Athens Conference: 'Biodiversity Protection Beyond 2010: Priorities and options for future EU Policy'

Athens Conference: 'Biodiversity Protection Beyond 2010: Priorities and options for future EU Policy'

26 April -28 April, Hotel Athenaeum Intercontinental

The Biodiversity Communication, adopted by the European Commission on 22 May 2006, provides the strategic framework for EU action to meet the target set by Heads of State and Government of halting biodiversity loss by 2010 and to also support achieving the global target of significantly reducing the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010. The communication from the Commission on the mid-term assessment of the implementation of the Biodiversity Action Plan adopted on 16/12/2008 concluded that though significant efforts have been made, it is highly unlikely that the EU will achieve the 2010 biodiversity target.

Objective

2010 will be a major milestone for biodiversity policy both in the EU and globally. It will be the year of the full evaluation of the delivery to the EU Biodiversity Action Plan and as well the UN International Year for Biodiversity. Thus it is time to take a stock on where we are and to start framing the post-2010 biodiversity vision and preparing the strategy for the period being ahead of us. Therefore, the European Commission will organize a major conference on 'Biodiversity Protection - Beyond 2010' on 27-28 April 2009 in Athens, Greece convening all the main actors engaged in the development and implementation of EU biodiversity policy together with international institutions and globally recognized experts.

Setting

The participation to the BPB 2010 Conference is based on invitation only. All major actors of the international biodiversity community or those interlinked to the implementation of EU biodiversity policy like national policy makers of the Member States, international NGOs and international organizations of different stakeholder groups, etc. have been invited.

As biodiversity protection is of a wider concern, we would like to give the opportunity to as many people as possible to follow-up on the BPB 2010 conference. Therefore, the European Commission will on-line web-stream parts of the Conference that are likely to be of major interest. You will find further information on that regard on this web-page from ten days prior to the Conference onwards. Following the BPB 2010 conference, through this website we will provide access to the presentations given, to the summaries of the outcome of the working groups and to any other materials of great importance produced during the Conference.