“Regions and local authorities as champions for biodiversity 2010” - Side event at the 6^th Ministerial Conference “Environment for Europe”

Belgrade, Serbia 11 October 2007

Statement by Mr Goran VASIC, Member of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am honored to chair this event, organised in parallel to the Ministerial Conference, in order to highlight the important role regional and local authorities are playing in reversing biodiversity loss.

In the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, we believe that the reduction in biodiversity represents one of the major threats facing our planet and humanity now. We have an historic duty to address this issue and to find solutions. Biodiversity should be very high on local and regional authorities’ agendas as a key part of our mandate to create a healthy and friendly environment for all our citizens.

Sustainability is not ecological romanticism but a matter of public health, safety and essential resources. Biodiversity is a key aspect of sustainability and its loss is a loss for us all. Declining biodiversity is a drain on our economies, and it diminishes the quality of our lives in our communities. Ecosystem health is fundamental to sustainable development and this is at the heart of our discussions today.

The Council of Europe has been a pioneer on biodiversity issues at pan-European level. It instituted the European Diploma of Protected Areas in 1965;  in 1979 it initiated the Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats;  more recently, in 2000, it adopted the European Landscape Convention and launched, in 2006, a network of local and regional authorities.  Indeed, one of this Convention’s features is the key role it assigns to territorial authorities in landscape protection, management, development and enhancement. 

As a pan-European representative body of more than 200,000 territorial communities,  the Congress is keenly aware of the need for action at the local and regional level to halt biodiversity loss.

Until recently, preserving biodiversity has been viewed as something to be done through national parks, preserved areas and large-scale programmes. But we are now realizing that in fact biodiversity is all around us, it is a part of our daily lives, not only in the countryside, but also in urban areas, indeed even in the most unexpected corners of our towns and cities.

With this in mind, the Committee on Sustainable Development of the Congress has included the issue of biodiversity our current priorities.  We are preparing a number of recommendations on the relevance of urban biodiversity in responding to the environmental and societal challenges facing local and regional authorities.

Furthermore, we in the Congress are aware that biodiversity is an ally in the struggle to adapt to climate change.  This is as true in our cities as it is in our countryside.  More biodiversity means better absorption of carbon dioxide, a cooling of the air that is too hot and dry, a reduction of air pollution and better quality of water.

Promoting biodiversity alone is not sufficient to solve the environmental problems facing our urban areas. It must be combined with other measures relating to spatial planning, transport and mobility, use of energy and the disposal of waste water and refuse. We argue for the creation of holistic towns and cities which do not place excessive burdens on the environment or the community.

Territorial authorities have the necessary remit and political levers at their disposal to have a real impact on stemming biodiversity loss. There are many bodies represented here today which are already incorporating innovative approaches into their practices and I hope that we will be hearing about some of them in this session.

Biodiversity also offers a wonderful opportunity for local and regional authorities to create new connections with their citizens, to raise awareness among all stakeholders and to redefine inhabitants’ relationship to their neighbourhoods. All generations feel concerned by this issue, many different organizations and bodies are keen to participate in relevant activities and authorities should build upon this enthusiasm and interest.

We must join our forces to reverse biodiversity loss which concerns all of us – but most importantly, because it concerns future generations. The environmental degradation which we are witnessing today will come back with a vengeance for our children and grandchildren. 

We must all work towards the implementation of the European biodiversity 2010 targets, encouraging all levels of government throughout the continent, in particular territorial authorities, to join in and ensure that biodiversity is conserved and strengthened.

We must push for better recognition - in relevant texts, conventions and other instruments - of the important role played by local and regional authorities in the preservation and protection of biodiversity.

Together with ECNC and other networks, we should promote exchanges of experience and good practices. We should also build upon the opportunities for transfrontier cooperation on biodiversity issues.

We cannot remain passive witnesses or bystanders. We must act now if we are to pass a living biodiversity to the future generations !