Dear IUCN Members, National Committees, Commission members and distinguished Councillors of Europe,
As announced in an earlier message, the IUCN Regional Office for Europe has started the process of developing the new IUCN European Programme for the intersessional period 2009-2012.
The IUCN statutes call for the Programme to be approved by the IUCN General Assembly, to be held during the World Conservation Congress in Barcelona in October 2008. The Programme, which is being developed in close consultation with members and partners, provides the overall framework for the conservation work to be undertaken by the IUCN Commissions and Secretariat during the four year period between World Conservation Congresses.
The five Thematic Priority Areas within the global IUCN Programme for 2009-2012 are:
- Conserving the diversity of life: ensuring sustainable and equitable management of biodiversity from local to global levels;
- Changing the climate forecast – integrating biodiversity considerations and opportunities into climate change policies and practice;
- Naturally energizing the future – implementing ecologically sustainable, equitable and efficient energy systems;
- Managing ecosystems for human well-being – improving livelihoods, reducing poverty and vulnerability, and enhancing environmental and human security through sustainable ecosystem management;
- Greening the world economy – integrating ecosystem conservation values in economic policy, finance and markets.
While the overall global IUCN programme and its components such as our pan-European Programme for 2009-2012 should reflect these five global IUCN priority areas, it should also be responsive to what IUCN’s European constituency, and in particular its membership, wishes to see the Programme deliver.
On the basis of a comprehensive situation analysis undertaken recently for the pan-European Region in 2007 (http://www.iucn.org/places/europe/rofe/rofe_at_work/iucn_programme.html), recommendations for action have been formulated in response to the identified major drivers of change for biodiversity. These recommendations have served as the basis for formulating concrete results to be achieved in the pan-European region between 2009-2012. The results can be tailored either geographically or thematically through the use of sub-results.
The results in the draft IUCN European Programme 2009-2012 take into account the core competences of the IUCN Regional Office for Europe and the opportunities for working in close cooperation with the IUCN members, Commissions and National Committees in Europe.
To develop a European Programme 2009-2012 that guides the work of IUCN in Europe for the coming years, we need the valuable input from the IUCN constituency. The draft European Programme 2009-2012 document is available on the IUCN European website (http://www.iucn.org/places/europe/rofe/rofe_at_work/iucn_programme.html), for online consultation from July 23 – September 21, 2007 through an internet-based survey (click on this link for access: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=RrgFOnZOpOqR4wW9DKUrMw_3d_3d or find the link on the IUCN Europe website). This survey was developed to collect important feedback on the draft Programme from all interested parties and we would therefore highly appreciate your input.
In this consultation, all IUCN European members, National Committees and other IUCN partners are invited to share their ideas and suggestions for the priorities of IUCN in Europe, taking into account the major drivers of change for biodiversity in the pan-European region and the role of IUCN. After integrating the feedback from this consultation into the Programme, a second round of online consultation will occur in November and the European Programme for 2009-2012 will be finalized by mid-December 2007.
For any further questions concerning the European Programme 2009-2012 development process, please contact either Dr. Paul Grigoriev, European Programme Coordinator or Chantal van Ham, European Programme Assistant, at the IUCN Regional Office for Europe.
E-mail: paul.grigoriev@iucn.org tel. 32 2 739 3007
E-mail: chantal.vanham@iucn.org tel. 32 2 739 0312
On behalf of the IUCN Regional Office for Europe, we would like to thank you in advance for your participation in the survey and wish you pleasant Summer Holidays!
Yours sincerely,
Chantal van Ham
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European Programme Assistant
IUCN - The World Conservation Union
Regional Office for Europe
Boulevard Louis Schmidt 64
1040 Brussels
Tel.: 32 (0)2 739 0312
Fax: 32 (0)2 7329 499
E-mail: chantal.vanham@iucn.org
http://www.iucn.org/