NGOs take active part in the Conference on 26-27 May in Riga

25.05.2015

Riga, 25 May 2015. On 26-27 May – at the time, when Latvia holds the Presidency of the Council of the EU – an international Conference on the “EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 - implementation” will be organised in Riga. It is organised by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development. The conference will be attended by more than 150 participants from all EU countries, representing both, governmental and non-governmental sector. The Conference will take place at the National Library.

The participation of non-governmental organisations at the conference is organised by Latvian Fund for Nature, in cooperation with European Environmental Bureau (EEB). Wide network of NGOs will be represented at the conference that will provide an excellent opportunity for a discussion between governmental and non-governmental sector at the time when several important processes, crucial for nature conservation, are ongoing in the EU.

European Commission has published Better Regulation initiative and the report “State of Nature in the European Union”, whereas NGOs have launched the Nature Alert campaign. All the above issues will form the background for a lively discussion during the Conference on 26-27 May.

The NGO viewpoint will be represented by EEB and BirdLife speakers. EEB Secretary General Jeremy Wates will present at the opening session of the Conference the EEB’s perspective on progress achieved in implementing the Biodiversity Strategy.

Konstantin Kreiser (BirdLife, NABU) will present the NGO viewpoint on integrating biodiversity into the Common Agricultural policy and will share the results of BirdLife`s mid-term assessment of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020.

NGO participation at the event is financially supported by the Latvian state under the project "Non-governmental sector participation in the international conference" EU Biodiversity strategy implementation"" financed by the Latvian state budget-funded programme "Support for public participation in the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union implementation" and administered by the Society Integration Foundation.

The conference agenda is available here:

http://ldf.lv/sites/default/files/pdf/nature_conference_agenda.pdf

Additional information on the project is available here:

http://ldf.lv/en/projects/international-conference-eu-biodiversity-strategy-implementation

NGO opinion on the Better Regulation initiative is available here:

http://ldf.lv/en/article/european-environmental-bureau-criticizes-european-commissions-better-regulation-package

Information on the Nature Alert campaign is available here:

http://ldf.lv/en/article/nature-alert-nature-protection-organisations-call-ec-keep-nature-conservation-legislation

Information on the State of Nature in the European Union Report is available here:

http://ldf.lv/en/article/european-commission-publishes-state-nature-report-european-environmental-bureau-highlights

Contacts:

Ms Inga Račinska, Latvian Fund for Nature, +371 67830999, inga.racinska@ldf.lv

 

Information prepared within the project "Non-governmental sector participation in the international conference" EU Biodiversity strategy implementation "" financed by Latvian national budget-funded program "Support for public participation in the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union implementation" and administered by the Society Integration Foundation.