Following the successful Seminar Dialogue events organised in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021, on the 15 and 16th of November 2022 13 EUROPARC and Protected Areas representatives and 12 Officers from the European Commission met for a dialogue.
By bringing together representatives of the European Commission and Protected Area professionals, EUROPARC aims to spotlight the contribution of Protected Areas to the achievement of European policy goals, whilst giving the European Commission a clear insight into the challenges faced by professionals in the field.
‘Seminar Dialogue’ is an opportunity to give a voice to nature within the European Commission and highlight the importance of Protected Areas.
In 2022, EUROPARC and the European Commission DG Environment set up a programme focused on the following key areas:
• Nature Conservation in the Climate change context
The programme, the report and the photo album are available here:
Programme Seminar Dialogue 2022
Photo Album Seminar Dialogue 2022
The event with the European Commission was anticipated by an internal networking meeting for EUROPARC members, on the 15th of November. It provided participants with the opportunity to share expectations from the Seminar with the Commission, to refresh their knowledge of the complex institutional structure of the EU, and discover how the EUROPARC Brussels Office interacts with the European key actors in its lobby and advocacy work.
The 16th of November started with a welcome from the (acting) Head of Unit D.3 – Nature Conservation, DG Environment, Luisa Samarelli and EUROPARC President Michael Hošek.
Restoration Law
The programme started with a quick update on the implementation of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and a presentation of the Commission’s proposal of the new Nature Restoration law.
The proposal outlines that:
- by 2030 restoration measures will cover 20% of EU’s land and sea;
- by 2050, measures will be in place for ALL ecosystems in need of restoration.
The proposal of the law details the targets connected with the Habitats and Birds Directives, more other sectors/habitats, identified as essentials, e.i. the urban ecosystems. The text of the Commission’s Proposal for a Nature Restoration Law is available in English here.
The EU level PAF: Funding needs and opportunities for nature
Conservation and restoration need resources! Przemek Oginski, DG ENV, introduced the “EU level PAF: Funding needs and opportunities for nature”.
He introduced the estimations of the financial needs for Natura 2000 in the current EU long-term budget (also known as Multi-annual Financial Framework – MFF) running from 2021 to 2027. The Commission analysed if, and how, the financial resources devoted to biodiversity in different programmes were successful and effective. During the French presidency of the Council, an important proposal has been made, for a new large financial investment in nature protection and restoration for the next MFF.
Nature Restoration – The role of Protected Areas
The Protected Areas’ perspectives were introduced by, João Cardoso de Melo – from Cascais Ambiente (PT) – and member of the EUROPARC Council. He shared the results of the Siggen Seminar 2022 “Nature Restoration – The role of Protected Areas”, where 11 experts from all over Europe came together to discuss the role Protected Areas have to play in the restoration process. Over the course of two days, participants worked in teams to find answers to the questions:
- What are the benefits of nature restoration for communities?
- How can we implement nature restoration (from a governance perspective)?
- What are the key roles of Protected Areas (managers) in nature restoration? How can restoration projects be set up?
Finland’s Parks: experiences and lessons learnt in identifying restoration priorities and actions
Henrik Jansson, Director of Parks & Wildlife, Metsähallitus – (FI) presented the experiences of Finland’s Parks and lessons learnt in identifying restoration priorities and actions. For years, Finland has been engaged in habitat restoration. The topic is very important in the country, especially for the connection with the forestry sector, and one of the challenges is to find a compromise between conservation and economical use of the Finnish forest heritage.
White paper: Protected Areas and the European strategies for climate change adaptation and biodiversity
The EUROPARC Climate Change Task Force has been working on the preparation of the white paper: Protected Areas and the European strategies for climate change adaptation and biodiversity. The key messages were shared by Olivier De Sadeleer, project manager of the Natur’Adapt Project. Climate change defies us to take into account the big uncertainty on the future, in all strategies and actions for biodiversity, at all levels, inside and outside Protected Areas. These concepts are already included in the planning work of Brussels Environment Agency (BE) as showed in the presentation of the Case study: Climate change adaptation into the management of natural heritage sites, regional parks and forest in Brussels (BE)
Dialogue with the research and scientific sectors – NaturaConnect
The dialogue with the research and scientific sector is necessary for the implementation of the EU policies, especially in a climate change context. This will be one of the aspects of the new EUROPARC project ‘NaturaConnect’, introduced by the project manager Marit Schnepf.
Climate Policy Developments Relevant for Protected Areas
For the European Commission Perspectives, Peter Loeffler, DG CLIMA, shared an update about the Climate Policy Developments Relevant for Protected Areas. It is positive to note, that the decision makers in EU and at international level have started to agree about the connection on climate change, biodiversity and human health.
Guidance on climate change and Natura 2000
To support the Protected Area managers in dealing with climate change in Natura 2000 sites, the Commission is preparing a new guidance on climate change and Natura 2000. Participant Stefania Charisiadou, DG ENV, updated the participants about this process.
Downloads
- pdfLuisa Samarelli - EU Biodiversity Strategy and Restoration Law
- pdfPrzemyslaw Oginski - Funding needs and opportunities for nature
- pdfMarit Schnepf - the NaturaConnect Project
- pdfEUROPARC Siggen Seminar Outcomes
- pdfPeter Löffler - Nature Conservation in the Climate Change Context
- pdfHenrik Jansson - Case study. Identifying restoration priorities and actions: Finland’s Parks experiences and lessons learnt
- pdfOlivier de Sadeleer - Protected Areas and the European strategies for climate change adaptation and biodiversity
- pdfStefania Charisiadou - Natura 2000 Adaptation to Climate Change – Upcoming EC guidance
- pdfEtienne Aulotte - Climate change adaptation and the management of natural heritage site, regional parks and forest