Europe

Green Week 2020

EU Green Week 2020 ran from 19 to 22 October 2020, on the theme of nature and biodiversity. IUCN participated to a series of partner events.

Nature-based solutions (NbS) can help to bring life and integrity back to damaged ecosystems to improve wildlife habitats, protect soils and watersheds, support economic resiliency, and better confront a changing climate. Chantal Van Ham, EU Programme Manager Nature Based Solutions, IUCN European Regional Office, will share knowledge and ideas that inspire action on NbS in Europe and globally.

The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 includes several ambitious targets for protected areas:

    • Legally protect a minimum of 30% of the EU’s land area and 30% of the EU’s sea area and integrate ecological corridors, as part of a true Trans-European Nature Network.  
    • Strictly protect at least a third of the EU’s protected areas, including all remaining EU primary and old-growth forests.  
    • Effectively manage all protected areas, defining clear conservation objectives and measures, and monitoring them appropriately.

In this session, speakers from different backgrounds will share their perspectives about current challenges and opportunities for reaching these targets, and about the importance of the targets for biodiversity and climate change mitigation and adaptation. The contribution of EU protected area targets to the global targets on biodiversity will also be discussed.

The biodiversity and climate crises are inextricably linked. As environmental degradation accelerates, so too does climate change, which in turn presents an existential threat to world wildlife. The recent outbreak of Covid-19 has also brought our relationship with nature into sharp focus. As we continue to destroy nature to meet human needs for agriculture, infrastructure and materials, the likelihood of pandemics increases.

By the same token, protecting and restoring natural ecosystems by addressing the underlying drivers of biodiversity loss, land-use change and deforestation including food production, will help not just to solve the biodiversity crisis but also to stop climate breakdown and reduce the risks of future zoonotic disease outbreaks.

In responding to the COVID19 pandemic, we cannot afford to return to ‘business-as-usual’ practices that increase emissions and put pressure on nature. Greening recovery efforts and building back better is key to a sustainable, inclusive and resilient future.

This session will have an interdisciplinary approach, discussing the role of nature restoration in tackling the challenges mentioned above, opportunities in key sectors including repurposing agricultural subsidies to support nature-positive food systems and climate action as part of countries efforts to build back better, and what role there is for EU and global policy in restoring natural ecosystems for the benefit of people and planet and support a green, resilient recovery.

With the publication of the Farm to Fork Strategy and the Biodiversity Strategy, Member States have the opportunity to include in their CAP Strategic Plans concrete measures to substantially support farmers in the transition to more resilient and sustainable agriculture. The targets presented in the two strategies for 2030 provide a framework for policy-makers at EU, national and regional level. They provide also opportunities for the introduction of new environmentally friendly practices and targeted measures funded by the future Common Agriculture Policy (CAP), which shall be the key enabler for the achievement of these targets.

In this session we will discuss the potential of the agro-ecological practices and how best to integrate them in the CAP Strategic Plans to achieve maximum benefits for all stakeholders.

The European Commission's Joint Research Centre, Copernicus Global Land, FAO, DG Environment and the United Nations Environment Programme join forces in an interactive discussion on Earth Observation to protect biodiversity. Scientists and policy makers will deliver short presentations on trailblazing research and then host an engaging “fishbowl” discussion. Audiences can jump into the conversation with an expert panel as they exchange viewpoints on the future of science to support biodiversity.

This discussion will contain critical research findings by the European Commission and look into the future of satellite and in-situ data for policymaking. 

We Value Nature is an EU Horizon 2020-funded three-year campaign (November 2018 – October 2021) supporting businesses and the natural capital community across Europe with the aim of making valuing nature the new normal for business. The campaign reinforces and boosts the work of the Capitals Coalition, helping businesses make smarter decisions that benefit themselves, society and the planet as a whole.

The We Value Nature consortium is led by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and the other consortium partners are the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and Oppla.

Business has a critical role to play in encouraging governments to take comprehensive action to reverse nature loss and restore the planet’s vital natural systems. Business can help demonstrate that the safeguarding of nature makes economic sense, and help identify the policies and mechanisms needed for transformative change. Joint action by the private and public sectors can foster a sense of shared ownership over targets and outcomes.

We Value Nature has implemented this pilot project to explore opportunities to strengthen private-public coherence for the integration of natural capital in decision-making processes, in the context of restoring degraded land in a specific ecosystem in the Mediterranean area, Cabo de Gata-Níjar (Andalusia, Spain). The pilot supports the Combining Forces initiative of the Capitals Coalition, which is working to enhance public-private coherence for natural capital accounting.

The project, carried out together with Ecoacsa, has the following specific objectives:

  1. To strengthen dialogue and opportunities for partnerships between key stakeholders in Cabo de Gata-Níjar to establish the foundation for common efforts and financing to integrate nature better in private and public sector in decision-making.
  2. To develop case studies that showcase how fostering a mutual understanding of the different approaches to landscape restoration and collaboration between the public and private sector for the assessment and integration of natural capital in decision making and practice can enhance benefits for all stakeholders in the region and create sustainable models for landscape management.
  3. To present the findings of the pilot project at relevant European and international events to inspire public and private sector partners to increase their efforts to work together for restoring degraded landscapes.
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