Presentation made at Qabala, Afeganisthan, during the Pan-European CBD COP10 NGO Preparatory Meeting th Gabala, 5-6 July 2010

1. GREEN COMMUNITIES
without frontiers
Pan-European CBD COP10 NGO Preparatory Meeting
th
Gabala, 5-6 July 2010

2. PORTUGAL

4. Goal
Education, information and training people for
getting involved in biodiversity conservation
activities at local and regional level in
supporting the Convention on Biological
Diversity proper implementation at local level.

5. Possible activities
Green space
Biodiversity conservation measures
Agriculture biodiversity
Invasive alien species
Co-existence of new technologies and traditional knowledge
Intellectual property rights
Developing and strengthening the urban plan develop. and management
New challenges

6. Communities and outputs
Project should apply to different kind of communities:
Villages to cities
Outputs:
 Trained people, more informed, educated and committed
 Guidelines for communities in working with small and large
communities with different backgrounds identifying strength and
weakness
 Data base development for reporting the local biodiversity status
of conservation – in support activities from the community level
– to be validated by science - for achieving the CBD goals.

7. 700 European species are threatened, while the number of alien
exotic species in Pan-Europe continues to rise
(In EEA’s fourth Pan-European Assessment)

8. Current status of biodiversity
Most important factors for biodiversity loss*:
Alteration and destruction of habitat
(Ex: soil use change, physical change and draining of rivers, loss of coral
reefs, damage in ocean floor due to some fishing techniques)
Over-exploitation
Invasive alien species
Climate change
Pollution
In Millennium Ecosystem Analysis (MEA, 2005)

9. Statement by Ahmed Djoghlaf*
*Executive Secretary of the CBD
On the occasion of the
Second World Cities Summit 2010
Singapore, 30 June 2010
“Last month, the CBD Secretariat released the third
edition of Global Biodiversity Outlook.
Based on 120 national reports submitted by Parties,

10. the report demonstrates that the international
community (...) has failed to fulfil its commitment
to reduce substantially the rate of loss of biodiversity
by 2010.
The report confirms that we continue to lose
biodiversity at unprecedented rates:
today, species extinction rates
may be 1,000 times higher
than the natural rate.

11. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
called for a new biodiversity vision for a healthy and
sustainable future for mankind.
This new vision should integrate the distinct
contribution of cities in protecting life on Earth.

12. … the world’s urban population now exceeds that
of rural areas. A new era has been born - the era
of “Homo urbanus”, the city dweller.
This development is expected to have far-reaching
implications for humanity and for biodiversity.
Cities occupy 2 per cent of the planet’s surface,
but their residents use 75 per cent of the Earth’s
natural resources.

13. LAB – Local Action for Biodiversity
http://www.iclei.org/lab

14. BIO-LOCAL*
Diversity of local actions for
Biodiversity
 Local and regional biodiversity
 Consumption and biodiversity
 Agricultural biodiversity
A project of the Municipality of Moita (Portugal)

15. Biodiversity near people,
in local identity and history

16. Get to know local biodiversity

17. And main habitats
Mud flats
Subtidal area
Saltpans
Oyster beds
Cereal fields
Saltmarshes “Caniçal”

19. Learn about locally extinct species
Portuguese Oyster

20. Identify human activities
connected with biodiversity
Oyster harvest and preparation Salt-pans
Fishing and collecting
Aquaculture
molluscs

21. And local threats to biodiversity
Pollution Overfishing

22. Biodiversity and
our Consumption
Help local consumers to discover the links
between their choices and Biodiversity

23. Eco-consumer
tours

24. 1. “Check-in”
Adding more knowledge on ones's “luggage”
 Impact on working conditions?
 Impact on animal welfare?
 Impact of GEE?
 Impact of packaging?
 Impact on Biodiversity?

25. GMOs; Pesticides

26. The beneficts of organic farming

27. Contributing to protect forests
www.fsc.org

28. Choosing local and
seasonal products

29. Supporting regional
varieties in kitchen gardens

30. Choosing sustainable fish products
www.msc.org

31. Sustainable consumption of
certain species…
“I buy to have biodiversity today and tomorow!”

32. 2. In-door tour
Pratice in the supermarket

33. 3. Out-door tour
Get to know local producers

34. Build partnerships with private sectors
The compromise of a Cooperative of Consumers in Italy:

35. Dolphin- friendly products

37. Protection of Red Tuna

38. Stakeholders / partners
 Local Councils (Municipalities)
 Local Cooperatives and Businesses
 Other NGOs
 Strenghts and Opportunities:
Local Councils have frequently transportation means, good
connection with school community and good channels for
communication with general public and registration logistics
 Weaknesses and Threats:
Local Councils may not have a coherent policy, ex. on urban
planning and development
Local businesses may be shops linked to national or
multinational companies
Difficult to evaluate results in awareness projects

39. Some questions
 Added value of Pan-Europe
 Data base on local biodiversity
 Guide-lines on how to deal with local
communities

40. Thank you
paulalopessilva@gmail.com
Presentation available at www.slideshare.net/paulalopessilva
www.quercus.pt We thank to the Municipality of Moita
for the images made available