Biodiversity
COP 10 on Biodiversity: Nagoya agreement bridges the gap between nature and humanity
"After the disappointment of Copenhagen, a multilateral agreement was urgently needed for the sake of the environment worldwide. In this sense, the agreement that we have reached today at the Biodiversity Summit in Nagoya has come in the nick of time", says Joke Schauvliege, Flemish Minister for Environment, Nature and Culture.
Griet Verbeke: "All of the parties want to reach an agreement in Nagoya”
The 10th COP on the Convention on Biological Diversity is currently being held in Nagoya (Japan). Hundreds of experts from all parties have already been negotiating for more than a week on a new strategic plan to halt the loss of biodiversity and on a protocol establishing rules for accessing genetic resources and sharing the benefits arising from their utilisation. Griet Verbeke from the Belgian delegation tells us how the negotiations are going.
COP 10 aims for a new biodiversity strategy
The 10th COP on Biodiversity is in progress in Nagoya (Japan). The aim of this summit is to develop a new strategy to halt the decline of biodiversity. For over a week now, hundreds of negotiators have been trying to reach an agreement. From Wednesday 27 October, the high-level segment with ministers and heads of state will begin.
Minister Schauvliege chats to a school in Lanaken from Japan
On 25 October 2010, pupils of the 4th year Technical Secondary Education of the state secondary school Alicebourg in Lanaken were invited to talk about biodiversity with Joke Schauvliege, Flemish Minister for Environment, Nature and Culture. This was done via a chat session, as the minister was in Japan, where she is expressing the European point of view on Biodiversity at the UN summit as the chairwoman of the EU Environment Council.
The enforcement of European Biodiversity Law at the National Level
As part of the International Year of Biodiversity 2010, several judges met in Brussels on 18 and 19 October to discuss European biodiversity law. The annual conference of the European Forum of Judges for the Environment aims not only at encouraging the exchange of information based on experience but also to assess EU biodiversity law and make recommendations regarding its proper implementation in Member States.
Week of the Forest closes with record attendance in Sonian Forest
The 32nd Week of the Forest was concluded festively in the Sonian Forest in the presence of Flemish Minister for Environment and Nature Joke Schauvliege. For the first time in the history of Week of the Forest, over 7,000 forest lovers went to the final event, which was also the Gezinsbond (Family Union) family day.
Belgian delegation blogs from Nagoya
From 18 to 29 October 2010 the tenth Conference of the Parties (COP 10) on the Convention on Biological Diversity will be held in Nagoya, Japan. You can follow all the news from Nagoya on the Belgian delegation's blog. It is recommended for anyone who wants a better understanding of the international political process about biodiversity or who wonders what effect biodiversity currently has on our day-to-day lives.
Plea for strong European stand on biodiversity
2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity. In view of the Belgian EU Presidency, Flanders wants to play the role of pioneer. Flemish Minister for Environment, Nature and Culture Joke Schauvliege made a plea for strong European stands on biodiversity.
European statement for the biodiversity summit in Nagoya
Delegates attending the biodiversity conference at Ghent today crystallized their expectations of the international summit to be held at Nagoya in October. They emphasized that only an integrated policy with sufficient resources for co-operation, specific measures, research and communication could hope to succeed in preserving worldwide biodiversity.
Loss of biodiversity comes at a cost
Today, 8 September, Flemish Minister for the Environment, Nature And Culture, Joke Schauvliege inaugurated the European conference on biodiversity in a changing world. As chair of the European Environment Council, jointly with the EU Trio Presidency Spain-Belgium-Hungary, Joke Schauvliege has put ‘biodiversity’ at the top of the agenda.