Strasbourg, 2 November 2009                                                                       T-PVS/PA (2009) 15

CONVENTION ON THE CONSERVATION OF EUROPEAN WILDLIFE

AND NATURAL HABITATS

Standing Committee

Bern, 23-26 November 2009

29th  meeting

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Group of Experts on Protected Areas and Ecological Networks

1st meeting

Strasbourg, 17 September 2009

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Report

Document prepared by

the Directorate of Culture and Cultural and Natural Heritage

                                        

This document will not be distributed at the meeting. Please bring this copy.

Ce document ne sera plus distribué en réunion. Prière de vous munir de cet exemplaire.


On 17 September 2009, the Group of Experts on Protected Areas and Ecological Networks held in Strasbourg its first meeting.

Following its conclusions, the Standing Committee is invited to:

Ø  Take note of the present report;

Ø  Take note of the final report of the CARDS/Emerald Programme, implemented in six South-Eastern European countries, in cooperation and with the financial support of the European Environment Agency;

Ø  Take note of the conclusions and recommendations of the draft report “Protected Areas and Climate Change”;

Ø  Take note of the progress made in the implementation of the joint Council of Europe / European Union programme “Support for the implementation of the CBD’s Programme of Work on Protected Areas”, targeting seven Central and Eastern European countries, and South Caucasus;

Ø  Welcome the offer of cooperation made by European Environment Agency, on the basis of a 5 year implementation plan and a mid-term perspective;

Ø  Endorse the draft programme of activities of the Group of Experts for 2010.


1.     Opening of the meeting by the Chairperson

       Mr Jan Plesnik (Czech Republic), Chairperson of the Group of Experts, opened the meeting and addressed some welcoming remarks to the participants (listed in Appendix I).

2.     Adoption of the agenda of the 1st meeting of the Group of experts

Document for adoption

T-PVS/PA (2009) OJ 7 - Draft agenda

    The Group of Experts adopted the draft agenda (appendix 2) without amendments.

3.     Presentation by the secretariat of the new mandate of the Group of Experts

            The Secretariat introduced the terms of reference of the Group of Experts, as approved by the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention at its 28th Meeting, and pointed out that it had been decided to enlarge the mandate of the Group by including all the activities related to protected areas and ecological networks. Mr. Eladio Fernàndez Galiano, Head of the Council of Europe’s Biological Diversity Unit, stressed that the inclusion of protected areas in the mandate of the Group of Experts is meant to reinforce the contribution of the Council of Europe to the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Programme of Work. Finally, he informed the Group of Experts that the Standing Committee could eventually consider, in the near future, the opportunity of extending the Group’s mandate to be informed of the outcomes of the Group of Specialists of the European Diploma, and to discuss some contentious cases of the European Diploma of protected areas.

            The Chairperson expressed the Group of Experts’ satisfaction with the decisions taken by the Standing Committee and reiterated that the Group of Experts would continue to do the necessary work to implement Recommendation No. 16 (1989) on Areas of Special Conservation Interest (ASCI), by making proposals to build up and strengthen the Emerald Network. In addition, he stressed the importance of the Pan-European Ecological Network and encouraged the members of the Group of Experts to devote more time for discussions on this topic.

4.     Decisions of the 28th meeting of the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention

Document for information

T-PVS (2008) 23 - Extract of the report of the 28th meeting of the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention

       The Secretariat presented the extract of the report of the 28th meeting of the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention and the decisions taken by the committee on that occasion.

       The delegate from Switzerland, Mr. Olivier Biber, thanked the Secretariat for its summary report, and noted that the Standing Committee asked to the Group of Experts to report on the criteria for the selection and approval of sites.

       The Chairperson informed the participants that the procedure of evaluation and acceptation of sites would be discussed under item 9 of the agenda and welcomed the participation of a representative of the European Environment Agency, whose contribution would be much appreciated.

5.     Presentation of current european meetings which are of interest for the group of experts

            The Secretariat and the Chairperson informed the Group of Expert of three European meetings held in 2009, dedicated to protected areas and ecological networks:

Ø  The Secretariat reported on the conference “Towards a Green Infrastructure for Europe”, held in Brussels, on 25-26 May 2009. The conference’s main aims were to determine an appropriate European Community response to habitats’ fragmentation, and to identify the actions that would be most effective at EU level. The Secretariat underlined that the terminology used at EU level when referring to green infrastructures is in fact the equivalent of the Pan-European Ecological Network (PEEN) at the Council of Europe. However, green infrastructures also embrace the economic sector and consider nature as an economic resource.

Ø  The Chairperson informed the Group of Experts about the conference “Wilderness and large natural habitats areas in Europe”, held on 27-28 May, in Prague. The conference was organised by the Czech Presidency of the European Union and aimed at developing a coordinated strategy for the protection, restoration and conservation of wild and nearly-wild areas across Europe. The Chairperson emphasised that wilderness is a topic which has not yet been sufficiently explored and that wild areas have not to be managed in the traditional way. Mr. Plesnik underlined that the outputs of the conference would be presented at the global conference on wilderness in Europe, to take place later this year.

Ø  The Secretariat informed the Group of Experts on the forthcoming fifth intergovernmental conference on “Biodiversity in Europe”, to take place in Liège (Belgium), on 22-24 September 2009. The conference would discuss the state of Europe’s biodiversity, develop a post-2010 vision and establish targets for biodiversity for the pan-European region. The Secretariat noted that the conference would also be the occasion to evaluate the strengths and weakness of the Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy.

            The delegate from France, Ms Fanny Lendi-Ramirez, informed the Group of Experts of a high-level meeting on the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB), organised by the Swedish Presidency of the European Union on 7-9 September in Strömstad, Sweden, which focussed on the revision of the Strategic Plan for the Convention on Biological Diversity and, in particular, on the development of new biodiversity visions and targets following the evaluation of the 2010 target. Ms Lendi-Ramirez pointed out that the role of the Bern Convention for ensuring ecological coherence in an enlarged Europe beyond 2010 should not be underestimated.

6.     Climate change and protected areas

Document for information

T-PVS/INF (2009) 10 – Protected Areas and Climate Change

            The Secretariat presented the draft report “Protected Areas and Climate Change”, prepared by Mr. Miguel Aráujo for the Council of Europe. The report had been already discussed at the meeting of the Group of Experts on Biodiversity and Climate Change, held in Strasbourg on 2-3 July 2009. The Secretariat provided some general information on the report’s background, as well as on the mandate of the Group of Experts on climate change. The Group of Experts was informed that protected areas and climate change will be one of the topics on the agenda of the Standing Committee at its 28th meeting, where a draft recommendation on this issue is submitted for discussion and eventual adoption???

            The delegate from France welcomed the report while sharing some concerns on the projections made on the impact of climate change on the Natura 2000 network. She stressed that, although much scientific data have been collected, more information is needed for a realistic estimate on the impact of climate change on eco-networks. She added that the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) could make a contribution to the scientific data collection.

            The representative of the European Centre for Nature Conservation (ECNC) Mr. Rob Walters, supported the statement of the delegate from France, and recognised the relevance of the recommendations made in the report. He informed the Group of Experts that a project implemented by ECNC in South Easter n Europe showed the need to raise awareness on the negative impact of climate change, as well as on ecosystems’ services. He informed the Group that the recommendations of the project’s final report had been considered at the political level in the targeted countries.

            Ms Dominique Richard, representing the European Topic Centre on Biological Diversity, thanked the Secretariat for the interesting report, while stressing some ambiguities in the language. The Secretariat took note of the specific comments to be transmitted to the author who prepares a final version.

            The delegate from Norway, Mr. Tore Opdhal, indicated some wrong figures concerning the number of protected areas in his country.

            The Chair concluded the session reminding that ecosystems-based adaptation should be kept on the agenda of future work. He stressed the importance of an in-depth approach on the protected areas management system in the light of climate change.

7.     European conference on “Delivering biodiversity targets: 2010 and beyond – Protected areas and Ecological networks”

Document for information

T-PVS/PA (2009) 2 – Draft programme

The Secretariat informed the Group of Experts on progress made in the preparation of the conference, scheduled on 25-27 January 2010, in Madrid. The conference will also serve as a European launch of the International Year of Biodiversity 2010. The Secretariat stressed that the draft agenda distributed at the Group of Experts could be subject to a further review, following some last minute comments sent to the organisers by the European Commission. A trilateral meeting between representatives of the Spanish Presidency of the European Union, the European Commission and the Council of Europe would take place in Brussels, on 23 September 2009, with the aim to agree on a new revised draft agenda. The Secretariat would further provide the Group with updated information on this topic.

8.     Programme for the development of the Emerald Network in the South-East Europe: finalistation of the CARDS’ programme carried on in co-operation with the European Agency of Environment

Document for information

T-PVS/PA (2009) 4 – Final report of the CARDS programme in South-East Europe

The consultant on the Emerald Network, Mr. Marc Roekaerts, gave a short but detailed report on the background of the CARDS/Emerald programme, implemented in six countries of South-East Europe. The main outputs concerned:

-          The overview of the data delivered;

-          The summary of the number of species and habitats identified by each country;

-          The Emerald sites’ GIS boundaries;

-          The number of proposed Emerald sites per country.

          The delegate from Serbia, Ms Snežana Prokić, informed the Group of Experts that, following the project’s implementation, a number of legal instruments had been adopted. She asked the Secretariat to provide more information on next steps for the integration of the Emerald Network.

          The Secretariat informed that the follow-up to be given to Emerald sites’ identification consists in evaluating the combined data gathered through the Emerald projects, and to submit the proposed list of sites to the Standing Committee for adoption. Following its decision, the national Emerald teams would have to work autonomously on the management of the sites.

            The Chairperson concluded by congratulating all the delegations participating in the CARDS/Emerald programme for the considerable efforts to implement it, and underlined that the regional approach of these projects has proved to be useful not only for capacity-building, but also for creating synergies between the participating countries.

9.     Procedure of evaluation and acceptation of the areas of special conservation interest of the Emerald Network

          The Chairperson briefly informed the Group of Experts on the results of the internal technical co-ordination meeting, held in Strasbourg on 24 March 2009. The meeting aimed at exploring paths of cooperation between the Council of Europe and the European Environment Agency (EEA), as well as ways to streamline the lists in Annex I of the Habitats Directive within the Emerald Network context.

          The Secretariat informed that a meeting with representatives of the EEA had been held in Paris, on 24 April 2009. The meeting aimed at fixing the basis for substantial work on protected areas, bearing in mind the Memorandum of Cooperation signed between the Council of Europe and the European Environment Agency. Mr. Eladio Fernandez-Galiano, Head of the Council of Europe’s Biological Diversity Unit, praised the effectiveness of ongoing cooperation with the EEA and its European Topic Centre on Biological Diversity (ETC/BD). He added that the Secretariat had received a letter signed by Prof. Jacqueline McGlade, Executive Director of the EEA, renewing EEA’s commitment for a strengthened cooperation in the field of the evaluation of criteria for the selection and approval of sites.

          Ms Dominique Richard, representing ETC/BD, informed the Group of Experts that EEA suggests framing the cooperation with the Council of Europe within a 5 year period, and around two main issues:

-          Use of EEA enhanced tools to support data-flows, namely around the Common Database on Designated Areas (CDDA) and Natura 2000;

-          Provision of expertise with technical guidance and assessment of the sufficiency of the network.

          She noted that in 2010, the assessment of the sufficiency of the network as defined under the CARDS project could include the preparation of bio-geographical seminars, based on the Natura 2000’s scheme. This approach would allow to have an overview of the situation within the bio-geographic regions, beyond the national boarders. She felt confident that 2010 would be the appropriate moment for planning cooperation in this field, as EEA is currently working on its 2010 implementation plan. However, she noted that EEA capacity for the evaluation of data would have to be carefully assessed, and asked the Secretariat to provide EEA with the list of services and expertise needed.

          The delegate from Norway, called for more modern data-flows for the Emerald Network, and noted that there are differences between the lists of the Habitats Directive and those used for the Emerald Network.

          Ms Dominique Richard mentioned that ETC/BD has an automatic procedure for the analysis of data-flows, with two pages guidelines for users, and that this efficient tool could possibly be extended to the Emerald Network.

       Mr Marc Roekaerts stressed the importance of maintaining consistency between the Natura 2000 and Emerald networks, with regards both to the classification of habitat types and to the lists of the Habitats Directive. He informed that this topic had been also raised by the seven South Caucasus and Central and Eastern Europe countries targeted by the Joint Council of Europe / European Union programme for the development of the Emerald Network in their area.

       The Chairperson thought it necessary to carry out a comparative study of the habitats lists of those two instruments. He closed the session thanking EEA and its ETC/BD for the commitment renewed, and asked the Secretariat to update the Group of Experts and the Standing Committee on progress made in the field of cooperation between the two institutions.

10.       Brief updates on national activities and initiatives

Document for information

T-PVS/PA (2009) 11 – State of progress of the pilot projects

T-PVS/PA (2009) 8 – Information document

          The Secretariat briefly presented the state of progress of pilot projects, giving particular emphasis to the work-plan of the pilot project launched in Morocco, in June 2009.

          The delegate from Switzerland, Mr. Olivier Biber, informed the Group of Experts that his country is ready to formally submit, to the Standing Committee, a list of 37 proposed Emerald sites.

          The delegate from Norway reported that in 2008 the Ministry of Environment had officially designated 11 Emerald Network sites. A second phase of the Emerald Network has been launched on the basis of the pilot project’s outputs. A comprehensive tentative list of 1,200 potential sites has been drawn up. A subset of 39 sites has been identified, consisting in areas such as national parks and wetland systems, representing the four bio-geographical regions present in Norway. Mr. Opdhal informed that the Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management will propose these sites to the Ministry of Environment before the end of 2009, in order to officially designate them. Furthermore, the delegate stressed that Norway made substantial efforts for fulfilling its obligations under Resolution n°16 (1989), namely:

-          By establishing an appropriate regime for ASCIs (protected areas represent nearly 16% of the total land area);

-          By improving protected areas’ management system, through the allocation of additional financial resources to the sector, as well as the establishment of responsible Agencies and field rangers;

-          By implementing management plans for each protected area;

-          By marking all protected areas’ boundaries;

-          By monitoring ASCIs.

          Finally, the Norwegian delegate informed that, on 1st July 2009, the Nature management Act was adopted. The Act provides guidance for the sustainable use and protection of the natural environment.

          The delegate from Serbia, Ms Snežana Prokić, informed the Group of Experts that her country would submit an official request to the Secretariat for the evaluation of the results of the pilot project.

          The Chairperson thanked the speakers and welcomed the progress made for the implementation of the Emerald Network.

11.       Presentation of the Joint Programme for the development of the Emerald Network in Central and Eastern Europe countries, and South Caucasus

          The Secretariat gave an overview of the Council of Europe / European Union joint programme: “Support for the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)'s Programme of Work on Protected Areas in the EU Neighbourhood Policy East Area and Russia”.

Launched in January 2009 and with a duration of 3 years, the Programme is funded by Europe Aid, through the European Neighbourhood Partnership Instrument (ENPI), and is implemented by the Council of Europe. The project targets the following countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and the Russian Federation. Its overall objective is to protect the biodiversity in the ENP east countries, and to align the activities pursued by the Council of Europe in the area of ecological networks with the CBD’s Programme of Work. The Secretariat informed the Group of Experts that the Steering Committee of the Joint Programme would hold its first meeting on 18 September, in Strasbourg. On that occasion, the first Progress report would be presented for adoption.

11.1.                    Programme of support for Armenia and Georgia (financed by French Government)

                        Document for information

            T-PVS/PA (2009) 9 – Report

Mr. Marc Roekaerts, consultant for this programme, gave an overview of the project’s aims, background and results. He explained that both Armenia and Georgia had previously conducted Emerald pilot projects, nevertheless, both countries needed to complete their pilot projects’ data-bases, in order to be able to implement the Emerald Joint Programme mentioned under point 11 of this report. The financial contribution from France had therefore been fundamental as it had allowed for a data quality check, as well as for building-up databases for future steps. 

          The Chairperson encouraged the delegations of the countries targeted by the Joint Programme to continue working on the development of the Emerald Network and asked the Secretariat to present the first Progress Report to the Standing Committee for information. He closed this session by congratulating France for its contribution to the establishment of the Emerald Network in Armenia and Georgia.

12.       Draft Programme of Activities for 2010

          The Secretariat reminded that the PoA of the Group of Experts in 2010 would be adopted by the Standing Committee at its 29th meeting. Following its Terms of Reference, the Group should concentrate on the following suggested items:

-          Follow-up of the outputs of the European conference on delivering biodiversity targets beyond 2010 (see point 7 of this report);

-          Evolution of the Emerald Network, and more particularly of the pilot project implemented in Morocco, as well as of the regional Joint Programme targeting Central and Eastern Europe countries, and South Caucasus;

-          Follow-up of the cooperation between the Council of Europe and the EEA on protected areas.

          Ms Carolina Lasen-Diaz, representing the Secretariat, noted that the Group of Experts could also analyse the results of the 14th meeting of the CBD’s Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA-14), to be held on 10 - 21 May 2010 in Nairobi, Kenya, as protected areas will be one of the key issues on the agenda.

          The delegate from Belgium, Mr. Jacques Stein, asked the Group of Experts to highlight the role that the Pan-European Ecological Network (PEEN) plays with regards to protected areas. He stressed that protected areas should not be resumed to the Emerald Network, and pointed out that discussions on the PEEN should be included in the agenda of the Group’s next meeting.

          The Chairperson confirmed that the PEEN is not a system of isolated sites and therefore is a valid instrument for halting biodiversity loss and restoring ecosystems. He pointed out that the fifth intergovernmental conference on “Biodiversity in Europe”, which would discuss about future developments of the Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy (PEBLDS), would be the occasion for recognising the PEEN contribution to biodiversity conservation.

          The delegate from Switzerland, Mr. Olivier Biber, noted the interconnection between the activities carried-out within the framework of the Emerald Network and the European Diploma of protected areas. He suggested that the Group of Experts could ask the Standing Committee to adapt the planning of these two areas of work, in order to improve their coherence and highlight their complementarities.

The Chairperson summed-up the interventions as the agreed future activities to be presented to the Standing Committee.

13. Election of the Chair and the Vice-chair of the Group of Experts

       The Group of Experts elected Ms Maka Tsereteli (Georgia), as new Chairperson, and Mr. Jacques Stein (Belgium), as Vice-chairperson of the Group of Experts.

14. Other Business

       No other points were raised.

15. Closing

The Chairperson recalled that:

-          The report on Protected Areas and Climate Change has a draft status and asked the Parties to submit their comments on time for allowing the Secretariat to review the text and submit a final version to the Standing Committee for adoption;

-          The report of the First Steering Committee of the Emerald Joint Programme in Central and Eastern Europe countries, and South Caucasus; will be finalised in time for being submitted to the Standing Committee;

-          The planning and distribution of tasks in the field of the evaluation of the data collected will be agreed by the Council of Europe and the EEA before the Standing Committee meeting.

       The Group of Experts thanked Mr. Plesnik for his able chairmanship over the past years.

       The Chairperson closed the meeting, expressing his great satisfaction with the development in the field of Ecological Networks and Protected Areas.


Annex I

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS 2009 / LISTE DES PARTICIPANTS 2009

Group of Experts on Protected Areas and Ecological Networks

Groupe d’experts zones protégées et réseaux écologiques

Strasbourg, 17 September 2009

Room 2/salle 2

Albania / Albanie (apologies/excusé)

Ms Elvana RAMAJ

Senior Expert, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Water Administration, Nature Protection Directorate,

Rruga e. Durresit, No 27

TIRANA, Albania

Tel:   +355 4 270 624              Mobile:   +355 4 69 21 425           Fax:+355 4 270 627

E-mail:        [email protected]                                                                                                           

Web:           www.moe.gov.al

Armenia / Arménie

Dr Hasmik GHALACHYAN

Head of Plant Resources Management Division, Ministry of Nature Protection of the Republic of Armenia, Government Building 3, Republic Square,

375010 YEREVAN, Armenia

Tel:             +37410 580 711                               Fax:   +37410 542 705

E-mail:        [email protected]      

Mr Victor MARTIROSYAN

Director, Natural Resources Management and Poverty Reduction Project Unit State Institution (NRMPRP)

Ministry of Nature Protection,

Government Building 3, Republic Square,

375010 YEREVAN, Armenia

E-mail: [email protected]

Azerbaijan / Azerbaïjan

Mr Faig SADIGOV,

Manager, Ministry of Ecology and natural Resources

Istiglaliyyat 31,

AZ-1001, BAKU

Tel: +994 12 492 6023                                        Fax: +994 12 492 6023

E-mail: [email protected]

Belgium/Belgique

Mr Jacques STEIN

Département de l’Etude du Milieu naturel et agricole,

Avenue Maréchal Juin, 23

B-5030 GEMBLOUX

Tel: +32 477 266046                                           Fax : 0032 81 620436

E-mail: [email protected]

Croatia / Croatie

Ms Ramona TOPIC, Head of the Section for Ecological Network,

State Institute for Nature Protection

Department for Evaluation of Admissibility of Intervention to Nature

Trg Mazuranica 5, HR-10000 ZAGREB,

Tel/Fax:      +385 (0)1 5502 929                        

E-mail:        [email protected]

Czech Republic / République tchèque (Chair of the Emerald Group of Experts)

Dr Jan PLESNIK,

Advisor, Agency for Nature Conservation and Landscape Protection of the Czech Republic,

Nuselska 39,

140 000 PRAHA 4, Czech Republic.

Tel:             +420 241 082 114                            Fax:   +420 241 082 999

E-mail:        [email protected]

France

Mme Fanny LENDI RAMIREZ

Chargé de mission biodiversité, Direction de l’Aménagement, du Logement et de la Nature,  Ministère de l’Ecologie et du Développement durable,

20 avenue de Ségur,

75302 PARIS 07 SP, France.

Tel:             +33 (1) 42 19 19 48                         Fax:   + 33 (1) 42 19 25 77

E-mail:        [email protected]                                                         

Georgia / Géorgie

Ms Maka TSERETELI, (Vice-Chair of the Group of Experts),

Principal Specialist, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Legal Department, 

6 Gulua Street,

0114 TBILISI, Georgia

Tel:             +995 32 27 57 29

E-Mail:        [email protected]

Mr. Levan BUTKHUZI
NACRES (
www.nacres.org)
TBILISI  0179
Tel: (+995 32) 53 71 25                                      Fax: (+995 32) 53 71 24                                              

E-mail:        [email protected]

Holy See / Saint-Siège

Apologies / excusé

Hungary / Hongrie

Ms Rozália ÉRDI

Head of Department for Nature Conservation, Ministry of Environment and Water,

u. 44-50

BUDAPEST, Hungary.

Tel:             +36 1 457 33 88                               Fax:   +36 1 201 4617

E-mail:        [email protected]                                                                                                          

Iceland/Islande

Ms Maria HARDARDOTTIR

Icelandic Institute of Natural History,

Hlemmur 3,

105 REYJKJAVIK, Iceland

Tel:             +354 590 0500                                 Fax:   +354 590 0595

E-mail:        [email protected]

Latvia / Lettonie

Ms Vija BUSA

Head of Division, Ministry of Environment,

Peldu street 25,

1494 RIGA, Latvia

Tel:             +371 7026519                                  Fax:   +371 7820042

E-mail:        [email protected]

Web:           www.vidm.gov.lv

Liechtenstein (apologies/excusé)

Malta/Malte

Ms Joanna BORG

Environment Protection Officer, Malta Environment and Planning Authority,

St. Francis Ravelin

FLORIANA, FRN 1230

Tel: +356 2290 7110                                           Fax: +356 2290 2295

E-mail: [email protected]

Moldova/Moldavie

Ms Angela LOZAN

Manager of the Biosafety Office, Ministry of Environment Protection and Natural Resources of Moldova

Cosmonautilor Str 9, Bir 526

CHISINAU, Moldova

E-mail: [email protected]

Dr. Olga COVALEVA

Ministry of Environment Protection and Natural Resources of Moldova,

Cosmonautilor Str 9, Bir 526

CHISINAU, Moldova

E-mail: [email protected]

Netherlands / Pays-Bas  (apologies/excusé)

Mr. Peter BOS

Senior Executive Officer, Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, Directorate for Nature,

Postbus 20401,

2500 EK, THE HAGUE, The Netherlands.

Tel:             +31 70 378 5529                              Fax:   +31 70 378 6416

E-mail:        [email protected]

Norway / Norvège

Mr Tore OPDAHL

Advisor, Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management,

Tungasletta 2,

7485 TRONDHEIM, Norway

Tél: +47 73 58 08 14                                           Fax: +47 73 58 05 01

E-mail: [email protected]

Poland/Pologne

Mr Marek KAJS

Specialist, Director General of Environmental Protection

Walwelska Str. 52/54,

00922, Poland

Tel: +48225792102                                             Fax:+48225792128

E-mail: [email protected]

Russian Federation / Fédération de Russie

Mr. Roustam SAGITOV

Biologists for nature conservation

University emb. 7/9

ST. PETERSBURG 199034

Russian Federation

Tel:             +7 812 328 96 20

E-mail: [email protected]  

Ms Natalia VAVILOVA

Ministry of Environment Protection and Natural Resources of Russian Federation

E-mail: [email protected]

Dr Nikolay SOBOLEV

Head of Programme, Biodiversity Conservation Center,

Office 2, 41, Vavilova Str.,

117312 MOSCOW,

Russian Federation

Tel:      +7 495 124 50 22                                Fax:     + 7 495 124 71 78

E-mail: [email protected]       

Ms Alexeeva NADEZHDA,

Expert, Biologists for nature conservation

University emb. 7/9

ST. PETERSBURG 199034

Russian Federation

Tel:             +7 812 328 96 20

Serbia / Serbie

Ms Snežana PROKIĆ

Adviser, Ministry of Environmental Protection of the Republic of Serbia,

Omladinskih brigade I, SIV III,

11070 NOVI BEOGRAD, Serbia

Tel:             +381 11 3131 569

E-mail:        [email protected]                                                                                          

Switzerland / Suisse

M. Olivier BIBER

Département fédéral de l’environnement, des transports, de l’énergie et de la communication, Section Protection des espèces et des biotopes

Worblentalstr. 68,

CH-3063 ITTIGEN

Tel: +41(0)31 323 06 63                                     Fax: +41(0)31 323 89 74

E-mail: [email protected]

Ukraine

Mr  Leonid PROTSENKO, Director
InterEcoCentre, Kyiv, Tereshchenkivska str. 2

01601, GSP 601

Tel/fax: +38 044 235 73 74

E-mail: [email protected]

Mr Grygorii PARCHUK                                                                                                                          

Head of the Division for Long-term Development, researches and public relations

State Agency for Protected Areas of the Ministry of Environmental Protection,

35 Uryts’kogo Str.

KYIV, Ukraine

Tel: +380 44 206 21 92                                               Fax: +380 44 206 21 92

E-mail: [email protected]

United Kingdom / Royaume Uni (apologies/excusé)

Dr Roger CATCHPOLE

Natural England, Senior Specialist – Spatial Ecology, Analysis and Monitoring,

Block 2 Wing 6, Government Buildings, Lawnswood,

LEEDS LS16 5QT, England. 

Tel:             +44 (0)113 2303706                       

E-Mail:        [email protected]                                                                               

Observers / Observateurs

UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC)

Dr Igor LYSENKO

Senior Conservation Analyst,

219 Huntingdon Road, Cambridge,

CB3 0DL, England, UK 

Tel:             +44 1223 277314                             Fax:   +44 1223 277136

E-mail:        i[email protected]         

Mr Jonathan SMITH

Programme Officer, Protected Areas Programme UNEP-WCMC,

219 Huntingdon road,

CAMBRIDGE CB3 0DL, UK

Tel: +44 1223 277314                                         Fax: +44 1223 277136

E-mail: [email protected]

European Topic Centre on Biological Diversity

Ms Dominique RICHARD

Manager, Museum national d’Histoire naturelle,

PARIS 75019, France

Tel: 01 40 79 38 70

E-mail: [email protected]

FACE - Federation of Associations for Hunting and Conservation of the EU

Mr Johan SVALBY 

Legal Affairs Officer
Rue F. Pelletier 82, 

B-1030 BRUSSELS, Belgium
Tel: +32 (0)2 732 69 00 /                                    Fax: +32 (0)2 732 70 72
E-mail: [email protected]

Pro Natura - Friends of the Earth Switzerland

Mr Friedrich WULF

International Coordinator

Dornacherstr. 192, PO Box

CH-4018 BASEL / Bale

Tel: ++41 61 317 92 42                       fax: ++41 61 317 92 66

Skype: friwul

E-mail : [email protected]

RAC/SPA

Mr Atef OUERGHI

Chargé de programme,

Boulevard du Leader Yasser Arafat B.P 337,

1080 TUNIS

Tel : 00216 20 66 49/485/851                             Fax: 00216 71 20 64 90

E-mail: [email protected]

INTEGRATION (EU Monitoring Programme)

Ms Katherina Pirozhenko

Regional Office Kiev
Apt. 28, 4 floor, 22B, Saksaganskogo St.
KYIV, 01033, Ukraine

E-mail: [email protected]

ECNC - European Centre for Nature Conservation / Centre Européen pour la Conservation de la Nature

Mr. Rob WOLTERS, Executive Director

ECNC-European Centre for Nature Conservation, Executive of European House for Biodiversity & Sustainability

P.O. Box 90154,

5000 LG TILBURG, The Netherlands

tel. +0031(0)13 5944944,                                   Fax. +0031(0)13 5944945

E-mail:        [email protected]

Ms Aysegül CIL

Programme Manager – Nature and Society, ECNC – European Centre for Nature Conservation

Reitseplein 3,

5037 AA, TILBURG, The Netherlands

Tel: +31 13 5944 944                                          Fax: +31 13 5944945

E-mail: [email protected]

EXPERTS

                                                                           

Mr. Marc ROEKAERTS

Ringlaan 57,

3530, Belgium

Tel:             +32 11 60 42 34                               Fax:   +32 11 60 24 59

E-mail:        [email protected]                                                                                                   

INTERPRETERS / INTERPRÈTES

Mr. VALK William

Ms MARCHINI Isabelle

Ms KIEFFER Nadine

SECRETARIAT / SECRÉTARIAT

Council of Europe / Conseil de l’Europe

Direction de la Culture et du Patrimoine culturel / Directorate of Culture and Cultural and Natural Heritage

Unité de la diversité biologique / Biological Diversity Unit

67075 STRASBOURG Cedex, France                Fax:   +33 3 88 41 37 51

MR Eladio FERNANDEZ-GALIANO

Tel.:            + 33 (0)3 88 41 35 59                      E-mail:   [email protected]

Ms Carolina LASEN DIAZ

Tel.:            +33 (0)3 88 41 56 79                       E-mail: [email protected]

Mrs Ivana D’ALESSANDRO

Tel.:            +33 (0)3 90 21 51 51                       E-mail:   [email protected]

Ms Marie-Laure LAMBOUR                               E-mail:   [email protected]

Tel.:            +33 (0)3 88 41 35 64


Annex II

DRAFT AGENDA

Group of experts on Protected Areas and Ecological Networks

17 September 2009

9h30 – 18h00

1.    Opening of the meeting by the Chair of the Group of experts, Mr Jan Plesnik

2.     Adoption of the agenda of the 1st meeting of the Group of experts

      Document for adoption:

            T-PVS/PA (2009) OJ 7 - Draft agenda

3.      Presentation by the Secretariat of the new mandate of the Group of experts

4.     Decisions of the 28th meeting of the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention – Protection of natural habitats

-          Presentation by the Secrétariat of  the work of the Standing Committee

-          Extract of the report

Document for information:

T-PVS (2008) 23 – Extract of the report

5.      Presentation of current European meetings which are of interest for this Committee

-          Information on the Conference : « Green Infrastructures for Europe»

-          Information on the « Conference on wilderness and large natural habitat areas »

-          Information on the Conference « Biodiversity in Europe »  

6.      Climate change and Protected Areas

-          Presentation by the Secrétariat of the report « Protected Areas and Climate Change »

-          Exchange of views of the Group of experts on this report

            Document for information:

-          T-PVS/INF (2009) 10 – Report « Protected Areas and Climate Change »

7.     European Conference of the Council of Europe « Protected Areas and Ecological Networks in Europe : new challenges for the Biodiversity upon 2010», organised in the framework of the Spanish Presidency of the European Union, Madrid, January 2010

      Document for information 

      T-PVS/PA (2009) 2 – Draft Programmme

-     Presentation by the Secretariat of the aims of the Conference, draft programme and the state of progress in the preparation

8.    Programme for the development of the Emerald Network in South-East Europe : finalisation of the CARDS’ programme carried on in co-operation with the European Agency of Environment

            Document for information:

            T-PVS/PA (2009) 4 – final report of the CARDS programme in South-East Europe

        -     Short presentation by the Secretariat and the consultant of the Emerald programme

9. Procedure of evaluation and acceptation of the areas of special conservation interest of the Emerald Network: presentation by Mr Jan Plesnik and the consultant of the results and current discussions concerning the setting up of criteria and acceptation of the sites

-          Second technical coordination meeting, Strasbourg, 24 March 2009

-          Meeting  organised by the European Environment Agency, Paris, 24 April 2009

10.  Brief updates on national activities and initiatives by the national delegations

            Documents for information:

      T-PVS/PA (2009) 11 – State of progress of the pilot projects

      T-PVS/PA (2009) 8 – Information document

11.  Presentation of the joint programme with the European Union for the development of the Emerald Network in South Caucasus and in Central and Eastern Europe

11.1. Programme of support for Armenia and Georgia financed by French authorities. Presentation of the results by the expert consultant of the Emerald network and national representatives

                        Document for information:

                        T-PVS/PA (2009) 9 - Report

12.  Draft programme of activities for 2010

-          Follow-up of the resolutions of the Madrid Conference

-         Evolution of the Emerald Network

13.  Election of the Chair and the Vice-chair of the Group of experts

14.  Other business

15.  Closing

The documents will be available on the web-site of the Council of Europe: www.coe.int/biodiversity/emerald


Annex III

Written contribution submitted by the delegate from Norway

EMERALD NETWORK – NORWAY, STATUS 2009

The Ministry of the Environment (MoE), on behalf of the Norwegian Government made a formal designation for 11 Emerald Network sites in 2008.

At the Directorate for Nature Management (DN) we’ve started Phase II of Emerald Network. Based on the Pilot project Report we’ve made a comprehensive tentative list, consisting of over 1200 potential Emerald sites.

Our agency wants to speed up the progress of designating Emerald Network sites through 2010-11.  But unfortunately we cannot give any deadline for delivery of a complete dataset for Norway.

But we will also stress the fact that Norway has come quite far in fulfilling other “steps” of the recommendations according to res 16 (1989), on defining Emerald Network sites, or more precisely “Areas of special conservation interest (ASCIs). These are some of the “steps” we wish to highlight:

3 a) establishing an “appropriate regime” for ASCIs

3 b) the “power to manage” ASCIs

4 a) on the “implementation of management plans”

4 c) on the “marking of boundaries”

4 d) on “advising the competent authorities and landowners”

4 e) on “monitoring of ASCIs”

The designation of ASCIs is often mentioned as “a starting point” of the Emerald Network. The contracting parties are then recommended to take “further steps” to ensure “proper management”. As noted in the above examples, we’ve already come quite far on these “steps”. So the process of designation has become a sort of “end point” for us. But of course we acknowledge that there is far more to do with respect to “proper management” for us too.

Aside from this we will put more effort in our work to pinpoint exactly what kind of biodiversity we have protected (according to the resolution), and to deliver this information to the secretariat in a proper format.

Thursday, 17 September 2009

Tore Opdahl

Senior Executive Officer

Directorate for Nature Management