1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,000
This huge container ship has just arrived in the port of Le Havre from the Caribbean.

2
00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:10,000
Le Havre is the busiest container port in France, a major hub for world trade.

3
00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:13,000
To deal with the ever-growing volume of shipping,

4
00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:17,000
the first phase of a huge port expansion has just been completed.

5
00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:21,000
The first six berths of Port 2000 cost more than a billion euro.

6
00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:26,000
Now the giants of the world's container fleet can dock here.

7
00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:29,000
The port of Le Havre is situated at the mouth of the river Seine,

8
00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:33,000
and the Seine estuary is also an exceptional area of natural beauty,

9
00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:36,000
with its water meadows, reed beds and mudflats,

10
00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:40,000
all home to a wide variety of rare plant and animal life.

11
00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:01,000
There was no doubt that such a huge port expansion

12
00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:04,000
was going to have a dramatic impact on the environment,

13
00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:08,000
not least the destruction of important breeding and resting areas for birds,

14
00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:13,000
but also damage to biodiversity, the whole natural system.

15
00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:35,000
In a period of just four months, the port organised more than 40 public meetings

16
00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:39,000
and a remarkable working relationship developed with environmentalists.

17
00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:43,000
46 million euro was set aside, and plans agreed for a number of schemes

18
00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:48,000
to compensate for the environmental damage the port expansion was going to cause.

19
00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:04,000
Before any work on the port began, the environmental projects were launched.

20
00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:24,000
A small island was constructed as a new resting place for seabirds in the south of the estuary.

21
00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:29,000
Half a million tonnes of gravel were shipped over to build the bean-shaped island,

22
00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:33,000
and a second bird resting area was created in the sand dunes on the shore

23
00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:37,000
to replace a zone being taken over by the new port.

24
00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:42,000
Environmentalists took a careful inventory of marine plant and bird species.

25
00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:46,000
Important species such as sea kale, protected plants in France,

26
00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:52,000
were moved from the area to be developed and replanted on a newly created ecological beach.

27
00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:57,000
Rather bleak looking shingle in the shadow of petrol storage tanks,

28
00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:01,000
but rich in microscopic creatures to feed seabirds,

29
00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:04,000
and where no human is allowed to set foot.

30
00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:08,000
For now, we are at the beginning, because the conservatory has done transplantation

31
00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:11,000
at the level of roots, seeds and plants.

32
00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:14,000
We have to leave a little time for Charlin Teers to set up,

33
00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:19,000
and then at the beach to be able to find a certain natural profile.

34
00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:23,000
The port of Le Havre spent 23 million euro on a huge project

35
00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:27,000
to restore the mudflats in the Seine estuary upstream from the port.

36
00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:31,000
Mudflats are a vital part of the ecosystem, home to plankton and algae,

37
00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:34,000
all food for fish and birds.

38
00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:37,000
A complex engineering plan altered river levels and currents

39
00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:42,000
to keep water flowing onto the mud, and to keep the living system alive.

40
00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:46,000
Now the whole of the surrounding estuary has been given protected status

41
00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:50,000
as part of the EU's Natura 2000 network.

42
00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:54,000
The success of the partnership with the port surprised everyone.

43
00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:06,000
The partnership with the Port of Le Havre was really enriching.

44
00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:11,000
I think that today they have made great efforts

45
00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:16,000
in terms of their logic in terms of the preservation of the environment and the species.

46
00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:19,000
Once the environmental measures were well underway,

47
00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:22,000
the massive construction work on the port could begin.

48
00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:25,000
In the past, too few industrial developments in Europe

49
00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:28,000
have given sufficient consideration to the environment,

50
00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:31,000
particularly the impact on nature and biodiversity.

51
00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:34,000
The loss of one species can lead to the loss of another.

52
00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:37,000
There's a human cause and a human effect.

53
00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:41,000
The population of the planet is now at its highest level ever.

54
00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:44,000
We're now 6.5 billion people,

55
00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:48,000
and those 6.5 billion people are squeezing out nature.

56
00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:50,000
Let's put it as simply as that.

57
00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:54,000
The roll call of damage to Europe's biodiversity is astounding.

58
00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:57,000
42% of native mammals are threatened with extinction,

59
00:04:57,000 --> 00:04:59,000
45% of butterflies,

60
00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:01,000
45% of reptiles,

61
00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:03,000
30% of amphibians,

62
00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:06,000
52% of freshwater fish.

63
00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:10,000
Most marine fish stocks are below safe biological limits.

64
00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:12,000
In 2001 in Gothenburg,

65
00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:18,000
Europe's heads of government pledged to halt the decline of biodiversity by 2010.

66
00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:22,000
But on current progress, there's a risk that might not be met.

67
00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:25,000
But if we continue losing out

68
00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:31,000
at the rate by which we are losing biodiversity,

69
00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:36,000
we are going to lose out on our future

70
00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:40,000
and that of the planet and the future generations.

71
00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:45,000
We need to take measures immediately

72
00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:48,000
and in a determined way.

73
00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:52,000
The EU already has a raft of legislation on air and water,

74
00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:54,000
birds and habitats directives.

75
00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:58,000
Conserving biodiversity is already integrated into a large number of policies,

76
00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:01,000
including the Lisbon Growth Strategy.

77
00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:06,000
But the European Commission is now launching a new action plan to 2010 and beyond,

78
00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:10,000
which sets targets to underline the urgency of the situation

79
00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:14,000
and the need for closer partnerships with national governments.

80
00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:19,000
The first priority, safeguarding the EU's most important habitats and species

81
00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:25,000
by making the Natura 2000 protection network fully operational by 2010

82
00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:30,000
and extending the network to the marine environment by 2012.

83
00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:36,000
Priority number two looks at supporting biodiversity worldwide.

84
00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:41,000
For instance, halting imports of wood products which encourage deforestation.

85
00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:48,000
The aim, to significantly reduce the impact of EU trade on the ecosystem by 2010.

86
00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:53,000
The third priority sets a target of 2013

87
00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:56,000
to limit the impact of global warming on biodiversity.

88
00:06:56,000 --> 00:07:01,000
Protection of the ecosystem can help limit greenhouse gas concentrations

89
00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:04,000
as forests and peatlands store carbon.

90
00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:07,000
And the final priority is all about boosting research

91
00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:13,000
to achieve greater understanding of biodiversity in the ecosystem by 2013.

92
00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:18,000
All experts know disregarding biodiversity has a high price.

93
00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:21,000
This is not just about saving beautiful countryside.

94
00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:26,000
Biodiversity is the basis of much of our economy and livelihoods.

95
00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:31,000
If you take the collapse of the fisheries off the Grand Banks of Canada,

96
00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:33,000
eastern Canada,

97
00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:38,000
thousands and thousands of jobs were lost because the fishing industry collapsed.

98
00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:41,000
Billions of dollars had to be put into those areas

99
00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:44,000
just to keep the communities in any way living.

100
00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:48,000
It's a very expensive operation to try and save

101
00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:52,000
when nature disappears and when whole industries collapse.

102
00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:57,000
Back in Le Havre, the new Port 2000 expansion has been inaugurated.

103
00:07:57,000 --> 00:08:01,000
The EU contributed more than 50 million euro to the building of the port.

104
00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:03,000
Under its new action plan,

105
00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:08,000
the European Commission wants to ensure European funding only goes to projects like this,

106
00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:10,000
which also care for the environment.

107
00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:13,000
It's clear to everyone that this is the future.

108
00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:35,000
The success of the cooperation in Le Havre

109
00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:40,000
demonstrates that economic and environmental prosperity can go hand in hand

110
00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:45,000
to safeguard Europe's biodiversity and everyone's future.