1. Water and Marine Directors meeting Spa, 2-3 December 2010
Agenda point 5.2 Water/marine & biodiversity: Outcomes of the June workshop and proposed follow-up
Water and Marine Directors meeting
Spa, 2-3 December 2010
Dr. Ursula Schmedtje
WFD Team
DG Environment, European Commission

2. Nagoya Biodiversity Summit COP10 – 18-29 October 2010
The meeting adopted i.a. a new ten year Strategic Plan ( ) to guide efforts to reach the objectives of the CBD and also agreed a Strategy for Resource Mobilisation.
The headline of the mission of the Strategic Plan finally adopted is to take effective and urgent action to halt the loss of biodiversity in order to ensure that by 2020 ecosystems are resilient and continue to provide essential services, thereby securing the planet's variety of life, and contributing to human wellbeing, and poverty eradication.
The target for protected areas requires that at least 17% of terrestrial and inland water and 10% of coastal and marine areas are conserved “through effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative and well connected systems of protected areas... “.

3. Tools for reaching the objectives
Water plays an important role in reaching the biodiversity objectives.
40 % of Natura 2000 sites contain freshwater habitats, and many more terrestrial habitats are water-dependent.
70 % of protected habitats and species are aquatic or water-dependent.
The WFD contains clear obligations for Member States that support the achievement of the conservation objectives of the Birds and Habitats Directive. WFD good ecological status constitutes an important and quantifiable contribution to the biodiversity targets. A coherent implementation of WFD and BHD can therefore provide important synergies.
For the marine the MSFD constitutes the framework for the protection of the marine environment across Europe. Like the WFD, it contains provisions supporting the implementation of nature legislation in the marine.

4. CIS Activity on biodiversity and water
Water Directors’ Meeting in Brno in May 2009: recognised the need to better integrate the implementation of WFD and nature directives
idea to launch an activity on biodiversity and water
kick-off the activity with a workshop to exchange information
Coordination Group for Biodiversity and Nature discussed this idea and it was well received.
The activity was included in the CIS Workprogramme
Water and Marine Directors‘ Meeting in Segovia in May 2010: Marine experts were invited to participate and use this opportunity to start off the discussion on linkages between MSFD and both frameworks.

5. Workshop Biodiversity and Water – Links between WFD and nature legislation 17-18 June 2010
120 participants from MS, NGOs, stakeholders, universities, DG ENV
Joint organisation and participation of experts from water and nature administrations, and experts from the marine
Frequently Asked Questions Paper on the links between WFD and the Birds and the Habitats Directives
The workshop focussed on case studies addressing different aspects of integrated planning.
Key conclusions:
Good practice examples available but better cooperation needed between water and nature authorities
Extend FAQ paper to include water-dependent terrestrial ecosystems as well as the links between biodiversity and the MSFD.
Policy summary for agreement by Water and Nature Directors
Future workshops on dedicated themes

6. Activity Biodiversity and Water Proposal for follow-up
To create an expert network dealing with the links between the WFD/MSFD and the Birds and Habitats Directives
Tasks
exchange information e.g. on best practice examples, existing guidance documents, workshops
consult documents prepared under the CIS, e.g. the FAQ paper now under revision or the policy summary paper requested by workshop participants
prepare dedicated workshops. Meetings could be convened for workshop preparation based on voluntary participation.

7. The Water and Marine Directors are invited to
agree with the proposal to create an expert network of water, marine and nature experts as a follow-up in the frame of the ad-hoc activity 'Biodiversity and Water'.
agree to launch a call for nominations to Water, Marine and Nature Directors for nominating experts to this network.