The webinar “90 minutes for discovering the EU Overseas: BEST innovative & key partners of the EU Biodiversity strategy’’ took place on 29 September. Hosted by MEPs Ms. Sara Cerdas and Mr. Stephane Bijoux, it was co-organised by IUCN and EBCD.

Thanks a lot to those who joined this online event to making it a success! For those who could not make it or would like to watch it again, the recording and the presentations are available online.

The role of the European overseas as key players in the post-2020 European Biodiversity Framework was acknowledged during the discussions where the BEST Initiative was presented.

Humberto Delgado Rosa, Director for Natural Capital in DG Environment (European Commission) stressed that “BEST has helped to raise awareness about the ecological importance of the OCTs and also of the ORs for conserving global biodiversity. BEST has been very useful to show how investing in nature and biodiversity is very often a cost-effective way to mitigate climate change, to adapt to its impacts and also contributing to wider objectives and sustainability goals.”

Carla Montesi, Director for Planet and Prosperity in DG DEVCO (European Commission) emphasized that  “BEST is a key example of a successful scheme that has raised awareness, help to promote the EU environmental values and standards and provide incentives for the local actors to engage in environment actions. BEST has shown in practice how important it is to ensure the link between biodiversity conservation, climate change, sustainable land, sea management, and Disaster Risk Reduction.”