Statement 1 : EU production and consumption patterns have a significant impact on global biodiversity.  The EU could aim at a zero net footprint outside the EU, as the most effective implementation of Target 6. This means development of a circular economy and constructive collaboration with economic sectors: agriculture, forestry (bio)energy production, fisheries, trade chains, and consumption. Traditional conservation alone will not be sufficient. ‘80% of the implementation needs to happen outside the conservation sector’.

Statement 2 : Conserving biodiversity and ecosystem services is directly linked and can contribute positively to global issues such as economic development, climate and energy policies, poverty alleviation, combatting desertification, improving water and food availability, and security and geo-politics issues. Climate change is developing faster, interacting with and exacerbating other threats to biodiversity, increasing the urgency for implementation of efficient, effective and integrated measures.

Statement 3 : EU Outermost Regions and Overseas Countries and Territories are situated in 5 global biodiversity hotspots. This means that EU can make a serious contribution to the global biodiversity targets through activities to support conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services in EU outermost regions and overseas territories.

Questions that concern all three statements:

1. How can we achieve the necessary mobilisation making best use of the biodiversity knowledge already available and trigger real action on the ground ?
2. What instruments do we have on national, EU and global level?