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AFD participates in the IUCN Conference
“The European Union and its Overseas Entities:
Strategies to counter Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss”

 

Reunion Island 7-11 July 2008

 

This conference put forward new strategies and action plans integrating biodiversity conservation and climate change for Europe’s Outermost Regions (ORs) and Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs). The event was organized by IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), the Regional Council of Reunion Island and the French Observatory of the Impacts of Global Warming (ONERC), in partnership with the French Ministry for the Interior, Overseas France and its Territorial Authorities (MIOMCT). AFD was on the conference steering committee along with IUCN, the State Secretariat for Overseas France (SEOM), the French Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs (MAEE), the French Ministry for Ecology, Sustainable Development and Land Use Planning (MEDDAT), the French Development research Institute (IRD), the French Environment and EnergyManagement Agency (ADEME), EDF, WWF, the Regional Council of Reunion Island, the EuropeanCommission, as well as representatives from European countries which have interests in OverseasEntities (in particular Spain, Portugal, UK, Denmark and the Netherlands).                           

The event gathered politicians, NGOs and scientists and aimed to implement and strengthen actions relating to climate change adaptation, sustainable energies, biodiversity conservation and ecosystem management. The ORs and OCTs harbour an extraordinary wealth of biological diversity (80% of France’s biodiversity). The conference focused on the foreseeable negative impacts of climate change on this unique, yet fragile, natural and cultural heritage.

AFD, together with FGEF (French Global Environment Facility), is a leading donor on these issues and has supported numerous initiatives in favour of NGO actions to combat the irreversible biodiversity loss in many particularly critical areas (in particular the Pacific, Indian Ocean and West Indies).

Jean-Louis Borloo, the French Minister for Ecology, Sustainable Development and Land Use Planning and Yves Jego, the Secretary of State for Overseas France, respectively opened and closed this high-profile event.

 

AFD participated in three workshops:
  • As a coordinator with the Joint National Committee for Conservation (JNCC – UK) for the workshop “Economic valuation of biodiversity and ecosystem services". 

  • As chair for the workshop “Sustainable financing mechanisms to address ecological challenges in the ORs and OCTs”.
  • As a facilitator, with ADEME and ARER (Reunion Island Energy Agency) for the group on “How to achieve the energy revolution in the EU overseas entities?”. 

 

A partnership agreement was signed between the Regional Council of Reunion Island in parallel to this event. <Find out more>