Strasbourg, 06/09/2007 (Agence Europe) - At the eighth conference of the parties to the United Nations Convention on desertification that began in Madrid (COP 8, 3-14 September), the EU is expected to defend its united position, in strict cooperation with ACP partner countries (Africa/Caribbean/Pacific) to work for the adoption of a 10 year strategic action plan that enables a global problem, made worse by climate change, to be tackled effectively.
This is the key message of a European Parliament resolution adopted on 6 September in Strasbourg at the end of a debate that started with an oral question by Miroslav Ouzky, president of the environment committee, about the European Union objectives at this conference focusing on reform of a Convention signed in 1994. Desertification means the degradation of land in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid regions owing to a variety of factors, including climate and human changes. The resolution stresses that “this phenomenon therefore requires a global diagnostic and general programme implementation”.
The Parliament is calling on the EU to constructively engage in negotiations on the ten-year strategic plan, and calls for particular attention to be paid to making progress on the ground and in the local communities, as well as in implementation of synergies to help attain the Convention millennium development objectives and enhance decentralised capacities and the role of local actors, regarded as essential for implementing the Convention.
It recommends that before holding the next conference of the different parties, a conference is held to assess the implementation and effectiveness of the action plans in the most affected areas, particularly in Africa. Aware that the high level of soil degradation constitutes a major obstacle to the future development of countries affected, MEPs are asking for EU development policy to put more emphasis on this phenomenon and the evaluation of development aid requirements.
Concerned about insufficient funds for fighting desertification, the Parliament is calling on the EU to increase funding through flexible mechanisms established by the United Nations Framework Convention on climate change. It is also calling for reform of the Common Agricultural Policy to include the introduction of binding criteria on fighting desertification and soil erosion in regions affected in the EU and that a prevention and implementation policy are elaborated to help sustain people in rural areas. An amendment from the ALDE group is also appealing for global measures for forest care to reduce as much as possible the fire load of forests and the spread and velocity of fires, and points out that the recovered biomass could contribute to the economic feasibility of the initiative. The European Commission is being called on to look at the setting up of a drought observatory that would bring together different knowledge areas and propose measures for diminishing and reducing drought in Europe. The Parliament also reiterated its disappointment with the absence of regulation banning imports of illegal wood into the EU.
Speaking on behalf of the Commission, Joaquin Almunia expressed his delight that four MEPs were members of the delegation representing the EU in Madrid at the conference, which constitutes “an essential tool in sustainable soil use, the fight against poverty and famine” for which it will need to ensure practical implementation, as well as the coordination of fund raisers. According to Almunia, “adapting in order to optimise the efficiency of the work” is the conference's objective and the priority is adoption of the ten-year strategic plan.
The Portuguese presidency was thanked by MEPs for recently having put drought and water shortages at the heart of the political debate during the informal Lisbon Council (EUROPE 9493). It stressed the need for a balance between the demands of the Parliament and the conclusion of the Environment Council, which defined the EU's position by calls for: the elaboration of strategic plans; setting a limited number of priorities for implementation; increased civil society participation; improved communication; the creation of a Convention application monitoring mechanism; upgrade of progress indicators; sufficient funding for providing a coordinated response to the triple challenge of desertification, climate change and the decrease in biodiversity; the drawing of a link between the fight against poverty and the fight against desertification. This final concern is directly linked to attaining the millennium development objectives and was at the heart of the joint ACP/EU Council declaration on 25 May. (an)