Monaco Declaration On The Role Of The Bern Convention In The Implementation Of Worldwide International Instruments For The Protection Of Biodiversity

Filename: 1994-MonacoDeclaration-1979-EuropeanWildlifeNaturalHabitats.EN.txt
Source:

Monaco Declaration On The Role Of The Bern Convention In The Implementation Of Worldwide International Instruments For The Protection Of Biodiversity

Source: Unofficial

The Participants in the Intergovernmental Symposium on the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Bern Convention: the next steps,

Meeting in Monaco from 26 to 28 September 1994 under the auspices of the Council of Europe;

Aware of the inestimable value of the earth's biological and landscape diversity and being anxious to preserve it and ensure the sustainability of its use for present and future generations;

Recalling Recommendation No. R ENV (90) 1 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on the European Conservation Strategy, which states that a European conservation strategy should promote a culture which respects nature for what it is and not only for what monetary value can be placed on it;

Determined to act promptly and efficiently in order to apply the principles pronounced in Rio de Janeiro on 14 June 1992 by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, in the Declaration on Environment and Development, in the Declaration for a global consensus on the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forest, as well as the provisions of Agenda 21;

Emphasising most particularly the importance they attach to the need to base themselves on the principle of precaution and to adopt anticipatory and preventive policies;

Observing that Agenda 21 mentions inter alia the "Management of fragile ecosystems" and the "Conservation of biological diversity" as fields of activity requiring specific and urgent action, and stresses that in the field of international cooperation, regional international organisations must contribute, along with the United Nations system, support and supplement national efforts made with a view to achieving the objectives which it outlines;

Noting that Article 5 of the Convention on Biological Diversity specifies that "Each Contracting Party shall, as far as possible and as appropriate, cooperate with other Contracting Parties, directly or, where appropriate, through competent international organisations, in respect of areas beyond national jurisdiction and on other matters of mutual interest, for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity";

Noting that Contracting Parties have the responsibility in implementing the obligations of the Bern and Biological Diversity Conventions;

Noting that Article 23, paragraph 4 (h), of the Convention on Biological Diversity asks the Conference of the Parties to "contact, through the Secretariat, the executive bodies of conventions dealing with matters covered by this Convention with a view to establishing appropriate forms of coordination with them";

Observing that the Council of Europe provides the functions of the Secretariat for the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats adopted in Bern on 19 September 1979, and includes the environmental dimension in its activities as a crucial and integral part of the national policies of its member States;

Noting that the Bern Convention includes in its appendices lists of protected species, which should secure a high level of conservation, and that the procedures making it possible to ensure that the Convention is implemented, enhance the role of non-governmental organisations and individuals as partners involved in sustainable development, in accordance with the principles set out in the Rio Declaration;

Recalling that the Lucerne Declaration of 30 April 1993 adopted by the second pan-European Ministerial Conference "Environment for Europe" makes reference to the active role that the Council of Europe should play in the area of conservation of biological diversity;

Noting that the Maastricht Declaration of 12 November 1993 of the Conference "Conserving Europe's natural heritage: towards a European ecological network" asks the Council of Europe to establish co-ordination machinery for developing a European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy, and to present information on the progress made in this area at the European Ministerial Conference on the Environment, to be held in 1995 in Sofia, as its contribution towards the Environmental Programme for Europe;

Noting that Recommendation 1241 (1994) on the application of conventions concerning the environment, adopted on 18 May 1994 by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, makes reference to the priority which should be given to improving the application of conventions concerning the environment and the special importance which should be attached to the Bern Convention;

Noting also that the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe recognised in its reply of 5 September 1994 to the Parliamentary Assembly, that "the Council of Europe, which provides the Secretariat of the Bern Convention adopted in 1979, has a crucial role to perform here in applying at regional level the principles and obligations set out at world level with regard to the conservation of biodiversity";

Noting that the 3rd Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development will review the progress made in the conservation of biological diversity and the sustainable use of its components;

Acknowledge that:

1. Regional international organisations should act with a view to favouring the application of the worldwide international instruments for the protection of biodiversity - in particular, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Declaration on Environment and Development, the Declaration for a global consensus on the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forest, and Agenda 21;

2. The Council of Europe has a fundamental role to play in the implementation at regional level of the principles and obligations adopted at global level;

3. The Bern Convention, which to date has 31 Contracting Parties, 17 of whom are also already Contracting Parties or signatories to the Convention on Biological Diversity, constitutes an instrument of major importance for the conservation of biological diversity at regional level by reason of its objectives and its geographical coverage;

4. The objectives of the Bern Convention are largely in line with the objectives set in Agenda 21 and the Convention on Biological Diversity. The scope of Article 14 of the Bern Convention is broad enough to deal with many aspects of the Convention on Biological Diversity related to biodiversity conservation, if the Standing Committee so wishes.

Adopt the following Recommendations, which are an integral part of this Declaration:

Recommendation on the scientific and technical aspects:

The Participants recommend

That the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention or the Contracting Parties, as appropriate

1. Make especially sure that the principles and obligations established at the global level in the worldwide international instruments for the protection of biodiversity are applied at regional level;

2. Conduct the research required for the identification and understanding of the components of biological diversity, especially with a view to:

- updating the lists of endangered wild flora and fauna species with a view to amend, if necessary, the Appendices to the Bern Convention;

- encouraging the conservation and traditional management of endangered varieties of domesticated and cultivated species in so far as they contribute notably to the conservation of wildlife;

- identifying endangered terrestrial and aquatic natural habitats, including wetlands;

- further implementing in coordination with NATURA 2000, EECONET and other initiatives, the objectives of Article 4 of the Bern Convention;

- examining the scope of the Bern Convention regarding landscape features important for nature conservation;

3. Identify processes and types of activity which have or are likely to have an appreciable adverse effect on conservation and the sustainable use of biological and landscape diversity and monitor these with a view to avoiding this adverse effect, paying particular attention to the following areas: agriculture and forestry, water use, fisheries, coastal and rural development, tourism and recreation, transport, energy and industry;

4. Evaluate the extent to which the obligations incurred by the Convention are implemented by Contracting Parties, aiming to secure that they:

- actually do protect habitats and conserve viable populations of species by taking the necessary legislative, administrative and management measures;

- take steps to promote voluntary protection of natural habitats through incentive measures;

- encourage education and the dissemination of information on the need to conserve species and their habitats;

5. Include in the activity programme of the Standing Committee the measures, appropriate for the Bern Convention, deriving from the Convention on Biological Diversity, regarding:

- the identification and the monitoring of the state of biological diversity;

- the in situ conservation;

- the ex situ conservation;

- the sustainable use of components of biological diversity;

- guidance on incentive measures;

- the impact assessment and the minimising of adverse impacts;

6. Take into consideration national and international experiences aimed at calculating the economic value of the components of biological diversity and natural heritage.

Recommendation on strategic aspects

The Participants, recognising the need to coordinate available information and avoid duplication, recommend:

That the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention,

1. Instruct its Secretariat in conjunction with the relevant organisations and institutes, such as the World Conservation Union (IUCN), the World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) and the European Agency for Environment, to facilitate the mobilisation and exchange of information, from all publicly available sources, relevant to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. This information may include, for instance:

- conventions and other international, global and regional instruments applicable to the geographical region concerned;

- legislative and regulatory instruments, and texts defining the national or subregional strategies, plans and programmes of the Contracting Parties;

- information on national systems of protected areas or areas where special measures are taken to conserve biological diversity;

- guidelines adopted for the selection, establishment and management of protected areas or areas where special measures are taken to conserve biological diversity;

- information on efficient and innovative techniques for the conservation of biological diversity and the sustainable use of its components;

- data on measures to promote the protection of ecosystems and natural habitats, and the maintenance of viable populations of species in their natural surroundings; on environmentally sound and sustainable development in areas adjacent to protected areas with a view to furthering protection of these areas; and on the rehabilitation and restoration of damaged ecosystems and endangered species;

2. Instruct its Secretariat to establish a network of partners and experts in the conservation of biodiversity, including legal aspects, in order to facilitate coordination of activities carried out in this area;

3. Instruct its Secretariat to participate in the preparations of the European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy to be submitted to the next European Ministerial Conference on the Environment in Sofia, in October 1995;

4. Review at regular intervals and in collaboration with the Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity the national policies of the Contracting Parties to the Bern Convention for implementing the parts of the Bern Convention and the Convention on Biological Diversity which are relevant to conservation of biological diversity and the sustainable use of its components;

5. Continue to use the procedures which make it possible to ensure that the Bern Convention is enforced (general and special reports; case-file system; follow-up of recommendations);

6. Bring to the attention of the Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity that the Bern Convention constitutes a fundamental regional instrument for the application of provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity in matters relating to the conservation of biological diversity and the sustainable use of its components.

Recommendation on institutional aspects

The Participants recommend:

1. That the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention

Consider the need for a mechanism for:

- regularly reviewing and assessing general trends and needs in the field of the conservation of biological diversity at the regional level;

- drawing up and following the guiding principles of a long-term strategic action plan;

2. That the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention and the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity

Establish appropriate coordination mechanisms, in conformity with Article 23, paragraph 4 (h), of the Convention on Biological Diversity, so that both instruments may be applied and elaborated on together in matters relating to the conservation of biological diversity and the sustainable use of its components.

Recommendation on financial aspects

The Participants recommend:

1. That the Contracting Parties to the Bern Convention, the Council of Europe and the financial institutions involved

Provide considerable financial support for the activities mentioned in the Declaration and its recommendations, which form an integral part of it.

2. That the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention

Consider ways and means to strengthen the voluntary contributions' special fund of the Bern Convention, so that it may finance the Convention's work;

Address the problem of the funding structure of the Bern Convention;

Explore the possibility to use other available funds to achieve the goals of the Bern Convention.

The Participants in the Monaco Symposium call on the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention to examine the provisions of the Declaration and its Recommendations with a view to their possible adoption.

They also request the Secretariat of the Bern Convention to send the Monaco Declaration as approved today, 28 September 1994: to the Contracting Parties to the Bern Convention and the Convention on Biological Diversity, to the Committee of Ministers, the Parliamentary Assembly and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe (CLRAE) of the Council of Europe, to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), to the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE), to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), to the European Investment Bank (EIB), to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), to the Global Environment Facility (GEF), to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and to other interested international organisations, governmental and non-governmental.