18 Amendments of Nils TORVALDS related to 2019/2157(INI)
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas forests and other wooded land cover at least 43 % of the EU’s territory, and some Member States have more than half of their territories covered by forests and are heavily invested in forestry; whereas forests in the EU has grown substantially between 1990-2015 as a result of afforestation, reforestation programmes and natural growth;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas forests and other wooded land cover at least 43 % of the EU’s territory, and some Member States have more than half of their territories covered by forests and are heavily invested in forestry; whereas about 60 % of EU forests are privately owned, most of which by small-scale owners with less than 3 ha of forest;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes that the European forest- based industries help decarbonise Europe by replacsubstituting CO2-intensive raw materials and fossil energy with forest- based alternatives; such as construction material, new innovative chemicals, plastics and textiles, biogas and biofuel, and therefore help in achievingus help reach the goals of the Paris Agreement and the European Green Deal;
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas more than 3 million people in the EU are employed by the EU forest sector, making it an important pillar of rural economies;
Amendment 38 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes that forest-based industry is a key driving force behind the circular bioeconomy; encourages the Member States to support recyclable and bio-based products through public procurement and investment support; highlights that first and foremost the sector needs stable and long term regulatory conditions to develop rather than short term support measures;
Amendment 42 #
Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas soil quality plays a crucial role in the provision of ecosystem services such as water filtration and storage and hence flood and drought protection, CO2- sequestration, biodiversity and the growth of biomass; whereas the improvement of soil quality, for instance in some regions by converting coniferous forest to permanent deciduous forest, is an economically challenging process that takes decades;
Amendment 82 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the decision from the Commission to introduce a new forest strategy; stresses the need for the forest strategy to fully observe the principle of subsidiarity and to respect the national competence for forest policies; emphasises, in this regard, the need for a holistic and consistent forest strategy that enhances the multifunctional role of forests and the forest-based sector in the EU and that promotes the far- reaching societal, economic and environmental benefits of forests and hence contributes to the achievement of the UN 2030 SDGs; underlines the urgent need to prevent and manage natural disturbances; highlights that the forest strategy should be consistent with other high level strategies, while it should not be subordinate to any other sectoral strategy;
Amendment 92 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Stresses the need for sustainable forest management, and the regional and economic importance of forests.; points out the important role that sustainable forest management has in the whole forest and bioeconomy value chain, especially in terms of providing sustainable raw materials to the sector;
Amendment 104 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Highlights that forests do have very different characteristics within the Union and therefore needs different policy and management approaches.
Amendment 110 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses that according to scientific research, sustainably managed forests have a higher CO2 absorption capacity than unmanaged forests; urges, therefore, that the new forest strategy should promote sustainable forest management; highlights the overall climate benefits stemming from forests and the forest-based value chain, namely fostered CO2- sequestration, carbon storage and substitution of fossil-based raw materials and energy; recognises the positive impact of sustainable forest management on European forest biodiversity; notes that forest protection and production do not act in contradiction, but can in fact be complementary to one another;
Amendment 119 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Stresses that under some circumstances there are trade-offs between protecting the climate and protecting biodiversity in the bio-economy sector and particularly in forestry, which plays a central role in the transition towards a climate-neutral economy; expresses its concern that this trade-off has not been sufficiently addressed in recent policy discussions; calls on all stakeholders to develop a coherent approach to bring together biodiversity protection and climate protection in a thriving forest-based sector and bio- economy;
Amendment 129 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. recalls that about 60 % of EU forests are privately owned and that about two-thirds of private forest owners own less than 3 ha of forest; stresses that all measures must duly take this into account and hence must be designed in a way that they are accessible to and can be practically implemented by small-scale forest owners; recalls that the Commission has identified administrative burden and forest ownership structure as limiting factors for the uptake of certain measures1a; _________________ 1a COM(2018) 811 final, p.3
Amendment 148 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Emphasises the important role forests can play in substituting fossil-based materials and energies with bio-based products; believes that the new forest strategy should reflect the importance of the role played by European forests and the EU’s circular bio- economy in reaching climate neutrality by 2050 and that measures to this end should be included; stresses that these measures should make use of the full potential of substitution- effects;
Amendment 155 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Takes note of the progress made on valuing ecosystem services under the Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES) initiative; stresses, however, that there currently is no adequate remuneration for the provision of ecosystem services such as the sequestration of CO2, fostering biodiversity or soil improvement and that foresters who focus on converting their forests accordingly currently might be managing their forests at a loss-making despite the provision of substantial ecosystem services; calls on the Commission and Member States to explore options to incentivize and remunerate climate-, biodiversity- and other ecosystem services appropriately in order to allow for an economically viable forest conversion;
Amendment 179 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes that research and technology have come a long way since the forest strategy was introduced in 2013; stresses the importance of encouraging further research in forestry and bio-based products, particularly regarding the substitution of fossil-based raw materials and energies, and believes that EU funds for research should be further directed towards this; stresses that more research and funding would make a positive contribution to climate change mitigation, sustainable economic growth and employment, especially in rural areas;
Amendment 189 #
4a. Calls for the continued funding for research in soils and their role in forests climate change resilience and adaption, biodiversity protection and enhancement as well as the provision of other ecosystem services;
Amendment 230 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Highlights the role of forests in increasing resilience towards adverse impacts from climate change; Points out the need for concrete and effective actions in climate adaptation strategies and plans, incorporating the synergies between mitigation and adaptation;
Amendment 237 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Expresses deep concern that in parts of the Union there is a lack of implementation of existing forestry related EU-legislation; calls on the Commission and Member States to fully implement existing legislation and strengthening the implementation of sustainable and active forest management;