Conferences
European Conference: Riverine and coastal wetlands for biodiversity and climate
26-28 September 2023, Bonn, Germany
Riverine and coastal wetlands are rich in nature and vital to humans. Their conservation, restoration and wise use offers sustainable and cost-effective solutions to protect biodiversity and to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change, creating strong benefits for people's health, livelihoods and well-being.
The 5th BfN-ENCA European Conference on Biodiversity and Climate Change took place on 26th–28th September 2023 in Bonn, Germany. It brought together European experts from science, policy and practice to discuss how to jointly advance the conservation and restoration of riverine and coastal wetlands in Europe. Together, knowledge was exchanged and experience on how to boost resilience of wetland biodiversity in the face of climate change, how to maximize their climate services and further co-benefits, how to scale up wetland restoration in practice and how to move forward in European wetland policy and governance.
The BioClim Wetlands Conference has been hosted jointly by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) and the European Network of Heads of Nature Conservation Agencies (ENCA), in cooperation with the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) / German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and adelphi. It contributes to the implementation of the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar Convention).
Recommendations: Riverine and Coastal Wetlands for Biodiversity and Climate
Find detailed information on the Conference Website
Gene drives Webinar
6 October 2020, online seminar
On 6 October 2020 the joint EPA-ENCA Interest Group on Genetically Modified Organisms organized a webinar on the genedrive technique.
Gene drive organisms (GDOs) are increasingly discussed as a tool to address urgent challenges including public health, agriculture and notably also nature conservation. The pace of development is high and the first such organisms might be ready for release in the near future. The joint EPA and ENCA Interest Group on Genetically Modified Organisms (IG GMO) has worked on GDO on environment and nature for several years. In 2020 the group developed a technical report which delineates the potential implications of the use of GDO on the environment.
The host of IG GMOs, the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) in Switzerland, presented the IGs work on gene drives and provided an overview of potential applications of gene drives and highlighted urgent questions related to environment and nature conservation.
Agenda:
- Introduction (Martin Schamann, Moderation: Bettina Hitzfeld)
- Introduction to IG GMO mandate on gene drives (Anne Gabrielle Wüst Saucy, BAFU)
- Presentation of IG GMO technical (1) and opinion paper (2) (Christoph Lüthi, BAFU)
- Questions and discussion
The presentation is available on request from the ENCA secretariat.
Corona Webinar
17 June 2020, online seminar
Due to the COVID19 pandemic, on 17 June 2020, ENCA held a webinar on Corona&Biodiversity.
The Corona pandemic makes dangers of zoonoses clear. Focus of the webinar was the question of the role of biodiversity loss in the context of the Corona pandemic.
The well-attended meeting saw presentations on
- Franz Essl (University of Vienna): Link between biodiversity, climate change and Corona and how can society deal with such risks?
- Rodrigo A. Medellin, (Instituto de Ecología, UNAM, Mexico): Zoonosis, coronavirus and bats (transfer of viruses from animals to humans and the other way round)
- William B. Karesh (EcoHealth Alliance, New York): One Health Concept
followed by country presentations by the Scottish, Italian and Austrian ENCA members.
We concluded, that viruses are essential and part of our lives, only a few are dangerous for humans. Pandemics can occur again at any time. At present, the focus of the problem is fear of economic impact and disaster management. Shift towards prevention and risk reduction is the order of the day. Taken as a whole, the climate and biodiversity crises must be seen as twins. Conservation of ecosystems and biodiversity are seen as the most important precautionary measures, with land use changes and our dietary habits in particular contributing significantly to both crises. Awareness raising, information and communication are essential to avoid misconduct and provide effective precautions.