Look at our videos to learn about the meeting:
key reports:
Positive Visions for Biodiversity Final Report and Appendixes
Translating Positive Visions for Biodiversity into Research Practive Final Report
Executive Summary of the PVB report :
On 16th -17th November 2010, over 230 participants from 43 countries met in Brussels to create a Positive Vision for Biodiversity.
The Belgian Biodiversity Platform (an initiative of the Belgian Science Policy Office), one of the national platforms of the European Platform for Biodiversity Research Strategy (EPBRS), organised this innovative meeting. It brought together natural and social scientists and a wide diversity of stakeholders (including policy makers, politicians, businessmen, architects, civil society representatives, artists, and philosophers). The participatory approach used during the meeting was facilitated by Global Voices, a non-profit organization specialized in large-scale meetings. Their method, the 21st Century Summit, allowed participants to share ideas, develop a common “vision framework”, vote for priority goals and identify the main changes that they thought would be needed in the coming years. For instance, participants decided that by 2050, a sustainable relationship with biodiversity will have been established through:
1-Governance that is more transparent and effective and that balances global and local responsibilities
2-Sustainable and participatory management of land, seascapes and urban areas
3-A sustainable human population
4-High technology that is used to build a low-tech world that enhances and protects biodiversity
5-Sustainable renewable energy and transportation
6-Sustainable food production, using minimum energy and resources
7-Efficient use of resources through responsible production and consumption, recycling and eliminating waste
8-The integration of biodiversity into every part of life
9-Transforming the economic paradigm to reflect fully biodiversity and human values
10-Values and behaviours appropriate to a more harmonious way of life.
For each theme, participants prioritized a small number of key goals. For example, one of the goals for «governance» was: “Sustainability is the core business of governments / governance e.g. world trade and finance has been dramatically changed”.
Some significant changes necessary to reach these goals were also identified, for example:
- There will be a legal UN Biodiversity Charter that all countries will have signed up by 2050 that will include overarching principles
everyone must follow, and will detail specific responsibilities for different stakeholders
- Protect 20% of each coastal and marine ecosystem from human activities and strengthen sustainable management legislation
for the rest, to create corridors and support reproduction
- Integrate biodiversity thinking including bio-compatible technology in all levels of education starting with elementary school and research
- Achieve a 100% of renewable energy by 2050 at least at EU level
- Accounting system in place to reflect real environmental and social costs and benefits of energy production and use
- Acknowledge the diversity of existing and potential non-monetary and/or local and alternative economies; Create space for different economic paradigms, which are not only focused on growth, exploitation, accumulation.)
The results of this two-day participative meeting are compiled in this report. A separate report addresses the follow-up meeting (18th-19th November 2010) where the results of the participatory meeting were communicated to scientists and policy makers to identify research priorities related to the vision goals, and changes required in the way research is structured, carried out and funded, to support the goals of the vision.
The event organisers implemented a follow-up website to allow for further interaction and discussions. The impact of this initiative will depend on the actions taken by each stakeholder, and hopefully, will lead to making a step forward to reach a sustainable future for Humans and Nature.
ORGANISERS
Positive Visions for Biodiversity was organised by the Belgian Biodiversity Platform with the support of the Belgian Science Policy Office, its parent institution and the Steering Committee of EPBRS. It was held in the context of the International Year of Biodiversity and with the support of the Belgian Presidency of the European Union.
PARTNERS
Positive Visions for Biodiversity was delivered in partnership with national and international partners, including the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, the Department of Economy, Science and Innovation of the Flemish Government (EWI), the French Foundation for Biodiversity Research (FRB), the UNESCO Man and Biosphere Programme (MAB), the Biostrat project and the European Commission.
Event secretariat:
Estelle Balian
Belgian Biodiversity Platform
tel. --32(0)2.627.43.19
fax. --32(0)2.627.41.13 or - 4.33
estelle.balian(a)naturalsciences.be
www.positivevisionsforbiodiversity.org