EBCD’s mission is to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of natural renewable resources including species and ecosystems both for their intrinsic and direct value to the benefit of humanity. EBCD’s statutes embrace the principles set out in the World Conservation Strategy (IUCN, UNEP, WWF, 1981), Agenda 21 and the Rio Declaration.

EBCD aims at:

  • Achieving a balance between the need to conserve nature and the need for economic growth.
  • Ensuring that conservation/management decisions are based on the best available scientific advice.
  • Ensuring that any utilisation of natural resources is sustainable, both biologically and socially.
  • Ensuring full stakeholder participation in decision making process, especially those directly affected by the policies in order to build consensus.
  • Raising awareness of the principles and problem solving methods for sustainable production, use and consumption.

Main activities

The Intergroup constitutes a cross-party, cross-committee and cross-sectoral platform for Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to learn, discuss and create policies in a balanced manner, making use of outside expertise and participation of stakeholders and the Presidency.The Intergroup meets regularly under each group – agriculture, forestry, fisheries, energy, transport and tourism, islands and overseas entities, cooperation and development, water, maritime affairs, Mediterranean and Arctic –, which has its own chair and agenda.

The Sustainable Use Specialist Group (SUSG) constitutes the IUCN’s main vehicle for promoting understanding of sustainable use. Its mission consists of promoting the conservation of biological diversity and alleviation of poverty. Since 1998, the European Sustainable Use Specialist Group (ESUSG) is providing input to the IUCN policy, particularly to the preparations of CBD, the IUCN Marine Programme, the World Conservation Congress as well as to the EU Common Fisheries Policy, the Common Agriculture Policy, and the Environment Policy etc.

Established in 1998, the Fisheries Working Group (FWG) of the ESUSG brings together fisheries and agriculture experts from all regions of Europe. The Group meets twice a year to analyse the European fisheries policy and management aspects, to provide recommendations to the IUCN Marine Programme and policy makers in the EU.

FEG is an Expert Group with global expertise on the Ecosystem Approach established to address the need for an ecosystem-focused expert group with fisheries competence within the Commission on Ecosystem Management of IUCN in relation to marine issues. It was established during the IUCN World Congress in Barcelona in 2008 under the Commission of Ecosystem Management (IUCN/CEM/FEG) at the initiative of EBCD and with the support of the IUCN Global Marine Program.

Its mission is to foster the sustainable development of fisheries and promote the conservation of related marine ecosystems. To fulfil this mission, the IUCN/CEM/FEG seeks to inform fisheries policy and related conservation strategies and propose management methods and tools.

  • Providing policy analysis as well as information on the functioning and procedures of EU institutions to governments, policy makers, users and managers worldwide.
  • Facilitating contacts with key policy-makers of the EU.
  • Organising seminars, workshops and conferences.