Final Feedback EU2030 Biodiversity strategy
Feedback reference
F502962
Submitted on
20 January 2020
Submitted by
Elle Merete Omma
User type
Non-governmental organisation (NGO)
Organisation
Saami Council
Organisation size
Micro (1 to 9 employees)
Transparency register number
823716030314-57 (http://ec.europa.eu/transparencyregister/public/consultation/displaylobbyist.do?id=823716030314-57&locale=en)
Country of origin
Norway
Initiative
EU 2030 Biodiversity Strategy (/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12096-EU-2030-Biodiversity-Strategy)
The Saami Council welcomes a strong EU commitment on safeguarding nature and biodiversity as a clean and healthy environment is a prerequisite for Sámi culture. The Arctic is one of the first areas to face climate change and its consequences. Indigenous peoples are seldom the cause of climate change yet we are the first to be impacted by climate change. Without a system that can support the Sámi people in tackling these challenges the culture is under serious threat. It is therefore of vital important that a renewed EU 2030 biodiversity reflects Sámi people rights to nature and culture. This will be line with the EU support of the adoption of UN Declaration of the Indigenous Peoples Rights (UNDRIP) and the EU Arctic strategy adopted in June 2016.
Further, a EU 2030 biodiversity strategy must also ensure recognition of Indigenous Knowledge and promote its use throughout the implementation the post-2020 biodiversity framework. By empowering indigenous knowledge holders as equal partners in securing biodiversity, local solutions are to easier identify.
In order to enable the implementation of the strategy adequate financial resources must be secured for indigenous peoples, including the Sámi people of the EU.