Activities of Margrete AUKEN related to 2019/2157(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the European Forest Strategy - The Way Forward
Amendments (42)
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas forests and other wooded land cover at least 43 % of the EU’s territory,1a and some Member States have more than half of their territories covered by forests and are heavily invested in forestry; are host to a significant part of Europe's terrestrial biodiversity; _________________ 1a https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/product s-eurostat-news/-/EDN-20190321-1
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas many aspects of forests and forestry are regulated under EU legislation such as the Birds and Habitats Directives, the Common Agricultural Policy, the LULUCF Regulation, the Renewable Energy Directive and the Timber Regulation;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas according to Article 4 of the TFEU, environment is a shared competence of the Union and its Member States; whereas, under TFEU Article 191, Union policy on the environment shall, inter alia, aim for a high level of protection; whereas the European Court of Justice has ruled that forests are part of EU's natural heritage and thus covered by Article 1911a; _________________ 1aSee CJEU C-164/97 and C-165/97, paragraph 16: https://eur- lex.europa.eu/legal- content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:61 997CJ0164&from=HR
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
Ac. whereas, according to the European Environment Agency's report on 'The European Environment - state and outlook 2020', long term trends in bird populations, including common forest birds, demonstrate that Europe has experienced a massive decline in biodiversity, of which intensive forest management is one of the drivers2a; whereas, according to the same report, Europe faces environmental challenges of unprecedented scale and urgency, and that urgent action is needed during the next 10 years to address the alarming rate of biodiversity loss, increasing impacts of climate change and the overconsumption of natural resources; _________________ 2aSee p83, https://www.eea.europa.eu/soer-2020/
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Recital A d (new)
Recital A d (new)
Ad. whereas, for the 2007-2012 period, Member States reported that only 26% of forest species and 15% of forest habitats of European interest, as listed in the Habitats Directive, were in 'favourable conservation status'3a ; _________________ 3aSee 2016 EEA report on 'European forest ecosystems -state and trends', https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/e uropean-forest-ecosystems, p14
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Recital A e (new)
Recital A e (new)
Ae. whereas the Commission’s 2018 report on progress of the implementation of the current EU Forest Strategy states that the implementation of the EU biodiversity policy remains a major challenge and that ‘reports on conservation of forest habitats and species show no improvement so far’;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Recital A f (new)
Recital A f (new)
Af. Whereas large trees and intact, older forests provide essential habitat that is missing from younger, managed forests and are essential stocks of carbon that cannot be replaced for at least 100-150 years if harvested; whereas old forests continue to remove and store carbon from the atmosphere, including through forest soil; whereas primary forests have almost disappeared in the EU;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Recital A g (new)
Recital A g (new)
Ag. Whereas continuous forest habitats, interconnected forest habitats and forest corridors are key to securing the survival of endangered flora and fauna as they lower the risk of isolation and provide space for bigger mammals in particular, who require larger areas of protected forests; Whereas these types of well-connected forests are among the most efficient ways of ensuring that species can travel and adapt to changing climatic conditions and temperatures;
Amendment 40 #
Draft opinion
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas Europe’s forests are of immense value in terms of climate mitigation, since they absorb and store 10 % of EU carbon emissions;; whereas forest ecosystems store around 10 % of Europe's greenhouse gas emissions4a; whereas there is potential to increase this capacity; _________________ 4aSee 2016 EEA report on 'European forest ecosystems -state and trends', https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/e uropean-forest-ecosystems, p17
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas in order to help tackle the biodiversity loss and climate crises, it is essential that forests are protected, restored and managed in such a way as to maximise their capacity for carbon storage and biodiversity protection; Whereas this is a win-win solution since growing existing forests to their maximum carbon storage potential whilst restoring previously degraded ecosystems and allowing organic material to decompose also protects biodiversity, soil, air, land, and water;
Amendment 55 #
Draft opinion
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas 'proforestation' is the practice of letting forests grow to their maximum ecological capacity to store carbon and to reach their full biodiversity potential;
Amendment 60 #
Draft opinion
Recital C c (new)
Recital C c (new)
Cc. whereas forests store more carbon dioxide per acre per year the older the trees get, throughout their entire lifetimes; whereas, on the contrary, managed plantations that are harvested periodically store less carbon because trees are maintained at a young age and size and because carbon is released from the soil when it is disturbed;
Amendment 64 #
Draft opinion
Recital C d (new)
Recital C d (new)
Cd. whereas plantations are often monocultures which contain less biodiversity than natural and semi- natural forests and are less resilient to climate change, thus leading to more carbon losses due to natural disturbances;
Amendment 66 #
Draft opinion
Recital C e (new)
Recital C e (new)
Ce. whereas types of cutting have different impacts on forests’ carbon dioxide storage capacities, soil quality and conservation status; whereas clear-cutting of large areas is the most damaging method, since it removes much of the organic matter and roots from the soil, causes the release of carbon stored in the soil (which is around 2.5 times as much as that stored in tree biomass) and significantly damages the complex structure of the forest and its dependent ecosystems;
Amendment 68 #
Draft opinion
Recital C f (new)
Recital C f (new)
Cf. whereas it has been estimated that coal-to-biomass projects which are currently underway in the EU would increase biomass consumption by 607 PJ per year and require approximately 2,700km2 of forest to be cut down every year while producing only 64 TWh of electricity, which is less than 2% of the EU’s electricity production 1a ; _________________ 1a https://ember- climate.org/project/playing-with-fire/
Amendment 70 #
Draft opinion
Recital C g (new)
Recital C g (new)
Cg. whereas use of wood as biomass for energy production creates higher emissions of CO2 per unit of energy than coal because of a lower energy density, the 'leak' of carbon through the biomass supply-chain and less efficient conversion of combustion heat to electricity; whereas the current EU Forestry strategy as well as the Renewable Energy Directive encourage the use of wood as biomass for energy production;
Amendment 72 #
Draft opinion
Recital C h (new)
Recital C h (new)
Ch. whereas data available on forests at EU level is incomplete and of varying quality, which hampers EU and Member State coordination of forest management and conservation;
Amendment 74 #
Draft opinion
Recital C i (new)
Recital C i (new)
Ci. whereas illegal logging is an ongoing and unresolved problem in some EU countries;
Amendment 75 #
Draft opinion
Recital C j (new)
Recital C j (new)
Cj. whereas nature in general and forests in particular are beneficial to people’s physical, mental and social well- being; whereas forests and woodlands in urban as well as rural areas provide restorative environments and can reduce stress, relieve mental illnesses, improve quality of life and offer opportunities for a wide variety of exercise activities; whereas forests are host to numerous cultural events and traditions and can also embody cultural and spiritual values for different communities and peoples;
Amendment 76 #
Draft opinion
Recital C k (new)
Recital C k (new)
Ck. whereas rampant deforestation is one of the factors that have created a 'perfect storm' for the spill over of diseases from wildlife to people 1a ; _________________ 1a https://ipbes.net/covid19stimulus
Amendment 77 #
Draft opinion
Recital C l (new)
Recital C l (new)
Cl. whereas the EU has a responsibility to ensure that our consumption patterns and imports from third countries do not contribute to deforestation or forest degradation, nor to the conversion or degradation of other natural ecosystems, in other parts of the world;
Amendment 78 #
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; 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 environm building on the biodiversity strategy and covering the whole forest cycle and promoting the many services that forests provide; stresses that the new forest strategy should be aligned with the objective of limiting global warming to under 1.5oC, as per the Paris Agreement; emphasises the need for clear prioritisation, with climate and biodiversity protection as central benefits of forests; underlinesand interconnected objectives, in line with the aims of the Eurgent need to prevent and manage natural disturbances; highlights that the forest strategy should not be subordinate to anopean Green Deal; Stresses that such an approach is essential in helping tackle the ecological crises but also in helping to ensure the long-term viability of ther sectoral strategy forestry sector;
Amendment 96 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Calls on the Commission to propose a binding target of protecting 30% of EU forests by 2030, with strict protection of all remaining primary and old growth forests;
Amendment 115 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses that according to scientific research, sustainably managedresilient, biodiverse and healthy forests have a higher CO2 absorption capacity than unmanagmonocultures and intensively harvested forests; urges, therefore, that the new forest strategy should promote sustainable forest management; recognises the positive impact of sustainable forest management on European forest biodiversitymore sustainable forest management methods; notes that forest protection and production do not necessarily act in contradiction, but can in fact, under certain approaches such as close-to-nature forestry, be complementary to one another;
Amendment 125 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Stresses that protection and proforestation, as well as reforestation and afforestation with location and environment appropriate tree species, should be the focus of the future EU Forestry strategy; Notes that close-to- nature management practices are the best able to achieve these goals;
Amendment 133 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Stresses the need to map and protect old growth forests in the EU; Notes that there is no EU definition of old growth forests and calls on the Commission to introduce a definition in the future EU Forestry Strategy; Calls on Member States to set aside forests so that they can become old growth;
Amendment 137 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)
Paragraph 2 c (new)
2c. Calls on the Commission to propose overarching legislation to ensure favourable ecological status by 2030 of EU ecosystems, including forests;
Amendment 138 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 d (new)
Paragraph 2 d (new)
2d. Recognises that climate change is altering the growth capacity of forests, and increasing the frequency and seriousness of drought, floods and fires as well as fostering the development of new pests and diseases which affect forests; notes that intact ecosystems have greater capability to overcome environmental stressors, including changes to climate, than degraded ones as they have inherent properties that enable them to maximize their adaptive capacity;
Amendment 140 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 e (new)
Paragraph 2 e (new)
2e. Acknowledges the crucial climate benefits of forests and highlights the need to increase CO2 storage in forests; Notes that, in line with the cascading approach enshrined in the current EU forest strategy, only leftovers at the end of the wood value chain should be used as biomass for substituting fossil-based heat production, and that harvested timber should be used for longer life-cycle products, such as in construction and furniture, in order to preserve the carbon storage;
Amendment 141 #
2f. Calls on the Commission to propose a further amendment of the Renewable Energy Directive so that burning forest wood would no longer be incentivised nor eligible for meeting Member States' renewable energy targets;
Amendment 142 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 g (new)
Paragraph 2 g (new)
2g. Highlights that large-scale intensive bioenergy plantations, including monocultures, and especially those replacing natural forests and subsistence farmland, have negative impacts on biodiversity;
Amendment 145 #
3. EmphasRecognises the important roleat forests can play in substituting fossil- baseda role in helping substitute less sustainable materials with biowood-based products; believeut insists that the new forestir crucial role in carbon storategy should reflect the importancege, biodiversity protection and the provision of othe role played by European forests and the EU’s circularr ecosystem services must also be taken into account; recognises the challenges and trade-offs resulting from the increasing demand of wood for materials, energy and the bio- economy in reaching climate neutrality by 2050 and that measures to this end should be included, which is in tension with the levels of harvesting deemed sustainable, and calls on the Commission to thoroughly address these challenges when preparing the new forest strategy;
Amendment 157 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Stresses the need to reduce the EU's consumption in general, and also of wood and wood-based products by promoting a more circular economy and prioritising the most efficient use of wood which allows for the locking-in of carbon over the long-term and minimises the generation of waste;
Amendment 164 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Calls for the new forest strategy to help ensure that forest management practices avoid any fragmentation of forest ecosystems into smaller parts, with a particular focus on primary forests, since many species including larger mammals rely on interconnected, intact forest habitats for survival; Calls for the forest strategy to prioritise the re- connection of already fragmented forests through the restoration of forest corridors appropriate to local conditions and biodiversity;
Amendment 178 #
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 andto, inter alia, forest ecosystems, biodiversity, carbon storage, wood-based products as well as genuinely sustainable forest management practices, including close-to-nature forestry; believes that EU funds for independent research should be further directed towards thiese areas; 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 184 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Notes that the current forest strategy failed to deliver on developing, objective and demonstrable EU sustainable forest management criteria; Regrets that, contrary to the commitment made in the 2013 EU Forest Strategy, the Commission and Member States satisfied themselves with a vague and non- operational definition of sustainable forest management (SFM), agreed on in the pan-European FOREST EUROPE process; Notes that this definition has been incorporated into national legislation and voluntary systems, such as forest certifications, in place in Member States and that it has not been able to prevent problematic and intensive forest management in the EU;
Amendment 193 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Calls on the Commission to incorporate close-to-nature forestry in the framework of SFM and to develop EU criteria with concrete benchmarks and thresholds on, for example, the amount of dead wood, the amount of forests managed in accordance with forest management and, in general, the use of low impact silviculture;
Amendment 224 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Notes that, despite the establishment of the Forest Information System of Europe, the available data on EU forests, and in particular on their ecological status is incomplete, difficult to aggregate and not backed by remote sensing; Calls for significant investment by the Commission and Member States in the further development of the Forest Information System for Europe and the implementation of a Pan-European remote sensing programme;
Amendment 233 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Recognises that almost all primary forests have been lost and expresses concern at illegal logging in the EU; recognises that not only are forests at threat, but that there has been violence towards forest rangers in connection with illegal logging; urges the Commission and the Member States to take urgent action on these issues through close monitoring and through the enforcement of existing EU laws and the introduction of new measures to prevent illegal logging, to hold those responsible to account, and to end the oppression of rangers;
Amendment 244 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Amendment 253 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 d (new)
Paragraph 5 d (new)
5d. Calls on the Commission and Member States to ensure full and effective implementation and enforcement of the Birds and Habitats Directives, including adequate management plans for Natura 2000 areas and to assess whether sufficient funds have been provided for the protection of forests in Natura 2000 areas;
Amendment 257 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 e (new)
Paragraph 5 e (new)
5e. Recalls its support for a European legal framework based on mandatory due diligence to regulate access to the Union market only to products and commodities that do not contribute to deforestation or forest degradation, nor to the conversion or degradation of other natural ecosystems; believes such framework should apply to all economic actors, including financial actors, both upstream and downstream of the supply chain, and should also ensure the absence of related human rights violations; urges the Commission to adopt such proposal without delay;