For more information, please see : http://darwin.defra.gov.uk/apply/darwin-plus/ 2 The Darwin Initiative is an initiative of the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) of the UK Government that provides financial support to biodiversity conservation projects in developing countries.For more information, please see : http://darwin.defra.gov.uk/

7

the Roundtable should not issue formal statements and positions as emanating from the Roundtable alone but from its members with the signature of its members willing to voice together key messages

the Roundtable should continue to facilitate the preparatory coordination works of such messages, and to record these in the reports of its meetings

members of the Roundtable should feel free to use these messages to formulate statements and positions that can be issued in their names

Reports of the meetings should be drafted as rapidly as possible and circulated to participants and other Roundtable members for comment so that a final version could be produced promptly, thereby allowing Roundtable members to use those reports in influencing routes relevant to each.

2. Integration of Europe overseas in EU marine policies Ms Carole Martinez of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Ms Caroline Vieux of the Agence des aires marines protégées (AAMP) presented the results and recommendations of a recent study entitled How does the European Union support marine biodiversity conservation in its overseas regions, countries and territories?. The Roundtable welcomed this presentation and the relevance and usefulness of its conclusions, especially those related to the obstacles and opportunities with respect to access to funding and to regional cooperation in marine policy formulation and implementation. The representative from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG-MARE) mentioned current work being done towards an Atlantic Strategy3, with the involvement of the ORs and OCTs concerned, and he stressed the need for integrated policy frameworks. He therefore emphasised the importance of policy processes, such as the Atlantic Forum, that permit the effective participation of ORs and OCTs, especially because such processes and policy frameworks make it possible to ensure that funding from various European mechanisms is coordinated and that actions are complementary. The representative from the European Bureau for Conservation and Development (EBCD) noted that the European Parliament, through its Fisheries Committee, is currently discussing the creation of a special RAC for the Outermost regions and an opinion on marine conservation that addresses the issue of regional cooperation. Several participants noted that regional cooperation and policy integration are essential, but complex and difficult to achieve, especially because of capacity issues in the regions, and because of the weakness or absence of effective regional cooperation mechanisms in marine policy. The attention given by the United Nations Conference on Sustainable

3 See COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS - Developing a Maritime Strategy for the Atlantic Ocean Area; COM(2011) 782 final : https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/maritimeforum/system/files/com_2011_782_en_1.pdf

8

Development (Rio+20) to marine issues and the momentum it has generated should be capitalised upon. With specific reference to funding, the Roundtable agreed that the option of a dedicated funding mechanism for marine conservation and management in Europe overseas would not be practical nor possible, but that there is a need for a clear European vision of the place of ORs and OCTs in marine policy, with access to funding, with better complementarities between funding mechanisms and actions, and with regional integration. With respect to regional integration, participants noted the relevance of concepts and approaches such as large marine areas and large marine ecosystems. Conclusions – the Roundtable:

welcomed the conclusions and recommendations of the study done by the AAMP

recommended that Member States be informed of these conclusions and recommendations, and be encouraged to communicate with EC Commissioners to advocate implementation of the recommendations

agreed that a short communication document should be prepared as a policy brief on issues and recommendations emanating from the study

noted that marine biodiversity in Europe overseas is of critical importance to the EU, that its conservation and management should be considered as priorities and responsibilities, and that effective marine conservation can provide member States with an opportunity to meet the targets of the CBD (known as the Aichi targets)

3. Update on the BEST Initiative

3.1 Outcomes of the two open calls for Proposals BEST-2011 and BEST-2012 and implementation of a possible third year of the Preparatory Action of BEST (Voluntary Scheme for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in Territories of the EU Outermost Regions and Overseas Countries and Territories)

Ms Karin Zaunberger of DG-Environment presented an update on the BEST Preparatory Action and the two rounds of funding already provided. She emphasised that this is still a preparatory phase in the prospect of the setting up of a sustainable BEST Scheme. Thus this phase is aiming at capitalizing lessons learnt from the first 2 years for shaping a voluntary scheme, several observations and analyses have been already shared. The two calls for proposals had generated a large number of quality proposals, the total value of the proposals was much higher than the funding available (by a factor of 6 in year 1 and a factor of 7 in year 2). Many proposals included significant financial inputs by project partners, and that there was greater political-geographic diversity in the origins of proposals in year 2 compared to year 1. The Roundtable commended DG-Environment for its excellent management of BEST, including awareness raising activities that have made it possible for this Initiative to be supported by all Member States of the EU.

9

In response to a question regarding the selection process, DG-Environment noted that that it considered more it most efficient to conduct the assessment and selection of projects in-house. The French Aid Agency/,Agence Française de Développement (AFD), informed the meeting that it was considering allocating financial support in order to assist the process of transforming BEST into a permanent mechanism, and that it had also decided to provide funding to two additional projects among those submitted to BEST in response to the call in year 24. With respect to the future of the Initiative, it was noted that conditions for the transformation of the Preparatory Action into a permanent funding window were favourable, and that the implementation of the possible third (and last) year of the BEST Preparatory Action –will be an important milestone5. In this regard, it was noted that the third year, if it is indeed adopted, should be used strategically to assist and guide the transition towards a permanent mechanism. There will therefore be need for a facility or a mechanism and its design should see it also as a policy support tool, and as a bridge promoting the involvement of relevant DGs and other organisations on international and national level. DG Research noted that a new project will be soon granted as a follow up of the ERA-net NET-BIOME6 .

3.2. IUCN BEST project on Building Partnerships and Awareness on Biodiversity and Climate Change in Europe Overseas for the Future of BEST

The representative from IUCN presented the Roundtable with an update on the implementation of the BEST project on building partnerships and awareness on biodiversity and climate change in Europe overseas for the future of BEST, which IUCN is implementing. This project, as a facilitating project, is one proposal for addressing one of

the Preparatory Action’s aims “TO prepare the foundation of a governance structure for durable implementation of the BEST scheme beyond the lifetime of the preparatory action”. The IUCN BEST project involves three sets of activities, namely strengthening strategic partnerships-Proposing governance and financial mechanisms-Mobilizing

support for Action. The priorities at this stage are to finalise and implement the strategy for communication and mobilisation, and to conduct the two studies (one on financing mechanisms and one on governance arrangements) that will provide the basis for recommendations for the future of BEST. Conclusions – the Roundtable:

4 A special agreement has been signed between the French Aid Agency, Agence Française de Developpement (AFD) and IUCN to that end few days after the Roundtable meeting, on December, 19, 2012 : http://www.iucn.org/about/union/secretariat/offices/europe/activities/overseas/overseas_resources/overseas_news/?12523/New-funds-for-Europe-overseas-BEST 5 The budget for the third call has been voted early in 2013. 6 http://www.netbiome.org/

10

noted and welcomed the excellent progress made with the BEST Preparatory Action

stressed the need for Member States and relevant agencies to support the establishment of a permanent funding scheme dedicated to biodiversity and climate change in Europe overseas, and to communicate such support to the highest level possible within the Commission

recommended that activities implemented under the IUCN project be more coordinated with other communication efforts, and that the two studies be conducted rapidly in order to provide information and recommendations to be used in the communication activities

4. Europe overseas and the EU invasive alien species (IAS) strategy Ms Karin Zaunberger shared information with the Roundtable on the current preparation of an EU invasive alien species (IAS) strategy. She stressed that this is work in progress. This presentation allowed meeting participants to share information on current and planning activities relevant to an IAS strategy. The EEA will in 2013 launch a pilot project to set up an early warning system using mobile communications technology. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is conducting an exercise to prioritise IAS issues and actions in UK OCTs. IUCN is conducting a study on IAS in Europe overseas, which will be published in 2013. In February 2013, BirdLife and IUCN will convene a special event in Brussels under the auspices of the European Habitats Forum (EHF) at the European Parliament7.

5. Proposal for a Strategic seminar – follow-up to La Réunion Conference Mr Pascal Colin of the French Overseas Ministry presented the concept of a strategic seminar aimed at building on the conclusions and recommendations of the Conference of La Réunion in 2008. He indicated that this event will aim at defining a shared strategic framework, which would help in the formulation of EU mobilisation priorities and would guide European policies as well as local plans and strategies, and at identifying priority themes and actions.

7 http://www.iucn.org/news_homepage/?12527/Invasive-alien-species-The-biodiversity-time-bomb-is-ticking

11

Conclusion – the Roundtable:

welcomed this initiative, and discussed the issue of timing, noting the advantages of having such an event held in 2013, thus making its results available to several important EU policy and programming processes, but also highlighting the challenge of planning and organising it in such a short period of time.

7. CBD in-depth review of the Programme of Work on Island Biodiversity The Roundtable received and welcomed communications and updates from Mr Oliver Hillel of the Secretariat of the CBD and from Ms Kate Brown of the Global Island Partnership (GLISPA). They both highlighted the importance of Europe overseas in global biodiversity initiatives, the value of having strong political leadership such as that displayed by MEP Mr Maurice Ponga including at CBD COP X in Nagoya in 2010 and at CBD COP XI in Hyderabad 2012, and the critical need for creative funding mechanisms. The great potential for a better participation of EU Overseas in GLISPA has been underlined8. Conclusion – the Roundtable :

strongly thanked the CBD Secretariat and GLISPA for their valuable information, welcoming promising collaboration with the CBD Secretariat and GLISPA regarding the importance to develop more political leadership on island issues.

8 Further to the invitation to attend the GLISPA Steering Committee, OCTA and the EU Overseas Programme took part to the discussions.

12

Appendix 1: Agenda of the third meeting of the Roundtable, 19 December 2012

13

14

15

Appendix 2: Participant organizations of the third

meeting of the Roundtable, 19 December 2012

# Organization

1 Agence des Aires Marines Protégées

2 Atelier Technique des Espaces Naturels (ATEN)

3 Conservation International-Europe

4 European Bureau for Conservation and Development (EBCD)

5 European Commission DG DEVCO

6 European Commission DG ENV

7 European Commission DG MARE

8 European Commission DG REGIO

9 European Commission DG RESEARCH

10 European Environment Agency (EEA),

11 European Parliament / MEP Maurice Ponga's office

12 French Aid Agency (AFD)

13 French Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing (MEDDTL)

14 French Ministry of Overseas (MOM)

15 Global Islands Partnership (GLISPA)

16 Overseas Countries and Territories of the European Union Association (OCTA)

17 International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

18 IUCN French National Committee

19 Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)

20 Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD)

21 UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)/UK Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC)

22 UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum (UKOTCF)

23 WWF France

Apologies: BirdLife Europe; Cayman Islands, Aruba/ Permanent Representation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Curaçao, Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation, European Commission DG DEVCO, Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux (LPO)/ BirdLife France, NET-BIOME, Greenland/OCTA/ Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Sint Maarten, UK Department for International Development (DFID).

16