Brussels, 20/04/2016 (Agence Europe) - The health check on the habitats and birds directives, expected from the Commission in the coming weeks may be a source of concern, but nothing has yet been decided, stated European Environment Commissioner Karmenu Vella on Monday 18 April, seeking to allay fears.
The health check will be debated at the Conference on Future-Proof Nature Policy that the Dutch Presidency will hold at the end of its term of office (Amsterdam, 27-29 June). The concrete initiatives will come later, Vella told the European Parliament environment committee during their annual exchange on the appraisal and implementation of the Commission's work programme. The exercise is not yet completed, he said, adding: “I do not intend to lower the objectives”.
The public consultation has raised a record level of interest among citizens, said the commissioner, stating that more responses had been received than on TTIP. “The health check will help us understand what is working and what is not”, he added, aware that the European Parliament, EU environment ministers and civil society do not want the Commission to tamper with these two directives which have proved very effective.
Vella himself said he was persuaded that “the natural capital that is biodiversity is a resource in itself”, a precious asset that must be maintained to contribute to the greening of the economy - one of the priorities on which the commissioner is focussing.
Increasing NGO mobilisation. No matter the assurances that the Commissioner may give, environmental and nature NGOs are preparing to man the barricades to defend these key pieces of legislation for nature conservation in Europe. WWF, the prime mover in the Nature Alert campaign which has been supported by half a million people, announced on 19 April that, in May, it would launch a new online campaign in all member states to encourage them to oppose Commission plans to amend the two directives. The new campaign will focus on the benefits that nature brings - including to public health.
The NGO BirdLife and its partners recently published a report entitled “From Nature Alert to Action” which pre-empts the health check on the directives, showing that these pieces of legislation would have a greater effect if they were properly implemented. “The Nature directives are fit for purpose but problems with implementation, investment and policy integration are hindering realising their objectives and full benefits”, said Ariel Brunner of BirdLife Europe. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)