The Belgian Steering Committee 'Biodiversity Convention'

Monitoring implementation of the Convention from the Belgian perspective implies that a resource has been dedicated to ensuring the flow of information to/from COP via the CBD Secretariat occurs in a timely fashion. At national level, this suggests a wider network is involved in the process, including federal and regional authorities. This is coordinated by FPS Public Health.

Promoting and/or facilitating implementation of the CBD at Belgian level is coordinated by the National Focal Point. Hence, the NFP :

• represents Belgium at various meetings
• handles, circulate and answers CBD notifications
• reaches out to various stakeholder groups,
• promotes and/or facilitates biodiversity-related news and events from a federal and regional perspective,
• puts accessible reports, strategies and tools on its website, and more as detailed in the work program for “Communication, Education and Public Awareness”

The coordinating structures and the role of the Steering Committee

The conservation and sustainable use of nature and biodiversity conservation are essentially a competence of the three regions in Belgium. Some coordination at national level is therefore essential to undertake coherent national policy. The Coordinating Committee for International Environmental Policy (CCIEP) composed of representatives of federal and regional competent administrations, has been set up to provide coordinated action in response to European and international commitments. The CCIEP’s Office and the plenary meeting get together every month to perform their tasks. 

One of these thematic committees is the Steering Committee 'Biodiversity Convention', which deals specifically with all aspects linked to the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity. It holds several meetings per year, in function of the international and European agendas.

The Steering Committee 'Biodiversity Convention' is composed of members from agencies and ministries of the different political entities within Belgium as well as members from the civil society.

Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences Belgian National Focal Point to the CBD Contact: Hendrik Segers		FPS Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment Belgian NFP to the COP Contact: Ines Verleye
SPW Agriculture, Ressources Naturelles et Environnement Contact: Catherine Debruyne		Agentschap Natuur en Bos   Contact: Ute De Meyer
Belgian Biodiversity Platform Contact: Divija Jata		Brussels Environment Contact: Etienne Aulotte
FPS Foreign Affairs Contact: AnneMarie Van der Avort

Another thematic committee, the Steering Committee 'Nature' is more specifically in charge of the follow-up of other biodiversity-related conventions (Ramsar, CMS, CITES, Bern) and of the related EU policy.