EC BIODIVERSITY ACTION PLAN

DISCUSSION PAPER

Economic and Development Co-operation

 

 

 

NATURAL CAPITAL FOR DEVELOPMENT
CONTENTS

1. Executive summary..................................................................................................................................................... 3

2. Introduction: biodiversity in development............................................................................................ 4

Underlying and Direct Causes of Biodiversity Loss........................................................................................ 5

3. Development Cooperation targets.............................................................................................................. 6

4. European Union and European Community cooperation................................................................. 6

5. Economic and development cooperation themes for action.................................................... 7

5.1. European Commission capacity building....................................................................................................... 7

5.2. Developing country biodiversity strategies and action plans......................................................... 9

5.3. Conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity................................................................................ 10

5.3.1.      Sustainable use............................................................................................................................................ 11

·   Agriculture............................................................................................................................................................... 12

·   Livestock:................................................................................................................................................................. 13

·   Wildlife...................................................................................................................................................................... 14

·   Forestry.................................................................................................................................................................... 14

·   Fisheries................................................................................................................................................................... 15

·   Tourism..................................................................................................................................................................... 16

·   Health....................................................................................................................................................................... 17

5.3.2.      Conservation................................................................................................................................................ 17

5.3.3.      Environmental Impact Assessments.......................................................................................................... 18

5.4. Equitable sharing of costs and benefits from biodiversity use....................................................... 19

5.5. Research, exchange of information and technology transfer....................................................... 21

5.6. Education and awareness.................................................................................................................................. 22

6. Means needed to be able to implement the action plan............................................................... 23

Appendices.......................................................................................................................................................................... 24

Appendix 1 - Biodiversity-related conventions............................................................................................. 24

Appendix 2 - Status of EC and Member States on various biodiversity related issues................ 25

Appendix 3 - Funds disbursed ALA/EDFVII on environment......................................................................... 26

Appendix 4 - Regional Indicative Plans in accordance to sectors......................................................... 27

Appendix 5 - Overview by country of various biodiversity issues........................................................... 28

Appendix 6 - Principles for effective and sustainable projects.............................................................. 35

Appendix 7 - DAC Criteria for Projects/Programmes Fulfilling Objectives of CBD........................ 36

 

1. Executive summary

To be written?

2. Introduction: biodiversity in development

The European Community Biodiversity Strategy (1998), was produced as a response to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The aim of the EC Biodiversity Strategy is ”to anticipate, prevent and attack the causes of significant reduction or loss of biodiversity at the source”. Following the adoption of the Strategy, the development and implementation of action plans is required to translate the Strategy objectives into concrete actions. The document in hand presents the EC Biodiversity Action Plan for Economic and Development Cooperation, one of four specific action plans required by the Council and EP, and one of eight policy issues identified in the Strategy.

The Convention on Biological Diversity is one of 37 multi-lateral environment-related agreements to which the EC is a Party. All of these have a bearing on biodiversity issues to some degree, but particular emphasis will be given in this Action Plan to supporting the CBD and other conventions directly related to biodiversity (see Appendix 1). The CBD itself is a legally binding agreement which has been signed by 168 countries. It has three general objectives: i) the conservation of biological diversity; ii) the sustainable use of its components and, iii) the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilisation of genetic resources.

Achievement of these three objectives has been hampered by a poor understanding of what biodiversity means, with different stakeholders holding different definitions. However a working understanding can be grasped by considering genetic, species and ecosystem levels of biodiversity (see box).

Biodiversity is a key component of natural capital with which to build development opportunities, especially for poor rural communities.   In developing countries many livelihoods depend on making direct use of biodiversity in a variety of ways: for subsistence purposes; as a fall back resource in times when crops and livestock are scarce; or for commercial activities.  Many more rely on indirect use of biodiversity, for ecosystem services (soil, water and air) and for the stabilising effect that natural ecosystems can have (hurricane resilience, coastal stabilisation etc).  These values are relevant  from local to global levels.

The huge amount of genetic information stored in plants and animals, a non-replaceable product of millions of years of evolution, is the raw material for future adaptations, not only through ‘natural’ processes, but also including plant and animal breeding programmes and  innovations in medicinal, food and other sciences. 

The greatest richness and variety of biodiversity is found in tropical zones.  Whereas it is inevitable that biodiversity changes will occur in response to both natural and human intervention,  current patterns of economic and other human activities, however, are leading to very rapid rates of biodiversity loss, estimated at 1,000 to 10,000 times faster than long-term base rates.  This has left 25% of mammals, 10% of birds, and 15% of all flowering plants threatened with extinction.  These losses are occurring as a result of direct causes, such as unsustainable use and unregulated trade, which are driven by underlying causes, economic policies, insecure land tenure, human population growth and movements (see diagram).  Conservation and sustainable use objectives will only be achieved, therefore, if they address both direct and underlying problems, and are integrated into economic and social development patterns.

Underlying and Direct Causes of Biodiversity Loss

 

This process requires investments at local, national and international levels, and this Biodiversity Action Plan describes ways to operationalise these investments to achieve the CBD objectives.  It must be noted at the outset that biodiversity management in developing countries requires a long term engagement, certainly longer than standard three year planning cycle, and that implementation of this Action Plan needs regular monitoring and review to ensure effectiveness.

3. Development Cooperation targets

The EC and EU Member States have agreed to make investments in economic and development cooperation to achieve a set of international development targets by 2015, as established by the OECD/Development Assistance Committee (DAC). These targets focus on issues of poverty, education, health and environment, and acknowledge that they need to be addressed simultaneously, within the broad context of sustainable development.

One of the international development targets is the development of  National Strategies for Sustainable Development (NSSD) by 2002, with the aim of ensuring that current trends in loss of environmental resources (forests, fisheries, fresh water, climate, soils, biodiversity, stratospheric ozone, etc.) are effectively reversed at both global and national levels by year 2015.  NSSDs are a process, rather than another document or planning initiative, which take account of existing strategies and action plans, including National Biodiversity Action Plans, and focuses on integrating economic growth, social development and environmental stability.

A second important development target is poverty reduction: the proportion of people living in extreme poverty in developing countries should be reduced by at least half by 2015. Biodiversity is an asset of many poor communities which should be used for the sustainable reduction of poverty. However the linkages between biodiversity and poverty are complex and difficult to predict: biodiversity losses can lead to both increased or decreased poverty in different circumstances, so the positive and negative links between biodiversity and poverty need to be examined systematically to seek opportunities, and avoid the constraints, for sustainable development.

The EC Biodiversity Action Plan for economic and development cooperation, along with action plans for other environmental conventions, must therefore be consistent with, and an integral part of, these overall development targets. This approach has been elaborated in the EC Communication Integrating Environment and Sustainable Development into Economic and Development Cooperation Policy (COM(1999) 499), which makes clear that mainstreaming environmental issues is essential for success of sustainable development, and improved management of biodiversity needs to be approached as part of the overall environment programme.

These development targets are therefore incorporated into the themes for action list below (Section 3), which follow the same structure as the themes developed in the EC Biodiversity Strategy.

4. European Union and European Community cooperation

The Treaty establishing the European Community outlines the importance of environment in development cooperation efforts ”environmental protection requirements must be integrated into the definition and implementation of the Community policies and activities”.  To be successful, this will require: i) strong political commitment; ii) strengthening of the institutional arrangements and iii) sound management of the overall quality of the environment integration process.

EU Member States and the Community have shown a commitment to integrating environment into development cooperation already by ratifying the Convention on Biological Diversity, and several have made separate policy statements about biodiversity in development cooperation.  These actions indicate support that will be given to other countries in achieving the Convention’s objectives, as noted in CBD Articles 5 (Cooperation) and 20 (Financial Resources).  All EU Member States make contributions to the Global Environment Facility (GEF) (although the EC cannot), and additional support is made through development cooperation investments.

There is a well recognised need to review issues related to coherence and complementarity between the EC and EU Member States’ policies to ensure sustainable development. This is important in relation to environmental projects in general, and biodiversity in particular, as institutions dealing specifically with these issues often have a low priority in government financial allocations. A first step in achieving better coherence would be through the organisation by the EC of consultative workshops to assess to what extent coherence is being achieved and what opportunities there are to improve it.

As well as policy coherence between EC and EU Member States, the compatibility, complementarity and coherence of different EC and EU Member States actions within developing countries is poorly coordinated. This consistently leads to poor integration of biodiversity issues into development processes, with inefficient use of funds and some conflicting activities. The EC has an important role to play in improving coherence at this level.

The EC’s comparative advantage is that it is providing financial support to practically all developing countries and often with larger financial contributions than individual Member States. The EC has also the advantage of being able to take the lead role in regional projects and could therefore support regional biodiversity projects and programmes to supplement efforts undertaken in individual countries. By monitoring projects and programmes at country and regional level the EC can further assess the negative impacts internal EU policies may have on developing countries.

The current review of the EC funded projects (1996 to 1999) related to biodiversity should be followed up with consultations with EU Members States to compare results and efforts being provided to the individual recipient countries and efforts should be sort to enhance co-ordination and collaboration among the various donors.  In this context, it is important that the EC/EU Member States Biodiversity Experts Group (MSEG), which was formed to build consensus on EC biodiversity policies within development cooperation, through reviews and lessons sharing, continues its work

PROPOSED ACTIONS for the EC

* Continue to support, and play an active role in, the activities of the EC/EU Member States Biodiversity Experts Group (MSEG), and provide funding to cover costs for future travel, meetings, administration, etc.

* Review of options for improving donor coherence within developing countries. Establish pilot schemes for doing this in different regions, and develop a support unit for the Delegations SOME POLICY STATEMENT TO THIS EFFECT?

* Independent review of the opportunity for synergies between EC investments and Global Environment Fund activities, and other international polices, action plans and projects.

5. Economic and development cooperation themes for action

5.1. European Commission capacity building

EC’s current approach to integrating environmental matters into its development cooperation activities is to support the efforts of developing countries to participate effectively in international negotiations, to implement their obligations under the CBD, and develop appropriate policies and measures with respect to existing and emerging environmental agreements.

In the current Lomé, ALA and MEDA agreements, biodiversity is not specifically mentioned. However, environmental themes for funding are stated, and 2% of the seventh European Development Fund disbursements to African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries were for environment, mirrored by the Asia and Latin America (ALA) Regulation which requires that 10% of funds to be committed to environmental projects. Two important additional funding instruments were the Environment and Tropical Forest budget lines.

Funds committed and disbursed between 1990 and 1995 to ACP, ALA and Mediterranean countries for projects dealing primarily with the environment (or environmental components of other projects) were Euro 1,339 million (8.5% of total funds committed). A statistical inventory of projects revealed that 215 (out of …?) projects which DG Development (VIII plus IB?) committed between 1996 and 1998 meet the criteria for the Convention on Biological Diversity as set by the OECD/DAC. The total commitment for these 215 projects is Euro 64 million of which 23 million had been disbursed by 1998 (??%) BUDGET LINES DATA TO COME.

However, since the bulk of development cooperation spending is on activities not directly related to environmental projects it is important that biodiversity issues are an integral part of all natural resources projects and programmes, and that biodiversity is also well integrated into Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) undertaken for all development co-operation investments. It therefore needs to be incorporated into the National Indicative Programmes (NIPs) and Country Strategy Papers (CSP) negotiated between EC Delegations and national governments, where local priorities for development cooperation are decided and strategic Environmental Assessments can be made.

These national planning initiatives also consider issues of governance, building stronger civil societies, addressing the needs of poor and marginalised groups, strengthening weak government departments, decentralisation for effective development etc. In this context, capacity building for improved management of all natural resources (including biodiversity) relies on the growth of sustainable local and national institutions, political stability, effective polices and laws, and supportive macro-economic conditions.

A number of other (often internal) EC policies have a strong impact on biodiversity in developing countries. These include trade policy, agriculture and fisheries, and the impact of these policies needs immediate assessment. The challenge is for example trying to help the fishing industry towards a more secure and stable future in which the fishing effort is in proportion to available resources and leaves room for local producers of poor livelihoods.

PROPOSED ACTIONS:

Capacity building within the Commission, through:

*Review of National Indicative Programmes and Country Strategy Papers to assess the extent to which biodiversity issues have been raised in the context of country dialogues, and integrated into national/regional programmes, and establish processes for improving integration .. and other country/regional strategies….SET UP A HELP UNIT? GIVING MORE GUIDANCE TO DELEGATIONS AND DESK OFFICERS. STREAM-LINE PROCEDURES FOR INTEGRATING ENVIRONMENT & B/D. COMPREHENSIVE TRAINING NEEDS REVIEW.

*Strategic environmental assessment and review of the impact of EC agriculture, trade and fisheries polices on biodiversity in developing countries. This analysis should be an ongoing exercise as effects of EU/EC policies may not be immediately visible. A cross-sectoral / JOINT ACTIVITY OR UNIT, WITH OTHER SERVICES, COORDINATED THROUGH BIODIVERSITY INTER-SERVICE COMMITTEE

*Develop a set of practical indicators to allow reliable and cost-effective monitoring of integration of biodiversity into NIP/RIP processes, and the impact of these processes and investments on biodiversity/environment in developing countries.

5.2. Developing country biodiversity strategies and action plans

National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSs and BAPs) are an instrument with which to integrate biodiversity management at the national planning level, as stipulated in the CBD, which must be incorporated into NSSDs and the EC NIPs/RIPs and CSPs. Many developing countries are in the process of producing biodiversity actions plans, and they have submitted National Reports to the CBD Secretariat (at the fourth Conference of the Parties (COP4) in 1998) in which they describe their policies and strategies, and note the constraints they face in implementing biodiversity strategies (see Appendix 5 for an overview of action plans and strategies prepared by the various ACP, ALA-MED countries and other development co-operation partners).

The major constraints developing countries have in compiling and implementing their BAPs include:

a     insufficient information on ecological processes, habitats, and genetic resources;

b     limited analysis of the adequacy of existing measures, including the protected area network, in protecting biodiversity and ecological processes;

c     lack of monitoring of most aspects of environmental change, including habitat fragmentation, desertification, altered species composition, population viability and the integrity of ecological processes;

d     poor human resource and technical capacity in institutions concerned with biodiversity inventory and conservation work.

e     insufficient education and awareness

f      inadequate, and weakly implemented, laws and regulations designed to improve biodiversity management;

g     insufficient financial resources to maintain biodiversity resources

h     sub-optimal integration of planning and policy decisions by national institutions.

In addition to these constraints, most Biodiversity Action Plans focus on protection of biodiversity, for which the is relatively little international or national funding, and do not give much attention as to how biodiversity might provide options for development ­ and therefore could be better managed for sustainable livelihoods. Indication is seldom given as to how National Biodiversity Action Plans will be incorporated into the campaign against poverty and improving food security. Not only does such a broadening of horizons need to be encouraged, but capacity building is needed to be able to achieve such a broad approach.

A further problem is that the Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans are often produced independently, without clear information or support from those who must implement the policies. Development of National Biodiversity Action Plans needs full participation from government, private sector and all levels of civil society.

It is also important that development cooperation agencies’ investments in national planning are coordinated, as noted above, so that resources are sensibly shared.

PROPOSED ACTIONS

Make use of Environment budget line funds to do the following:

·        Support mechanisms and institutions that will improve the gathering of, or access to, biodiversity information. This should help individual countries identify areas important for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, as part of systematic examination of the positive and negative links between poverty alleviation and biodiversity conservation and sustainable use. REGIONAL PILOT PROGRAMMES? REVIEW OF THE LINKS ON EXISTING PROJECTS? LOOK AT DIFFERENT SECTORS…

·        Monitor and review existing developing country biodiversity action plans and see if they are effective, have been based on participatory consultation, and indicate how EC investments can improve biodiversity action plans that it fit into NSSD processes. EVALUATION OF EXISITING BAPS? BEGIN TO WRITE UP NEW BAP PROPOSALS…WHO IS DOING NSSD SUPPORT?

·        Capacity building for national biodiversity units, that will be able to develops BAPs through broad participation, and to integrate BAP needs/recommendations into national development processes.

5.3. Conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity

Conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity is an enormous task for all countries. Full use needs to be made of domesticated agricultural, livestock and fisheries biodiversity, as well as the wealth products from natural habitats (e.g. wetlands, wildlife and forest products), which are important in the food security of many poor people the latter having received little attention from development cooperation investments. This has to be achieved by developing more efficient and sustainable systems of natural resources exploitation and production, thereby maintaining biodiversity in multi-functional landscapes which support human production systems and ecological processes.

Since human culture and biodiversity have co-evolved, local values of biodiversity need to be appreciated when seeking new opportunities for development. This is important since local values will determine local choices, and it is the integration of local and scientific knowledge that will give a basis for reviewing livelihoods approaches to increased production of foods and other biodiversity components (e.g. oils, wood, fibre and fuel etc) on a sustainable basis.

There is already considerable experience in what policies and projects lead to sustainable outcomes, and lessons learned from this experience should be fully integrated into all development cooperation projects, as best practice principles (see Appendix 6). While ensuring that these principles are followed, it is important to approach conservation and sustainable use issues in the context of integrated land use planning that allows rationalisation of decisions about intensity of land use in a landscape.

5.3.1.                  Sustainable use

Sustainable use of biodiversity to support human development can be considered at a number of levels: ecosystem, species and genetic levels, and between wild and natural elements of biodiversity. There are inter-linkages between each of these categories, and irrespective of which category is considered, the overall aim of sustainable use is to provide optimum development benefits now, while maintaining biodiverse, productive ecosystems to meet the needs of the future.

 

 

The use of biodiversity from natural ecosystems requires management of the impact of harvesting on target and non-target populations to ensure that stocks do not become depleted and that processes of reproduction and evolution etc are maintained for continued productivity. Sustainable use of domestic biodiversity requires careful storage of crops, varieties and breeds which may provide important genetic materials for the future.

PROPOSED ACTIONS

WHAT HELP DO THE SECTORS WANT TO BETTER INTEGRATE BIODIVERSITY?

*Review of the extent to which biodiversity/environment issues are integrated into different DG-Development sector polices (e.g. water, agriculture, infra-structure, etc.), and establish process for improved integration. Based on the results of this review, determine what needs to be done for:

* establishing a Help Unit to integrate biodiversity into sector policy documents and help with reviews of screening projects for integration of environment/biodiversity .. part of EIA help unit?

* agreeing stream-lined procedures of integrating biodiversity and environment assessments through standardised sector EA/EIA by country/region. This will include developing indicators for b/d impact monitoring

*establishing training courses: short course for non-specialists in how to fill out EIA screening sheets and pass on to specialists when more attention is needed. THIS SHOULD BE INTEGRATED WITH CURRENT ENVIRONMENT TRAINING?

* producing materials: a market survey of requirements for training and awareness building materials will be completed by April 2000, and Biodiversity Briefs produced for each sector by December 2000. SHOULD BE PART OF COMPREHENSIVE ENVIRONMENT TRAINING NEEDS REVIEW

WHO PAYS FOR WHAT PARTS ­ MOSTLY ENVIRONMENT BUDGET LINE?

* elaboration and implementation of biodiversity appraisal in participatory poverty assessments, to identify where biodiversity assets can be used for poverty reduction.

LIST OF ISSUES TO PROVIDE A FRAMEWORK FOR RESPONSES FROM SECTORS ­ THIS SECTION WILL BE REDUCED AS NECESSARY

·        Agriculture

DG-Dev policy statements and action plans which include biodiversity issues?

HOW MUCH SUPPORT/SYMPATHY IS THERE FOR THE FAO PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES PROGRAMME?

The challenge is to feed the 840 million people who are under-nourished today (approx. 15% of the world’s population), a number which is likely to rise with increasing human population.  Four crops (rice, wheat, sugar and maize) account for 63% of the world’s plant-derived calorie intake, although here is much regional variation (cassava accounts for 50% of Central Africa’s plant-derived energy, but only 1.6% of the world’s). In fact, about 7,000 plant species have been recorded as food and agricultural crops

Encouraging a broad range of food crops in rural areas is important for risk management, guarding against the failure of a crop if climatic or health conditions change, reducing the risk of particular soil nutrients being lost, and reducing susceptibility to unreliability of market prices.

Erosion of food and agricultural crop genetic biodiversity. Major efforts to conserve genetic diversity began in 1970s, and now 6 million accessions world wide. Cereals well represented, but gaps in other local important species …also lack of access to poor countries/poor farmers since only 30 countries provide secure long-term storage; 15 largest national collections hold 30%, plus 12% in CGIAR centres.

There is increasing use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to produce high yield crops. This raises the problem of biosafety in tropical countries where these crops may be released.

Locally adapted varieties of crops have supported livelihoods for decades, and use of the genetic information contained within these varieties, as well as wild relatives of domesticated stocks, is vital to future plant breeding programmes. Since the knowledge used to develop local varieties of crops was built and shared by rural communities, protocols are needed to ensure that those whose knowledge, and seeds, have been used in the development of new crops are suitable rewarded for their contribution.

Within farmlands, sustainable agriculture requires and agro-ecological principles are maintained to ensure that landscape productivity is not impaired. Soil needs to be conserved by reducing rates of erosion from water and wind, and its fertility maintained through careful use of organic and inorganic fertilisers and maintenance of soil micro-organisms ­ especially those that increase nutrient uptake in plants.  Encouraging biological control of pest and pathogens also reduces the risk of ecological damage through inappropriate use of chemicals.

Agricultural activities have a profound effect on global biodiversity, through the conversion of natural ecosystems and the use of biological resources. Intensification of agricultural production is essential to reduce the rate of natural habitats losses, as well as increase food and commercial crop production.

PROPOSED ACTIONS

* Support development activities which follow agro-ecological principles in production, including integrated pest management, and focus on intensification of production in high yield areas rather than clearing more natural habitats with development cooperation funds. This should not be confused with national or local policies and actions that are being taken.

* development of biosafety protocols in relation to development cooperation investments, support for increased capacity in developing countries for risk assessment, implementation of trails,  negotiation at international conventions etc

* for export products, at least, support the development of international standards and capacity to formulate and implement certification schemes so that markets can determine their focus on productions systems that take account of biodiversity, as well as social and other environmental issues. COLEACP LINKS FOR STANDARDS…

*develop practical EA/EIA guidelines for all investments in agriculture to assess where natural habitats are being destroyed, GM organisms being released, local crop varieties being lost etc, and to look more extensively at the variety of local crops, and suitability of soil etc to local biodiversity to support livelihoods …

* encourage diversification of crop production - for subsistence and commercial purposes….what of economies of scale with monocultures?.. need a balanced agriculture portfolio

* New policy established to allow long term investments in global, public benefits from the storage of genetic material at international centres, to support development programming. The genetic biodiversity stores requires a broad spectrum of approaches and participatory selection of required varieties by the end users.

* document the local varieties of crops and wild relatives (support FAO plant genetic resources programme?) and ensure that participatory selection of crop varieties is carried out, to select varieties that meet the needs, and are within the means, of rural communities.

·        Livestock:

DG-Dev policy statements/action plans?

SYMPATHY FOR, LINKS WITH, SUPPORT TO FAO PLAN OF ACTION? LIVESTOCK-TOOLBOX INITIATIVE.

Livestock supply at least 30% of human needs for food and agricultural production, and an estimates 250 million animals provide draught power for 60% of arable land in the tropics, especially important in Africa where mechanisation of farming is only increasing slowly. Dung production essential to fertility of mixed farming systems, especially in marginal areas.

Of the 4,000 livestock (mammal and bird) breeds that have evolved over the past 12,000 years 30% are under threat of disappearance, and of the 14 species which account for 90% of the world’s production only 1-2% of their genetic capacity has been developed.

Livestock practices can have a major negative impact on biodiversity. Increasing settlement and agriculture in semi-arid regions in Africa, often subsidised with cheap water, transport and fertilisers, has lead to over-stocking and concentration of herds into smaller areas where range degradation is taking place. Government subsides have encouraged ranching in forested areas of Amazonia which are unsuitable for cattle.

PROPOSED ACTIONS

YET MORE INFORMATION GATHERING STILL NEEDED ­ OR TIME TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT?

WHAT VALUE ARE ALL THESE LOCAL BREEDS TO POOR PEOPLE?

* ex situ conservation of herds; support for maintaining herds: on farm, research stations…where?

* gene banks in the region…who funds?

* ensure that subsidies for livestock development a focused on suitable environments

*Support development of improved livestock-crop interactions in mixed farming systems

* Review issues relating to control of diseases and vectors which impact upon biodiversity

* ensure waste management of industrial livestock systems.. support to existing systems that are poorly developed?

·        Wildlife

The importance of wildlife (mammals) in supporting livelihoods has been poorly integrated into development cooperation thinking, despite the large impact of mammals in areas where agriculture and livestock production systems are not intensified. The consumption of mammals, and to a much lesser extent birds and insects, is very important in the nutrition of many poor communities. However, there is little information on how important this is in different regions (for example, forest versus savanna zones), and the extent to which this resource can be better managed. In particular, there is increasing evidence that commercial use of bushmeat is leading to large-scale extinctions of larger mammals, to the detriment of poor peoples’ livelihoods.

A small number of wildlife (and plant) species or their parts fetch high prices on the international market, and commercial over-exploitation is leading to their disappearance. Although requiring specialist input, breeding or propagation programmes for some of these species have been successful in bringing benefits to local communities and should be encouraged.

The control of wildlife pests, which damage crops in regions adjacent to conservation and sustainable management areas, will be an important factor in gaining confidence and support from local communities for improved management of biodiversity.

PROPOSED ACTIONS

* develop participatory procedures for the developing management systems that allow controlled off-take of wildlife from forests and savannas, without outside commercial interests engaging in unsustainable use;

* seek ways to improve the distribution of benefits from tourism and sport hunting.

* Explore new opportunities for using different wildlife species for income generating activities ­e.g. sporting hunting licences in Central Africa

* Support to CITES to regulate trade and species conservation.

* pest control through improved trapping, with better marketing etc

* monitor wildlife-livestock interactions for ways to optimise use of both for wide spectrum of livelihoods

·        Forestry

The Forests in development: the EC approach communication (1999), sets the tone for development cooperation investments. EC investments in this sector need to take into account biodiversity issues as well. This implies priority for natural forests and protection of the last tracts of primary forests.  50% of terrestrial species are found in tropical forests…  Many forest ecosystems are fragile/important for watershed protection/…

It has been estimated that 31% of tropical rainforests are currently gazetted for commercial timber production.  The global forest industry is worth around US$330 billion in annual sales.  However, the international timber trade is dominated by transnational logging companies.  Forests have other roles to play, particularly in providing for rural livelihoods.  In developing countries, some 80% of energy requirements are met by wood products (EC 1999).  It has further been estimated that forest goods and services provide around 6% of GDP in Africa (not including global goods and services, which are rarely included in valuations). Tropical rain forests account for about half of all the world’s species, which provide a very wide range of products that are seldom taken into account during forest valuations.

Sustainable forest management approaches are the key to integrating the biodiversity / ecosystem functions and processes with provision of timber and non-timber forest products. Furthermore, subsidies are often provided to encourage otherwise non-competitive land use practices to replace forested areas (e.g. agriculture).

It has also been estimated that 12-15% of projected carbon emissions could be absorbed by forests if current rates of deforestation and degradation are reduced.  Focus on forests should not however be limited to see them as carbon sinks. Investments in the forests need to account for the whole range of social, cultural and ecological products and services they can offer. Due to the wide range of interests that forests attract (from government revenue, commercial interests though indigenous peoples’ rights to forest lands), forests are under threat.  Nearly half the world’s forests have been converted into farms, pastures The devastating forest fires that have been a feature of tropical forests over the past decade, which have erupt in areas that have been opened up by human activities (logging and farming), have a devastating effect on biodiversity.

PROPOSED ACTIONS

* Ensure that macro-economic policy development does not undermine sound forest management

* Encourage the development of participatory forest management practices, which take account of the full range of products provided to different forest users

* Continue to monitor forest fires and develop ways of controlling them;

* increased production of wood from on-farm efforts and industrial plantations to reduce pressure on natural forest;

* how to integrate agro-forests, home gardens in forest areas….new look at forestry investments?

*biosafety policy for development investments?

·        Fisheries

Any DG-Dev policy statements on this?

WHAT SYMPATHY/SUPPORT FOR FAO RESPONSIBLE FISHERIES PROTOCOL AND OTHER FAO ACTION PLANS

WHAT LINKS WITH FISHERIES AGREEMENTS AND DG-FISHERIES POLICES

Fish are the main food source for over 1 billion people, and the commercial fishing and related-industries employ 200 million people world-wide. Although 10% of the world’s catch is attributed to inland and freshwater systems, this figure misses the thousands of tonnes of small fish which are eaten whole and supply poor communities with important nutrients.

There are approximately 21,000 species of fish (8,500 freshwater), but only five marine species account for 25% of the world commercial catch. Even for the common species, however, there is a paucity of understanding about what  controls population fluctuations. Even allowing for this, the available information on fish stocks indicates that 44% of species are fully or heavily exploited, and 16% over-exploited.

Wild fish stocks are vulnerable to pollution, especially in closed freshwater systems where the concentration of pollutants, abstraction of water for agriculture and industry and over-fishing gives cause for concern.

Approximately 25% of marine fish are associated with coral reefs, which support the livelihoods of as many as 100 million people world-wide. Yet reefs are threatened by damaging human activities in inland and coastal zones, compounded by the effects of global warming: 10% of coral reefs have been destroyed in the recent past and 25% are likely to be lost in the next 30 years, so improved management is essential.

Other marine habitats that need special attention are breeding and nursery areas such as mangroves, seaweed beds, estuaries. Many of which are adversely affected by coastal development.

An estimated 20% of the world’s fish production is from aquaculture, but it is based on a very narrow range of species, and with the exception of long-domesticated Asian carp stocks, rely on all new genetic material from wild populations.

PROPOSED ACTIONS

* fundamental issue is the lack of information about this ‘invisible’ resource. Problem of assessing stocks of what is traded, and need to make fuller assessment of all fisheries resources (including small non-traded) that support poor  livelihoods

* More focused research on fisheries for poverty reduction/support artisanal and inland etc., including participatory approaches to setting quotas, agreeing fishing methods, etc ….NEW TECHNIQUES?

* support capacity building for developing countries to engage in international policy framework for implementing best practice fisheries

* Need integrated ridge-to-reef development plans for management of reef ecosystems and adjacent areas of influencing reef management

* Support to Integrated Coastal Zone Management processes and activities

* special emphasis on loss of freshwater fisheries due to water abstraction and pollution.

* issues of aquaculture development based on very narrow genetic base…develop policy for conservation of global fish genetic resources for future aquaculture development

·        Tourism

Need the EC communication on this ­ if they have anything on biodiversity.

PROPOSED ACTIONS

* wildlands and natural biodiversity a key element in ecotourism opportunities

* stronger EIA monitoring of tourism developments

·        Health

The links between biodiversity and health need fuller assessments. Millions of poor communities in developing countries, in both rural and urban areas, depend medicines from a wealth of different plants and animals, and millions of dollars worth of drugs have been developed with chemicals isolated from tropical plans and animals. However, the wealth of insect vectors and microbial pathogens

PROPOSED ACTIONS

*  Review of wild biodiversity that is supporting health of poor people, in both rural and urban areas

5.3.2.                  Conservation

Within productive landscapes, areas need to be set aside to ensure that the environmental resources and processes which underpin the sustainable use of biodiversity are not impaired.  This includes the protection of watersheds for improved soil and water supplies, and careful use of arid zones for soil conservation. It also must take account of areas where populations that are supporting livelihoods can breed and recover their populations (e.g. coastal fisheries breeding areas), or where stores of plants and animals are maintained for unknown future uses (e.g. Lesser Known Timber species, and wild relatives domestic crops and livestock).

Habitats of known high biodiversity include forests, wetlands, coastal zones and mountains, but arid and semi-arid rangelands also contain unique biodiversity and support poor livelihoods. Representative samples of these need to be afforded different levels of protection if the full range of global biodiversity is to be maintained, but the precise management approach will depend on local circumstances. Ultimately protected areas (PAs) will only contribute to conservation objectives if a broad spectrum of stakeholders support the management activities, as an integral part of local land use plans which incorporate other aspects of sustainable development.

At present PAs cover 480 million ha in tropical countries, supplemented by 130 million ha of marine protected areas world-wide. However, the extent to which they are well managed for biodiversity maintenance varies greatly, and in many developing countries insufficient funds or other resources are allocated. There is, therefore, a tendency for a general deterioration of the infrastructure, compounded by shortages of personnel and low salaries.

Another major cause of PA failure is conflicts with local communities, and in some cases the private sector. This may result from animals that take refuge in parks destroying crops in adjacent farmlands, or from restricting access of poor communities to areas and resources which they consider traditionally their own. In extreme cases people have been evicted or dispossessed of lands and property. Clearer reviews of the links between local peoples livelihoods, or commercial interests, and PA benefits is needed if these stakeholders are to support conservation activities.

In response to these problems, PAs managers and polices makers have developed a broader approach to management, involving local communities in protection of wildlife and natural resources, and focusing management attention in the conflict areas around the edges of protected areas (buffer zones). This needs fuller support so that new, more effective management approaches can be developed.

IS DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION LIKELY TO SUPPORT ZOOLOGICAL AND BOTANICAL GARDENS??

Where opportunities to maintain populations in the natural or on-farm environments in which they evolved are not viable, then ex situ protection of flora and fauna is sometimes an option. This can be done through zoological parks and botanical gardens, or in high technology germplasm centres. It is certainly preferable to try and maintain ex situ collections in the region from which the organisms originated, but costs of maintaining ex situ conservation centres are seldom met by developing country governments. Furthermore, ownership of genetic material in ex situ collections can become the subject of disputes.

PROPOSED ACTIONS

*Monitoring and evaluation of present and past PA investments to look for ways forward  - looking at pilot project to assess and build upon current best practice principles in protected area management;

* Review the conflicts and opportunities to make stronger links between PA management and local livelihoods improvements ­ e.g. ICDP approaches have often failed - why? What are the links between poverty and protected areas;

* ex situ conservation (other than for production systems noted above): need restocking from wild populations (access issues; more information on local varieties of b/d; regional initiatives for ex situ conservation

* Individual countries should be assisted in identifying areas of biodiversity importance, in terms of conservation and sustainable utilisation.

5.3.3.                  Environmental Impact Assessments

This is the instrument with which to integrate conservation and sustainable use aims into policies, programmes and projects within sectors directly involved in managing biodiversity (sections 5.3 and 5.4). It is also the instrument with which to address biodiversity issues that in other sectors (e.g. trade, infra-structure, water, health and education). All these sectors can have a major bearing on biodiversity, both positive and negative, and their impact needs to be assessed in the initial stages policy, programme and project development to maximise the constructive use of biodiversity in supporting human development.

Even with careful construction, past experience has shown that Environmental Guidelines are commonly misunderstood and little used, and biodiversity issues are often poorly integrated within EIA materials. The new EA/EIA tools must therefore be easily understood and useable, and awareness raising and training activities will be essential if more people are to make full use of them.

PROPOSED ACTIONS

*Ensure that biodiversity issues are fully integrated into these EA/EIA tools, at all levels in the Project Cycle Management, and within all sectors: consultancy input on biodiversity issues completed by March 2000 (DG DEV A/5);

* Assess to what extent there has been an increase in environmental/biodiversity appraisals in policy, programme and project design and evaluation: Review of a sample of policy, programme and project documents in 2004

5.4. Equitable sharing of costs and benefits from biodiversity use

One of the main reasons why biodiversity is being lost is because conversion of natural habitats to agricultural and other production systems offers opportunities for immediate profit to those engaged in unsustainable methods and practices. Where biodiversity offers immediate benefits, such as in marginal lands with low human population densities, biodiversity maintenance is often integrated into local livelihoods, but many biodiversity benefits are long-term, intangible and often accrue to at national (e.g. water supplies) and international (e.g. global stores of plant genetic resources) levels and not with the local stewards of the resource.

Effective conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity must address the underlying social, economic/market and policy causes of biodiversity loss, which in turn require that the costs of maintaining biodiversity, and the benefits from its use, be equitably shared. This needs to go beyond the focus of the CBD, because it must incorporate costs as well as benefits, and include ecosystem and species levels of biodiversity, not just the genetic level.

In addition to benefit sharing, the equitable sharing of costs is needed for effective conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.  Destruction of biodiversity often leaves the poorest groups further deprived of important assets. Conversely, some measures taken to protect biodiversity may result in costs to local communities, in the form of foregone benefits from land and biodiversity use. These costs must be shared between all beneficiaries if stakeholders are to support improved biodiversity management.

A review of the constraints to benefit sharing from the use of genetic biodiversity indicate that a great deal of capacity building is needed, and clearer policy and legal frameworks before benefit sharing from this activity is likely to help sustain poor livelihoods.

Constraints to Benefit Sharing from use of genetic biodiversity

Providers need: ·        better information/control of resources outside providers’ jurisdiction ·        more information about values and market structures ·        stronger institutional, negotiating and contractual capacities ·        more adequate IPR laws and systems of implementation End users need: ·        a reliable contact points/authorised institutions to grant access to biodiversity ·        accurate information on ownership and tenure, and legal certainty on access; ·        clearer guidelines on obligations, corporate access and benefit sharing policies; ·        to make distinctions between different uses (commercial, scientific etc.) Adapted from: Best practices for Access to Genetic Resources, Glowka et al., 1998

 

Understandings of how to address the intellectual property rights of poor people is also poorly developed.  Detailed negotiations (WTO/GATT/TRIPs) have been taking place in relation to technology ownership, and control over patented goods, but these have become stultified in problems of defining what is biodiversity and what is indigenous/local knowledge.  The result is that little is being done to safeguard the intellectual property rights of local and indigenous communities through this instrument, although examples of monetary and non-monetary benefits have been identified by the CBD Panel of Experts (UNEP/CBD/EP-ABS/2).

National capacity needs to be built to address the constraints on establishing protocols for agreeing intellectual property rights. Thereafter national governments, private companies and local communities must negotiate equitable sharing of benefits from commercial bioprospecting activities. Even where non-commercial activities take place, contracts must be drawn up to ensure information gathered and the results of research activities are shared.

At the broader level of land use patterns, cost and benefit sharing in support of sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity relies on the establishment of economic incentive mechanisms. These can be at national or international levels, and have been listed under 5 categories by OECD task force.

Establishment of these incentive measures requires well managed national economies, and systems for conflict resolution, so that trade agreements to not conflict with improved biodiversity management, and careful monitoring of compliance with regulations will be needed.

PROPOSED ACTIONS

*Capacity building to provide legal supplies of bioprospecting materials; improved access to price and market information; capacity to negotiate better deals for national and local stakeholders;

*develop policy framework and laws on bioprospecting, IPRs, benefit sharing…

*support for trade in sustainably managed biodiversity (ecolabeling);

* support development of methods for access and benefit sharing

* clarify policy for development cooperation and generate understanding on this issue

* capacity building to gather information, to develop it into policies for incentive implementation, and to monitor the impacts of incentive measures;

* stakeholder involvement (local communities) ­ capacity building for local user groups to negotiate harvesting quotas, harvesting methods, fair prices etc.

5.5. Research, exchange of information and technology transfer

Lack of knowledge about what biodiversity is available, and where it is, and how useful/distinctive it is…

lack of manpower, technical and financial resources. Some European universities assist the counterpart institutions in developing countries in identifying and preserving materials. However there are often problems in repatriation of the specimens as the institutions do not have the equipment or storage capacity that is required. As identification is being undertaken outside the country there is a limited amount of technology transfer in the process.

The continuous monitoring of the social, economic and biological factors, in a multi-disciplinary framework, to assess project and programme impacts requires considerable investment.  The use of ‘indicators’ to improve monitoring, and make it more cost-effective, as well as approaches that make most use of local communities to gather information, are slowly being developed but need more research. Only when there has been research to evaluate a set of indicators can their accuracy, reliability and usefulness be assessed.

It should fit into national planning exercises, in which research needs are identified, and priorities decided upon.  Research should be problem-oriented. 

There is an imbalance in the number and resources of research and information institutions, with countries outside the tropical regions having far more.  Support (both financial and technical) is therefore needed for scientific training; management of information; and technology transfer (see section 5.9). 

The ability of natural resources managers to link formal training with this informal knowledge is often lacking, and government workers and scientists need to need to be retrained to develop this capacity.  152 of the Fourth Lomé Convention makes many mentions of research in development cooperation with ACP countries.

The CBD calls for Parties to set up Relate to the support for Clearing House Mechanism focal points in developing countries - and development co-operation support to CHM development and standardised reporting.

PROPOSED ACTIONS

* support development of universities and other research institutions, and support capacity building to produce a set of national priorities for biodiversity research

* taxonomic research, repatriation of taxonomic information and specimens and inventories to off-set lack of information ­ capacity building to use information, with infra-structure too

* Develop new methods for participatory data gathering and sharing, and recognise the need to integrate indigenous/local knowledge with techno-scientific knowledge ­ for appropriate local solutions, transparency and monitoring..

* Develop systems for integrating biological, social, and economic information gathering and identifying priorities for  improved biodiversity management for sustainable development;

* identify suitable indicators of biodiversity, which can be monitored inexpensively by non-specialists

* CHM development principles:

·    start small ­ low local capacity and little accurate information

·    develop simple tools ­ low capacity and opportunities (50% CHM focal points do not have web access; GEF funding access).

·    Establish partnerships between well-resourced and experienced countries and developing countries

·    Build links beyond the CHM focal points once a basic CHM system is in place

·    Use CHM as a coordination and education tool whenever possible

* developing a new DG Development website, with b/d input etc.

* coherence between DG Development CHM support in DCs,  and EEA CHM processes;

* help develop frameworks for information exchange and technology transfer

5.6. Education and awareness

Difficulty in understand what is biodiversity

What is the CBD.

How does any of this affect the different sector; non-specialists; specialists…

Support for this can be provided by increasing public awareness on products produced in a sustainable manner, ease access to the European market for these products and support organisations promoting sustainable farming practices with minimal use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides.

Education and awareness-raising address the fact that many threats to biodiversity are due to human action (IUCN CEC).  The lack of knowledge of people about biodiversity has been called a “major constraint” to fulfilment of the CBD (UNEP COP4 notes).

Formal education results in an increase in the amount and quality of human resources available for biodiversity decision-making and management, and is therefore an important tool for capacity building.  Awareness-raising results can be, for example, a change away from destructive practices, being aware of the contribution biodiversity makes to health and welfare, or understanding laws and policies designed to conserve and use biodiversity sustainably. 

It is important to ensure that the correct activities are targeted at the correct groups, and that experience is fed-back into the project or programme.  Education programmes must recognise the human aspect to any stated biodiversity problem, and, working with the stakeholders in question, draw up aims which are acceptable to all.

PROPOSED ACTIONS  survey of appropriate tools

*publicity material of the Biodiversity Action Plan

*inform decision-makers ­ appropriate awareness raising materials;

*Biodiversity in Development  Sourcebook completed by end 2000;

*Biodiversity Briefs produced by December 2000

6. Means needed to be able to implement the action plan

Take from Integrating Environment communication:

This should be done by working mainly through existing mechanisms, strengthening processes which have a positive effect on biodiversity and trying to adjust processes with a negative effect on biodiversity. It also implies looking actively for coherence of EC/EU policies, coordination with and between Member States and looking for complementarity of actions. As a consequence, attention for building up ‘biodiversity’ capacity within the EC and the partner countries is of utmost importance. If we want to have an impact, integration is a must and additional investments may need to be made. Main focus areas will be on the increase of capacity, both in terms of human resources and institutionally.