Highlights

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At the meeting of the Environment Council on 19 December 2011, ministers discussed and agreed conclusions on the implementation of the EU's biodiversity strategy that the Council endorsed on 21 June 2011. The conclusions are the second political statement of the Council in this regard.

The United Nations have designated 2011-2020 as the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity, and the EU's strategy covers the same period. Meeting the targets of this strategy will constitute an important step towards honouring the global commitment on biodiversity outlined in the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity and the Aichi Biodiversity targets resulting from the Conference of the Parties to the Biodiversity Convention in Nagoya in October 2010.

Ministers declared "that a co-ordinated and streamlined approach is needed for the implementation of the strategy". They identified key areas of work and invited the Commission to develop and agree on a common implementation framework with Member States. The aim is to meet the EU's headline target, defined as "halting the loss of biodiversity and the degradation of ecosystem services … and restoring them in so far as feasible" and endorsed by the European Council on 26 March 2010. The Council also called on the Commission and the Member States to integrate and mainstream biodiversity targets in the development and implementation of all relevant EU and national sectoral policies.

The Commission was asked to report on progress in relation to the common implementation framework in early 2012.

More information:
Council conclusions
Press release
Press conference webcast
Public deliberation webcast
Commission communication
Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, including Aichi Biodiversity Targets (Convention on Biological Diversity website)