It is time to build a global Green and Blue Belt: conservation in European Overseas Territories

Last month the blue whales returned, as they do every year, to the shores of my island La Réunion - a French and European island in the Indian Ocean. Every year, the whales offer us a breath-taking spectacle that illustrates all the power of nature.

Overseas Entities embody the richness of our planet's natural heritage. Together, the European Union’s Outermost Regions (ORs) and Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) are home to 80% of Europe's biodiversity: over 13,000 endemic species. But, as we know, the richer biodiversity is, the more precious it is. And as we can see, Overseas Entities are on the front line of the climate crisis.

The climate steamroller is heating up our oceans, bleaching our corals, flooding our mangroves and making our flora and fauna disappear. Environmental health and human health do not just coexist: they are deeply and intrinsically linked. When our nature is in danger, all humanity is threatened. So, it is imperative that we protect nature. Over the last 50 years, our planet has lost almost 70% of its vertebrate animal populations. These figures are staggering. They are a true SOS: an urgent call to action. We refuse to see our nature disappear. With the BEST initiative (Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in Territories of European overseas), this is the battle we have decided to fight.

When BEST was launched in 2010, it was only a preparatory action for the ORs and OCTs, with a limited budget of EUR 2 million. Today, BEST is an integral part of the major European environmental programme, LIFE, and its budget has been substantially reinforced. I would particularly like to pay tribute to the work of former MEP Maurice Ponga, who was enormously committed to this fight.

Since 2010, BEST has seen 100 projects supported by the European Union, 400 new Key Biodiversity Areas and ecological corridors identified, 1,700 species studied and 12 new species discovered.

Since its launch, BEST has had a tangible impact on the knowledge, promotion and preservation of biodiversity in the Overseas Entities. Since 2010, BEST has seen: 100 projects supported by the European Union, 400 new Key Biodiversity Areas and ecological corridors identified, 1,700 species studied and 12 new species discovered. BEST is, of course, about results, but it is also about the success of a method. In the field, it is the demonstration of the need to support project leaders who are committed to biodiversity. It is also the concrete expression of our commitment to co-constructing, with local stakeholders, solutions adapted to local contexts.

We cannot be content with what has already been achieved. We cannot slow down, because climate change never stops.

However, we cannot be content with what has already been achieved. We cannot slow down, because climate change never stops. On the contrary, it accelerates; so we must accelerate too. Everyone understands that we must continue to mobilise. Saying it is good; doing it is better. Together, we always choose action. In February 2023, the European Commission launched BESTLIFE 2030. This new stage of the initiative will see over 200 grants allocated across the ORs and OCTs, with a total budget of EUR 33 million until 2030. On the ground, IUCN will undoubtedly be a decisive partner in complementing local initiatives and supporting project leaders. This is the continuation of an ambitious and effective collaboration between the European Union and IUCN.

In my capacity of Co-Chair of the Islands and Overseas Entities Working Group within the European Parliament Intergroup on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development, I had the pleasure to co-host an event in the European Parliament on 7 June 2023. This was the opportunity to celebrate the results achieved by the BEST initiative so far, and to build the political mobilisation to ensure the success of BESTLIFE2030. Today, commitments have been made and we have the collective will to continue to act, both for our biodiversity and for Overseas Entities. We know that we need to set new ambitions. So how do we go about it? The time has come to accelerate the sharing of solutions and best practices, focusing in particular on cooperation and the integration of the ORs and OCTs.

Europe must build a Green and Blue Belt, to demonstrate that our Overseas Entities can offer local solutions to global environmental challenges.

I sincerely believe in the collective intelligence of shared solutions between territories. So today, BEST must go further. It must be more than a cooperation programme. BEST must become a true bridge linking the Overseas Entities all over the world. I am convinced that Europe must build a Green and Blue Belt for Overseas Entities, from the Pacific to the French and Dutch Antilles, via the Indian Ocean, Macaronesia and the Amazon; a Green and Blue Belt that will demonstrate that our Overseas Entities can offer local solutions to global environmental challenges.

Preserving our biodiversity and combating climate change are the challenges of our century. These challenges are immense, and we cannot address them alone, each in our own corner. To win this fundamental battle for the planet, we must unite, work together and gather our best efforts. I say it loud and clear: BEST needs the best of our cooperation to bring out the best of ourselves.