Brussels, 24/04/2008 (Agence Europe) - Determined commitment towards biodiversity from the EU, both internally and throughout the world, prudence with regard to biofuels, speed of action to protect marine and forest biodiversity, these are the watchwords of the European Parliament as two international meetings on biological diversity approach. In Strasbourg on 24 April, MEPs set out their expectations for the ninth conference of the parties to the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity (COP9 in Bonn, 19-31 May) and the fourth conference of the parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (MOP 4 in Bonn, 12-16 May). The resolution adopted by a strong majority (546 votes to 7, with 11 abstentions) follows on from oral questions to the Council and Commission on preparations for these meetings.
The Parliament said it was deeply concerned at the “continued loss of biodiversity and at the European Union's ever increasing ecological footprint, which extends the impact on biodiversity well beyond the borders of the European Union”. Consequently, it called on the Commission and member states to show leadership and conviction by agreeing to concrete measures in Bonn, and also acting domestically to curb loss of biodiversity in the EU by 2010 and by facilitating the application of these measures. The same applies to the credibility of the UN and the EU Conventions, MEPs said. Critical of the EU's lack of urgency in implement ting the Birds and Habitats directive in full, they said they were resolutely opposed to any attempt to weaken the protection offered.
Parliament called on the Commission and member states immediately to: - ensure that the COP 9 decisions were geared to implementing the programme on protected areas, and in particular the work programme on forest biological diversity; - play a leading role in negotiations to adopt a fair and equitable, legally binding international regime on access to and benefit sharing of genetic resources; - enhance synergies and links between the framework convention on climate change and the convention on biological diversity to maximise co-benefits with regard to the mitigation of climate change, biodiversity protection and sustainable human development; - ensure innovative financial and permanent financial mechanisms are adopted for protected areas and their network; - carry out an EU impact assessment on droughts and water scarcity caused by climate change and its effects on wildlife habitats; - ensure that COP 9 launches a discussion on common principles and criteria of good forest governance, agrees to launch negotiations on the creation of a global mechanism to combat illegal tree felling, and calls on all parties to adopt national legislation; - ensure that COP 9 recommends that parties take greater account of the impact of climate change on biodiversity; - encourage and support certification schemes for sustainable forest use; - ensure that COP 9 adopts the proposed scientific criteria for the identification of marine areas in need of protection and for representative networks of marine protected areas; - ensure that COP 9 encourages member states to begin talks on an UNCLOS implementing agreement for the protection of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction; - ensure that COP 9 adopts sustainability standards for the production of biomass for energy with a view to preventing the possible negative effects of increasing agrifuels production on biological diversity and on native and local communities. On this point the Parliament took up an amendment from the Greens/EFA which expressed MEPs' growing concern over agrifuels. “Their environmental cost is considerable both for forests and for agricultural land and every day we can further see the impact of their development on food resources,” said Anne-Marie Ferreira (PES, France) in the debate. No matter how hard Commission Vice-President Margot Wallström tried to point out that the European target of 10% biofuel use in transport by 2020was subject to very clear conditions and that the EU wanted sustainable biofuels which had no negative effect on the environment or impact on food productions, defiance won the day.
Parliament called on all parties to the framework convention on biodiversity to set up an international scientific committee on biological diversity to advise the Convention and to draw up a world map of the areas that must be protected. The EU is invited to play a leading role in having a wide-ranging and legally binding responsibility regime set up within the Carthagena protocol. (A.N.)