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Mountain Biodiversity Day - About the event

 

One voice to protect Mountains, Wildlife and People in times of global change

Mountains, their biodiversity and the vital ecosystem services play a key role for the well-being of people worldwide. Mountain regions of the world, biodiverse and rich in cultural heritages, are strongly exposed to factors such as climate change, land use change and others that threaten their biodiversity and their potential to act as refugia for species. Therefore, mountain ecosystems need protection, whereas mountain regions offer multiple approaches for adaptation and for sustainable responses to climate change at the same time.

 

The virtual “Mountain Biodiversity Day” on 13 January 2021 served as a platform for discussions between experts and political representatives from mountain regions all over the world working in the field of mountain biodiversity. A global segment and an Alpine segment were linked with a segment on the Post-2020 process of the Convention on Biological Diversity, which aimed to bring forward joint messages, targeting the elevation of mountains within the global Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.

The Mountain Biodiversity Day was hosted by the outgoing French Presidency of the Alpine Convention in cooperation with the French Presidency of the EU-Strategy for the Alpine Region (EUSALP). The event was jointly coordinated by the Alpine Network of Protected Areas (ALPARC), the Permanent Secretariat of the Alpine Convention and the Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention as well as the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Short programme 

During the event, simultaneous translation was provided between French, German, Italian, Slovenian, English.

Find all the relevant resources, including presentations by the speakers, on the dedicated MBD Padlet!

The following background documents provide further context for the event:

Let us together raise awareness for mountain biodiversity, discuss common challenges for mountain regions and join forces for mountain biodiversity.

GLOBAL MOUNTAINS

hosted by: outgoing French Presidency of the Alpine Convention in cooperation with the French Presidency of EUSALP

organized by: outgoing French Presidency of the Alpine Convention, UNEP, Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention and ALPARC

Welcome & Introduction (9:00 – 9:20 CET)
  • Technical and logistical information
  • Outgoing French Presidency of the Alpine Convention and Presidency of the Carpathian Convention

Francesco Gaeta (Director of European and International Affairs/ French Ministry of the Ecological Transition)

Bożena Haczek (Head of Unit, Department of Nature Conservation, Ministry of Climate and Environment of Poland)

Moderation by Matthias Jurek & Musonda Mumba (United Nations Environment Programme)

Keynotes (9:20 - 9:40 CET)

Short poll with the audience

  • Keynote: Perspectives from the United Nations Environment Programme on the global agenda for the protection of mountain biodiversity

Bruno Pozzi (Director Europe Office, United Nations Environment Programme)

  • Keynote: The global agenda for the protection of biodiversity until 2050

Francis Meri Sabino Ogwal (National Environment Management Authority of Uganda, Co-Chair OEWG on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework)

  • Keynote: Mountain biological diversity, ecosystem services and mountain people in times of climate change: a perspective from the Eastern Himalayas

Dr. Nakul Chettri (Regional Programme Manager, Transboundary Landscape, ICIMOD)

Session 1: Mountains are rich – Biodiversity and local cultures (09:40 – 10:30 CET)

Word cloud with the audience

  • Video: “Capturing the Ghost” – Protection of snow leopards in Central Asia under UNEP’s Vanishing Treasures programme
  • Indirect and direct drivers of change of mountain biodiversity and ecosystem service supply

Prof. Dr. Markus Fischer (Chair of Scientific Steering Committee, Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment)

  • Increasing socio-ecological resilience of mountains

Adrienne Grêt-Regamey (Mountain Research Initiative Co-Principal Investigator, ETH Zürich)

  • The Hindu Kush Himalaya: A repository of biocultural diversity and global biodiversity hotspots

Srijana Joshi Rijal (Ecosystem Specialist, ICIMOD)

Coffee break I (10:30 - 10:45 CET)
Session 2: Mountains are exposed – Threats to biodiversity and mountain communities (10:45 – 11:35 CET)

Word cloud with the audience

  • Video on glacier loss on Kilimanjaro and with ice climber and UNEP Mountain Hero Will Gadd
  • Central Asian mountains: Climate change, endangered mountain species and human-wildlife conflict

Mirzo N. Mirzoev (Conservationist, Association of Nature Conservation Organizations of Tajikistan)

  • Andes: Threats of agrobiodiversity loss, climate action and food for health

Stef de Haan (Scientist Andean Food Systems & lead Andean Initiative, International Potato Center)

  • East Africa/Virunga: Conservation of mountain gorillas (under the perspective of land-use change, intensive agriculture, spreading of zoonotic diseases)

Pauliina Upla (Associate Programme Officer UN Environment Programme) & James Byamukama (Program Coordinator, Greater Virunga Transboundary Collaboration)

Session 3: Mountains offer opportunities - Means for conservation (11:35 – 12:00 CET)

Interview sessions together with the audience: Approaches, solutions and best practices to increase resilience towards threats in mountains (climate change, habitat loss etc.)

Interview 1: Tiger conservation, water scarcity and community-based action

Wildlife conservation and ecosystem-based adaptation in times of climate change under UNEP’s Vanishing Treasures programme in the Himalayas, Bhutan

Dr. Tshering Tempa (Director of the Bhutan Tiger Center under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests of the Royal Government of Bhutan)

Interview 2: Landscape connectivity and protected areas

Insights from projects on connectivity and Protected Areas management/ ConnectGREEN and Centralparks

Cristian Remus Papp (Project manager, WWF Romania) & Isidoro De Bortoli (Project manager, EURAC Research)

Coffee break II (12:00 – 12:15 CET)
Post-2020 SEGMENT (12:15 – 13:00 CET)

Elevating mountains: Joint message for the Post-2020 process of the Convention on Biological Diversity

Moderation: Musonda Mumba, Matthias Jurek and Chris Walzer

Panel:

  • Stéphanie Croguennec (Head of Department for Climate change and sustainable development, Ministry of the Ecological Transition, France, outgoing French Presidency of the Alpine Convention)
  • Gabriel Quijandria Acosta (Minister of Environment, Ministry of the Environment of Peru, CBD national focal point)
  • Bożena Haczek (Head of Unit, Ministry of Climate and Environment of Poland, CBD and Carpathian Convention national focal point, Polish Presidency of the Carpathian Convention)
  • Michaela Künzl (Bavarian State Ministry of the Environment, EUSALP AG7 leader – Green Infrastructure )
  • Paolo Angelini (Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea of Italy, Chair of Alpine Biodiversity Board )
  • Gabriele Obermayr (Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology of Austria, CBD national focal point )
  • Francis Meri Sabino Ogwal (National Environment Management Authority of Uganda, Co-Chair OEWG on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework)

Objectives:

  • Raise awareness for mountain ecosystem restoration
  • Highlight common challenges and opportunities
  • Join forces to accelerate action
  • Message for the Post-2020 process and main biodiversity-related events
LUNCH BREAK (13:00 - 14:00 CET)

ALPS

hosted by: outgoing French Presidency of the Alpine Convention in cooperation with the French Presidency of EUSALP

organized by: outgoing French Presidency of the Alpine Convention

Welcome and introduction (14:00 – 14:30 CET)
  • Outgoing French Presidency of the Alpine Convention

Stéphanie Croguennec (Head of Department for Climate Change and sustainable development, Directorate of European and International Affairs, Ministry of the Ecological Transition, France)

  • French Presidency of EUSALP

Christiane Barret (General delegate of the French EUSALP Presidency)

  • Alpine Convention / Permanent Secretariat

Alenka Smerkolj (Secretary General of the Alpine Convention)

Thematic opening (14:30 – 15:00 CET)
  • Key-note speech and moderation of thematic sessions – Alpine biodiversity and actual threats

Prof. Dr. Chris Walzer (Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology; University of Veterinary Medecine Vienna / Executive Director of Health at the Wildlife Conservation Society, New York / USA)

  • Management of biodiversity in daily practical work

Dr. Massimo Bocca (Director Mont Avic Nature Park, Aosta /I)

  • Video clip illustrating the cooperation between the Alps and the Carpathians in terms of ecological connectivity
Session 4: Alpine biodiversity, species and threats in times of global change (15:00 – 15:45 CET)
  • Alpine habitats and species – an outstanding but threatened world. Impacts of global change, adaptation strategies, wildlife management

Dr. Francesca Cagnacci (Edmund March Fondation, Trento / I)

  • Long term ecological research in the European Alps to uncover effects of Global change (especially climate change and biological invasions)

Prof. Dr. Ingolf Kühn (Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Halle / D)

Questions /Discussion

Coffee break III (15:45 – 16:00 CET)
Session 5: Alpine biodiversity – for the whole Alpine territory (16:00 – 16:45 CET)
  • Ecological connectivity in the Alps – a strategy to strengthen biodiversity for the whole Alpine space?

Dr. Ruedi Haller (Swiss National Park, Zernez / CH)

  • The use of forests as nature-based solution to better integrate protection of biodiversity, natural risks management and climate change mitigation in the Alps Cédric Conteau (National Agency for the cohesion of territories) & Sandrine Descotes-Genon (Region Auvergne Rhône-Alpes) & Cécile Cadet (Direction Coopération Euro-Méditerranéenne - Region Sud Provence-Alpes Côte d’Azur) / F

Questions /Discussion

Session 6: Strategies to protect Alpine biodiversity – an intergenerational challenge (16:45 – 17:15 CET)
  • Podium Discussion: Which key elements for international cooperation to ensure biodiversity protection for generations to come?

Participants:  

Bérangère Abba (State Secretary for Biodiversity, Ministry of the Ecological Transition, F)

Alenka Smerkolj (Secretary General of the Alpine Convention, SI /I nt)

Harald Egerer (Secretary General of the Carpathian Convention, A / Int)

Gudrun Bruckner (Young Professionals, Action Group 7, EUSALP, A)

Rachel Lühti (Young Professionals, Action Group 7, EUSALP, CH)

Paolo Angelini (Head of Alpine Biodiversity Board, Ministry of the Environment, I)

CONCLUSIONS OF THE MOUNTAIN BIODIVERSITY DAY (17:15 – 17:30 CET)

Bérangère Abba (State Secretary for Biodiversity, France)


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