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the Clearing-House
for the Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy
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Conference
report
Intergovernmental conference "Biodiversity in Europe" - 20-23 March 2000,
Riga, Latvia
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The
Intergovernmental Conference "Biodiversity in Europe" (Riga
Conference) took place in Riga, Latvia, from 20 to 22 March 2000.
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The
Conference was attended by 90 delegates from 38 European countries:
Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia,
Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany,
Hungary, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, FYR Macedonia, Moldova, Monaco,
Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation,
Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan,
Ukraine, United Kingdom, and Uzbekistan.
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It
was also attended by representatives of the European Community.
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Representatives
of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP), the Secretariat of the Convention on
Biological Diversity (SCBD), the Secretariat of the Convention on
Migratory Species (SCMS), the United Nations Economic Commission for
Europe (UN/ECE), the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the
Council of Europe, the Ministerial Conference on Protection of Forests
in Europe, the HELCOM Secretariat, the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention,
the World Conservation Monitoring Centre and GLOBE Europe also attended.
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The
following non-governmental organisations (NGO) were represented: Biodiversity
Conservation Centre, BIOTICA Ecological Society, Birdlife International,
the European Centre for Nature conservation (ECNC), Ecocentre "Dront",
Ecoclub "Taran", Environmental NGO Coalition, the European
Union for Coastal Conservation (EUCC), European ECO Forum, Flora and
Fauna International, International Academy for Nature Conservation,
IUCN - the World Conservation Union and Uzbek Zoological Society.
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The
Conference was chaired by Mr. Guntis Pukitis, State Secretary of Environmental
Protection and Regional Development, Latvia, who was later replaced
by his Deputy, Mr. Zigfrids Bruvers.
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The
Conference was opened by Mr. Vents Balodis, Minister of Environmental
Protection and Regional Development of Latvia. Welcoming participants
of the Conference, he said that Latvia was honoured to host this important
event and wished the Conference success in its deliberations.
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The
welcome address by Minister Balodis was followed by four keynote speeches
by Mr. Laszlo Miklos, Minister of Environment of the Slovak Republic,
Mrs. Geke Faber, State Secretary of Agriculture, Nature Management
and Fisheries of the Netherlands, Mr. Hamdallah Zedan, Executive Secretary
of the Convention on Biological Diversity and Mr. Anton Chtchoukine,
European ECO Forum.
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After
keynote speeches, the participants of the Conference adopted the Agenda
(as contained in Annex I) and a Chairman's proposal that parts of
the Conference would be co-chaired by Mr. Jonathan Tillson, United
Kingdom, Mr. Peter Skoberne, Slovenia and Mr. Marcel Vernooij, the
Netherlands and Mrs. Marina von Weissenberg.
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The
Chairman proposed to create a Bureau of the Conference including representatives
of countries, which have shown a high interest in the Riga process,
and taken into account the need for adequate geographical representation.
The Conference accepted the proposal and elected a Bureau consisting
of representatives of European Community, Finland, Germany, Latvia,
FYR Macedonia, Netherlands, Portugal, Russian Federation, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Switzerland, United Kingdom and Uzbekistan.
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The
Chairman announced that he intended to prepare conclusions of the
Conference and indicated that he expected the members of the Bureau
to assist him in seeking to achieve a consensus on a draft text.
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UNEP
briefly introduced the discussion papers prepared for the Conference
by some European Governments in cooperation with interested organisations.
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UNEP/GRID-Arendal made a presentation of a CD-ROM on the State of
Biodiversity in Central and Eastern Europe.
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An
invited speaker, Mr. Hans Dieter Knapp, International Academy of Nature
Conservation, delivers a keynote speech on biodiversity and development
of cultural landscapes in Europe.
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The Plenary I was chaired by Mr. Jonathan Tillson, United Kingdom.
Agricultural
Biological Diversity
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A discussion paper on agricultural biological diversity (Annex
III) was prepared by the Government of the Netherlands in cooperation
with IUCN. The paper was introduced by Mrs. Geke Faber, State Secretary
of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries of the Netherlands.
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Statements
under the agenda item were made by the representatives of Armenia,
Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Hungary, European Community,
Moldova, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Ukraine,
Birdlife, ECNC, IUCN and Working Group on Environment Network of Eurasia.
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A summary of discussions on agricultural biological diversity is presented
in the Chairman's conclusions (See Annex II).
Sustainable Use,
Including Tourism
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A discussion paper on sustainable use, including tourism (Annex
IV) was prepared by the Government of Germany. It was presented
by Ms. Nicola Breier, Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature
Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Germany.
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The following representatives participated in the discussion of the
issue: Belarus, European Community, Finland, Hungary, Monaco, Netherlands,
Norway, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Ukraine, United Kingdom,
Uzbekistan and IUCN.
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A summary of discussions on sustainable use, including tourism, is
presented in the Chairman's conclusions (See Annex
II).
Presentation of the European Community Clearing House
Mechanism.
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The representatives of the European Commission and the European Environment
Agency made a presentation of the European Community Clearing House
Mechanism.
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The Plenary II was chaired by Mr. Peter Skoberne, Ministry of the
Environment and Spatial Planning, Slovenia.
Biodiversity
Indicators, Monitoring and Reporting.
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A discussion paper on biodiversity indicators, monitoring and reporting
(Annex V) was prepared by the
Government of Latvia in cooperation with ECNC and EEA. It was introduced
by Mr. Tiit Maran, Estonia.
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Statements
under this item were made by the representatives of Belarus, European
Community, Finland, Hungary, Russian Federation, Switzerland, United
Kingdom, FAO, Bern Convention, Birdlife, IUCN, ECNC and WCMC.
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A
summary of discussions on biodiversity indicators, monitoring and
reporting is presented in the Chairman's conclusions (See Annex
II).
Scientific and Technical Cooperation and the Clearing
House Mechanism (CHM)
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A discussion paper on scientific and technical cooperation and the
Clearing House Mechanism (Annex VI)
was prepared by the Government of Germany in cooperation with ECNC.
It was introduced by
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Statements
under this item were made by the representatives of Denmark, Germany,
Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, Birdlife, ECNC and REC.
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A summary of discussions on scientific and technical cooperation and
the Clearing House Mechanism is presented in the Chairman's conclusions
(See Annex II).
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The
Plenary III was chaired by Mrs. Marina von Weissenberg, Ministry of
Environment, Finland.
Financial Resources
and Mechanisms for Biodiversity in Europe
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A discussion paper on financial resources and mechanisms for biodiversity
in Europe (Annex VII) was prepared
by the Government of Switzerland in cooperation with ECNC. The paper
was introduced by Mr. Robert Lamb, Swiss Agency for the Environment,
Forests and Landscapes.
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Statements
under this item were made by the representatives of Belarus, Bulgaria,
Czech Republic, Denmark, European Community, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands,
Norway, Poland, Russian Federation, Ukraine, United Kingdom, IUCN,
and FFI.
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A summary of discussions on financial resources and mechanisms is
presented in the Chairman's conclusions (See Annex
II).
Implementation
of the Convention on Biological Diversity in Europe and regional cooperation.
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A discussion paper on the implementation of the CBD in Europe and
regional cooperation (Annex VIII)
was prepared by the Government of the United Kingdom, the Council
of Europe and UNEP. The issue was introduced by Mr. Jonathan Tillson,
United Kingdom.
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Statements
under this item were made by the representatives of Albania, Austria,
Belarus, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, European Community,
Germany, France, Hungary, FYR Macedonia, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovenia, Switzerland, Bern Convention,
and REC.
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A
summary of discussions on the issue is presented in the Chairman's
conclusions (See Annex II).
Presentation
of the Biodiversity Service
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The
Closing Plenary was chaired by Mr. Zigfrid Bruveris, Deputy State
Secretary of Environmental Protection and Regional Development of
Latvia.
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The
Conference adopted the Chairman's conclusions as they appear in Annex
II hereto.
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The
Conference decided to submit the Chairman's conclusions to the Fifth
meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological
Diversity, to the Council of the Pan-European Biological and Landscape
Diversity Strategy and all other relevant stakeholders in Europe.
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In was agreed that the objectives of the Conference were met, and
the process should continue as a contribution to Pan-European collaboration
on biodiversity. The PEBLDS Council was requested to build upon these
Chairman's conclusions and transform them into practical proposals
by using existing mechanisms. In particular, this should include a
second meeting preparing for the CBD COP6 in 2002.
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Participants of the Conference expressed their deep gratitude to the
Government of Latvia for generous hospitality, and to other Governments
and organisations, which were involved in the preparatory process,
for the excellent organisation of the event.
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