25 September 2012: The 11th plenary session of the ENCA provided leaders of Europe’s Nature Conservation Agencies the opportunity to reflect on biodiversity challenges and the benefits of nature conservation.

The ENCA plenary was addressed by European Commissioner for the Environment Janez Potočnik, who highlighted that biodiversity should be at the center of the Europe 2020 economic strategy and the recently launched Roadmap on Resource Efficiency.

Potočnik emphasized the benefits of conservation, such as through the Natura 2000 network, noting the estimated value of Natura 2000 benefits including water quality improvements and carbon sequestration is €200-200 billion. In areas outside of conservation networks, Potočnik called for using the ecosystem service approach to ensure biodiversity is properly accounted for. [EU Press Release]