Bern Convention On The Conservation Of European Wildlife

And Natural Habitats

Group of Experts on Biodiversity and Climate Change

Reykjavik, Iceland, 21-23 June 2010

Speech by Halldor HALLDORSSON, Member of the Committee on Sustainable Development, Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe

Dear colleagues, dear friends,

Thank you for your invitation to attend this meeting and the opportunity to address you on behalf of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities. I am the Mayor of Isafjodur and as such I am a member of the Icelandic delegation to the Congress and a member of its Committee on Sustainable Development.

Considering the pioneering role that the Council of Europe has taken in European nature protection, first by adopting the Bern Convention and seeing to its implementation, and then by carrying out numerous local and regional projects in this area, I am honoured to be here.

I wish to share with you in particular the recent work of the Congress on biodiversity and climate change. Since the Congress adopted in 2008 its recommendations on urban biodiversity, we have continued our work on raising the awareness of political decision-makers about the problems stemming from biodiversity loss and the moral imperative to halt its decline.

With this aim in mind, we co-organised a European biodiversity Day, on 28 April at the Council of Europe, to mark the 2010 Year of Biodiversity. This event was the first time that the Congress, the Parliamentary Assembly and the International Conference of NGOs of the Council of Europe came together for a common cause. They came together to speak with one voice on the crucial subject of protecting and restoring biodiversity, especially against the background of climate change and its consequences.

This conference reaffirmed the close link between the fight against climate change and preservation of biodiversity. It also highlighted the need to show a united front in this matter. It is important that our voices are joined to ensure that the message for the fair and ethical protection and improvement of the state of biodiversity is heard by national governments, NGOs, local and regional authorities and citizens.

The Presidents of the three bodies of the Council of Europe signed a joint Declaration to work together for biodiversity, calling for action from the member states of the Council of Europe. You will find a copy of the Declaration in your files.

This Declaration was warmly welcomed by the high level speakers from different international global and European organisations who attended the event,, namely the United Nations Environment Programme, the European Environment Agency, International union for Conservation of Nature, as well as the European Commission.

The participants had also the honour of hearing a video message by Mr Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and presentations of the heads of major NGOs such as the IUCN and the European Environmental Bureau.

The unique collaboration shown during the European Biodiversity Day was not only a true example of the close cooperation that exists in this area. It is also real proof that the importance of biodiversity is no longer in question, and that there is growing awareness at all levels of governance and civil society that preserving biodiversity and reversing its loss must become a priority issue on the top of our political agenda. We do hope that the “green light” for a global international biodiversity science panel given recently in Busan, South Korea, will be formally endorsed in 2011.

In the Declaration, the three Presidents called on the 47 members of the Council of Europe to recognise the right to a healthy environment as an integral part of human rights, and to take the necessary measures to ensure its translation into law. Many panellists during the conference also stressed the need for a sense of justice in environmental policies, in the broadest sense – fairness not only between generations, but also between continents and species. Public authorities and economic decision-makers have been invited to add this ethical dimension to their policies.

The Council of Europe needs to maintain its pioneering role and make this work on human rights and the environment one of its main objectives. It has a key role to play as the house of democracy and human rights – the two notions that are interdependent and inseparable. This conviction is shared by the Parliamentary Assembly, and we support their active lobbying for the right to a healthy environment to be enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Until recently, protecting biodiversity was seen as something to be done through national parks and large-scale programmes. Our message is that biodiversity is all around us and is a part of our daily lives, not just in the countryside but in towns and cities as well. The Congress has taken the lead in recognising the importance of urban biodiversity. Cities are disproportionately responsible for pressure on biodiversity, and today’s lifestyles demand far more resources than in the past, meaning that the so-called ‘urban ecological footprint’ extends far beyond city boundaries.

With the increasing pace of urbanisation, it is time to acknowledge that cities have to become part of the solution. This is why, in its 2008 recommendation on ‘Biodiversity Policies for Urban Areas’, the Congress invited member states to take into account the positive effects that biodiversity and a balanced ecosystem can have for society and the economy. Biodiversity in towns and cities offers many benefits: the biomass acts as a climate regulator and contributes to water retention, and, not least amongst its many other benefits, it is conducive to relaxation, aesthetic pleasure and health.

Protecting and extending urban biodiversity is the responsibility of territorial authorities which should take steps to control and monitor biodiversity, encourage biodiversity friendly urban planning projects, foster awareness and education on biodiversity and offer integrated urban ecology plans in partnership with civil society.

The efforts of the Congress and local authority networks to lobby for the recognition of this crucial role, played by cities and local authorities in areas which have direct effects on biodiversity, has been fruitful. In May 2008, the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity recognised the importance of local authorities. This will also be confirmed at the conference in Nagoya next October, where local and regional authorities will be meeting at the same time as governments.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is widely accepted that the Countdown to 2010’s objective to halt biodiversity decline by 2010 has not been reached. However, the initiatives and biodiversity networks that it has created were a great start. We now need to increase our efforts and set new targets. The Congress is on the same wavelength as its main partner within the European Union, the Committee of the Regions, which has just issued an opinion on EU and international biodiversity policy beyond 2010, including the EU 2020 Biodiversity Strategy.

As countries are preparing to respond to decisions that will be taken later this year in Nagoya on biodiversity and in Cancun on climate change, it is clear that synergies have to be made at national and local level on the implementation of the UN biodiversity convention, and that the efforts to address climate change through mitigation and adaptation have to be reinforced.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

These are some ideas and examples of the current work of the Congress that I was very happy to share with you today. I hope that you will be always taking on board the important contribution of local and regional authorities in your work, and that the Congress will be able to continue working with you in a fruitful.and constructive manner.

I wish you an excellent stay in my country.