CBD Strategy and Action Plan
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SECOND CHAMBER OF PARLIAMENT Session year 2012–2013 26 407 Biodiversity (Natural Capital Agenda: conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity). Nr. 85 LETTER FROM THE STATE SECRETARY FOR ECONOMIC AFFAIRS AND THE STATE SECRETARY FOR INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT To the President of the Second Chamber of Parliament, The Hague, 22 June 2013 We hereby present to you, also on behalf of the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, the “Uitvoeringsagenda Natuurlijk Kapitaal: behoud en duurzaam gebruik van biodiversiteit” (Natural Capital Agenda: conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity ). With this Agenda we meet the request from your Chamber to prepare an implementation agenda on biodiversity (Parliamentary paper 30 825, no. 169). This agenda is based on the international agreements on biodiversity in the Convention on Biological Diversity 1, that provides the basis for the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2020. The strategy’s objective is to secure resilient ecosystems and ecosystem services that contribute to biodiversity, water and food security, welfare and combating poverty. The agenda is also based on the recommendations in «Groene Groei» ( green growth ), provided by the Dutch Taskforce on Biodiversity and Natural Resources, headed by Hans Alders. The former – then outgoing – government has already responded to these recommendations on 5 July 2012 through the letter «Stand van zaken biodiversiteit-beleid» ( status report on biodiversity policy ) (Parliamentary paper 26 407, no. 63). Natural Capital globally under pressure The world population is growing, coupled with growth in the global economy. The combination of the growing global economy and production techniques that are used affects natural capital in the following ways: through the overexploitation of ecosystems and their services, global climate change and the unsustainable use of raw materials. 1 To tackle these threats, a transition to a sustainable global economy – with more sustainable production, fewer emissions and more recycling – is required to secure our natural capital for future generations and thus provide the basis for prosperity and welfare: green growth from an ecological, economic and social perspective. Position of the Natural Capital Agenda Developing a nature-inclusive economy, securing international biodiversity and the conservation of nature in the Netherlands are important elements of nature policy. Where policy instruments such as nature legislation, the National Ecological Network (NEN) and Natura 2000 and the Nature Policy 1«The objectives of this Convention (on Biological Diversity), to be pursued in accordance with its relevant provisions, are the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources, including by appropriate access to genetic resources and by appropriate transfer of relevant technologies, taking into account all rights over those resources and to technologies, and by appropriate funding». Page 1 of 12 Plan for the Caribbean Netherlands (Parliamentary paper 30 825, no. 191) are specifically focused on the conservation and strengthening of Dutch nature, the Natural Capital Agenda focuses – both nationally and internationally – on conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. In doing this, the Agenda is in line with the focus on a circular economy and policy letters on this issue like «Groene Groei, voor een sterke, duurzame economie» ( green growth, for a strong, sustainable economy ) (Parliamentary paper 33 043, no. 14) and the domains as mentioned in that letter, «Van afval naar grondstof» ( from waste to raw material ), «Voedsel» ( food ), «Biobased Economy» and «Energie en Klimaat» ( energy and climate ). The Natural Capital Agenda is also in line with international Dutch policy. In the recent policy document «Wat de wereld verdient» (a Dutch term with two meanings: ‘what the world deserves’ and ‘what the world earns’ ) (Parliamentary paper 33 625, no. 1) by the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, the Netherlands focuses on an important pillar from the coalition agreement: working on sustainable growth, with a special focus on ’inclusivity’. After all, growth and a fair distribution do not automatically go together . Internationaal Maatschappelijk Verantwoord Ondernemen (International Corporate Social Responsibility ) is a condition for sustainable and inclusive growth. One aspect of sustainable and inclusive growth is the Dutch focus on an ambitious environmental policy where international agreements are made about the reduction of the CO 2 emissions and about policy to combat the depletion of natural resources. Climate and the environment are integrated into the focal points «Water» and «food security», two main themes of the development co-operation policy that have many aspects in common with biodiversity and as such with the Natural Capital Agenda. Synergy policy in progress The coalition agreement emphasises the synergy between nature objectives and other public interests. You have already been informed about the steps taken in the context of synergy between economic development and biodiversity through the abovementioned letter «Stand van zaken biodiversiteitbeleid» ( status of biodiversity policy ). Below are some examples of initiatives that have focused on synergy between economy and biodiversity since the Taskforce’s recommendations were published. To help implement the recommendations of the Taskforce Biodiversity and Natural Resources, the government has entered into a Green Deal Biodiversity and Economy with the Platform Biodiversity, Ecosystems and Economy (BEE). The Platform, which receives financial support from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, aims to promote sustainable economic growth through cooperation between the private sector and nature and development organisations in a manner that does not further uses up natural capital. The Platform stimulates businesses to apply the No Net Loss principle. This means specific adjustments to business operations focused on preservation, good management and recovery of biodiversity and ecosystems. To promote this, a helpdesk was set up in 2012 to advise businesses about preventing, compensating and recovering the impact of their business operations on biodiversity. In 2012 businesses were also invited to apply for the subsidy scheme Biodiversiteit en Bedrijven ( biodiversity and businesses ) to stimulate No Net Loss. Twelve projects were granted co- financing in the first round of this scheme; a second call for applications will be launched in July Page 2 of 12 2013. The Platform also encourages businesses to actively contribute to the protection of ecosystems, together with nature and environmental organisations and the government. The Sustainable Trade Initiative (Initiatief Duurzame Handel - IDH ), initiated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is committed to sustainable production and consumption, and together with the private sector it has made agreements in various – primarily agri – supply chains about sustainability. Supply chains are stimulated to work according to sustainability criteria. Sustainability also extends to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. The Natural Capital Agenda complements and supports the Sustainable Trade Initiative activities in the area of sustainable chains. To get more insight into the impact of businesses and economic sectors on our ecosystem services and biodiversity, and to get a better idea of the opportunities for use of natural capital, several 2 TEEB studies were carried out. Those studies have to result in a specific perspective for action for both businesses and authorities. Several TEEB studies have already been sent to your House, namely those about the Dutch private sector, about the costs and benefits of nature for health, about green and the city and about the island of Bonaire (Parliamentary paper 26 407, nos. 62, 61, 67 and 84). The insights described in these studies will now be put into practice. Choice of themes for the Natural Capital Agenda The Agenda comprises several additional activities to reinforce policy in which the Netherlands – on their own territory and in an international context – contribute to achieving the global biodiversity objectives of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the affiliated targets of the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2020. This way the Netherlands also contributes to the conservation and 3 sustainable use of important International Public Goods (IPGs). The themes chosen for the Agenda were taken from the abovementioned conventions and from the final recommendations of the Biodiversity Taskforce. These are complex themes that aim to achieve both conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. In this manner, the government wishes to focus on strengthening the relationship between economy and ecology to a greater extent than before. The chosen themes are: I Sustainable production and consumption: sustainable supply chains II Sustainable fisheries and protection of marine biodiversity III Sustainable agriculture and protection of biodiversity IV Valuing natural capital Supply chains (I) and agriculture (III) were chosen because of the potential for land-use to conflict with nature. While supply chains are primarily focused on nature in tropical supply countries, the sustainable agriculture theme refers to food production in both a national and an international 2 The Economics