Dr. Klaus Hennenberg, Uwe R. Fritsche Energy & Climate Division

1. Expert meeting on biodiversity standards and strategies for sustainable cultivation of biomass for non-food purposes 12-15 March 2008, Isle of Vilm, Germany Brief Input on Biodiversity and Land Use (Working Group 1) Dr. Klaus Hennenberg, Uwe R. Fritsche Energy & Climate Division Öko-Institut e.V. (Institute for applied Ecology), Darmstadt Office

2. Main Threats to Biodiversity • Most prominent: Loss of habitats due to direct and indirect land-use change • Other Factors: Habitat fragmentation and isolation, land-use intensification and overexploitation, species invasions as well as impacts of climate change 2010 target of CBD (2002): significant reduction of the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010. Protection of biodiversity requires systematic planning strategies for managing landscapes (production + protection).  CBD-instruments: Ecosystem Approach, Programmes of Work on Protected Areas, on Agricultural and Forest Biodiversity, …

3. Risk Mitigation Strategy Bioenergy production – as an additional land-use form – bears the risk to enhance the unsustainable use of natural resources, and especially biodiversity. A risk mitigation strategy should achieve a strong reduction of additional pressure on biodiversity by bioenergy production.  Keep negative effects of bioenergy production out of areas potentially needed for the protection of biodiversity within systematic conservation planning Key issues are: • Protection of natural habitats (PA, HCV, …) • Use of residuals and wastes • Biomass production in prior areas (degraded, abandoned land) • Sustainable cultivation of biomass

4. Unused land Used land Areas of High Natural Conservation Value (HNCV) Protected Areas (PA) Degraded land and abandoned farmland • areas characterized by a significant natural conservation value (biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, etc.) • though worth to be protected currently have no conservation status • no internationally accepted definition • degraded land: former suitable land, not any more used e.g., for agriculture • degraded land still has the potential to be restored by adequate measures • abandoned farmland: former agriculture land, but unused due to economical or political reasons • ...prior areas for biomass production to reduce land competition… • protection and maintenance of biodiversity, agrobiodiversity, and of natural and associated cultural resources • managed through legal or other effective means Global Land Categories

5. Suggested Framework

6. HCV (Areas of High Conservation Value) • HCV are the “matrix”for priority setting (e.g. Key Biodiversity Area Concept and Protected Area Network Planning) • HCV address not exclusively biodiversity • Global databases on biodiversity may be useful start to identify HCV. § 3 German Biofuels Sustainability Ordinance (BioNachV)…globally or nationally significant accumulation of …biological diversity …rare, threatened or endangered ecosystems……fundamental protective functions. High nature value farmland: ...comprises the core areas of biological diversity in agricultural landscapes (extensive farming practices… high species and habitat diversity…species of conservation concern) (EEA 2005). High Conservation Value Forests (HCVF): (1)…significant concentrations of biodiversity values… (2)…viable populations of…naturally occurring species… (3)…rare, threatened or endangered ecosystems. (4)…basic services… (5)…basic needs of local communities… (6)…traditional cultural identity… (FSC 2000) BUT: • Internationally accepted definition of the term HCV is absent • Clear indicators are needed • Many global and even local data are to coarse in resolution (small-scale habitats) • Specification necessary within ecological meaningful units • A habitat currently not considered as HCV may become HCV due to loss of areas of this habitat (monitoring/up-data or systematic planning?)

7. Indirect land-use change caused by displacement Classical crops (food, fodder, fiber) Crops for bioenergy …Indirect Land-Use Change Not Tackled! Classical crops (food, fodder, fiber)

8. Towards Recommendation for CBD-COP 9 …Preparation of a risk mitigation strategy to protect biodiversity from negative effects caused by bioenergy production …Initiation of a program of work to define HCV and their respective indicators …Setting up spatial datasets (GIS) to identify and to map PA and HCV as well as land use restrictions(As a first step conservative global “default maps” for categories?) …Initiation of pilot applications for specification on a national scale …Extending the risk mitigation strategy to other land-use forms to tackle negative effects from indirect land-use change due to displacement

9. Thank You for Attention…

10. Definitions Biological diversity (=biodiversity) (CBD, article 2) • variability among living organisms from all sources • including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part • this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems. Agricultural biodiversity (=agrobiodiversity) (FAO/CBD Workshop 1998) • variety and variability of animals, plants and micro-organisms which are necessary to sustain key functions of the agro-ecosystem its structure and processes for, and in support of, food production and food security. • The term agricultural biodiversity encompasses within-species, species and ecosystem diversity.

11. Global Land Categories Protected Areas • Instrument to protect natural resources including biodiversity (IUCN, WCMC, CBD) • Cornerstones of regional conservation strategies • Represent the biodiversity of each region • Separate this biodiversity from processes that threaten its persistence • International Databases: World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA), UN List of Protected Areas Definition of Protected Areas IUCN:Protected Areas are areas “of land and/or sea especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biodiversity, and of natural and associated cultural resources, and managed through legal or other effective means”. CBD: Protected Area as “a geographically defined area that is designated or regulated and managed to achieve specific conservation objectives”. BUT: • Strategies for managing whole landscapes (production + protection) are needed for the protection of biodiversity. • Large number species, ecosystems and ecological processes are not yet adequately protected (gap analysis)