Activities of Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ related to 2019/2157(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
The European Forest Strategy - The Way Forward (debate)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the European Forest Strategy - The Way Forward
Amendments (43)
Amendment 1 #
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; half of the Natura 2000 network is made by forest areas, though this covers around 20% of the total forest surface of the EU. Forest areas are crucial for regulating the water cycle, absorbing CO2 and providing close-to-nature recreation possibilities.
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Underlines that there is no specific legal basis for a common EU forest policy; points out, however, future European Forest Strategy needs to be fully aligned with the European Green Deal and with an ambitious EU Biodiversity Strategy; adheres to the decision and recognition by the European Court of Justice1a of forest ecosystems as an inherent part of EU natural heritage on which the EU has competence to act, and thus respects both competences of Member States and the European Union; points out that many EU policies have an impact on forests and the forest- based sector and require coherence and stronger cross- sectoral coordination; _________________ 1aJudgment of the Court of 25 February 1999. European Parliament v Council of the European Union. Joined cases C- 164/97 and C-165/97, ECLI:EU:C:1999:99
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas forests are circular ecosystems founded on full recycling of matter and nutrients within, whereas any form of active management is based on exploitation of resources from this ecosystem, which inevitably and negatively affects its functioning, structure and biodiversity;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes that European forest-based industries can help decarbonise Europe by replacing CO2-intensive raw materials and fossil energy with forest-based alternatives such as sustainably produced biogas and biofuel, and therefore help in achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement and the European Green Deal; recognises, however, the challenges resulting from the increasing demand for wood including the degradation of critical wildlife habitat and carbon stored in forests and calls on the Commission to address these adequately in the future strategy while facilitating reaching climate neutrality by 2050;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas more than 3 million people in the EU are employed by the EU forest sector and these jobs are dependent on resilient forest ecosystems in the long- term;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas the global demand of authentic wild nature is growing, and public support for strict protection of forest ecosystems has increased significantly;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion
Recital B c (new)
Recital B c (new)
Bc. whereas illegal logging is ongoing also in the EU5a _________________ 5aexamples Romania, Sweden, Poland https://ec.europa.eu/environment/forests/p df/Briefing%20note%20May- June%202019_Final.pdf and https://ec.europa.eu/environment/forests/p df/Briefing_Note_April_- _May_2018_Public_version.pdf
Amendment 36 #
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 they store about 2.5 times more C in soils than in tree biomass 1a , highlights therefore the importance of complex forest ecosystems for the terrestrial carbon cycling in Europe; _________________ 1aBrunoDe Vos et al., Benchmark values for forest soil carbon stocks in Europe: Results from a large scale forest soil survey, Geoderma, Volumes 251–252, August 2015,Pages 33-46
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes that forest-based industry is a key driving force behind theRecognises the importance of sustainable forest-based industry for circular bioeconomy; encourages the Member States to support safe, sustainable and recyclable and, bio-based products through public procurement and investment support; notes, however, that it should lead to increase of forest carbon sinks not only in wood but also soils best achieved through non-intervention areas and sustainable forest management in managed forests;
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas high extinction rates of specialized forest species often observed in managed forests contradict the idea of sustainability of such management and calls into question the compatibility of active management and forest conservation for cases where full scale of forest biodiversity, and in particular the most threatened species, are the subject of conservation goals;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas European forests have a key role to play in flood management: 4.5 per cent of European forests are considered floodplain forests which have a significant role in water retention;
Amendment 49 #
Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas forests disturbed by fires and logging have seen soil loss as high as 26.6 per cent. This makes soil less fertile and decreases agricultural productivity in surrounding areas. The soil in mature forests stores significantly more carbon than soils from areas that have been clear-cut;
Amendment 51 #
Draft opinion
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
C b. whereas 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, whereas they sustain large-scale ecological processes, such as natural disturbance regimes, which maintain disturbance adapted species and evolutionary lineages that are uniquely adapted to survive major seasonal temperature changes and landscape-level disturbances over time, such as large fires and insect infestations2a; _________________ 2aJames E. Watson et al, 2018: The exceptional value of intact forest ecosystems. In Nature Ecology& Evolution
Amendment 52 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Encourages the sustainable use of wood as an environmentally friendly raw material; underlines that wood-based products and wood construction can provide an effective way of increasing carbon storage;
Amendment 53 #
Draft opinion
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas diverse natural ecosystems are an insurance policy against climate change. Scientists have found that forests with many tree species grow at a faster rate, store more carbon and are more resistant to pests and diseases;
Amendment 53 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Acknowledges the occurrence of illegal logging and recognises that almost all primary old growth forest has been lost; urges the Commission to act on both accounts and protect the remaining old growth forest; regrets the decline in forest biodiversity as stated in the State of Nature 2020 for Europe; calls on Commission and Member States to act and enforce the Birds and Habitats Directives to reverse this trend;
Amendment 59 #
Draft opinion
Recital C c (new)
Recital C c (new)
Cc. whereas the provisions of the LULUCF Regulation3a recognize that a carbon pool of deadwood in the forest is analogous to the long-lived harvested wood products as its carbon does not undergo instantaneous oxidisation, whereas deadwood constitutes crucial microhabitats on which number of species, including protected species, are dependent; _________________ 3aRegulation (EU) 2018/841 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018
Amendment 65 #
Draft opinion
Recital C d (new)
Recital C d (new)
Cd. whereas forests are part of EU natural capital, on which the EU has competence to act 1a ; _________________ 1aTFEU Art 191 , such legal interpretation confirmed by court judgement of Joined Cases C-164/97 and C-165/97
Amendment 67 #
Draft opinion
Recital C e (new)
Recital C e (new)
Ce. whereas in order to preserve the full scale of forest biodiversity and functionality, together with the need for mitigation of and adaptation to climate change, a proportion of forest areas to be set aside any form of active human intervention is crucially needed;
Amendment 69 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses that there is a continued need for sustained support for forest- related research and innovation throughout the forest value chain, including safe wood- based products to be used as plastic substitute packaging materials, smart and clothing fibres and medicines; stresses that the prioritisation of wood-based alternatives must take into account the whole life cycle of products and their environmental performance;
Amendment 75 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls for adequate funding for Horizon Europe and for the strengthening of links between research, industry and society through specific instruments such as European Partnerships; believes that research in forestry and forest restoration has potential to deliver positive results in terms of climate change mitigation, growth of sustainable businesses, employment, maintaining long-term forest health and biodiversity protection;
Amendment 79 #
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 subsidiarityrecognize both competences of EU member states and the European Union in the area of protection of forests; emphasises, in this regard, the need for a holistic and consistent forest sStrategy 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; underlines the urgent need to prevent and managunderstand and manage accordingly the natural disturbances; highlights that the forest strategy should not be subordinate to any other sectoral strategybe built on an EU Biodiversity Strategy as laid down in the European Green Deal Communication;
Amendment 84 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Notes work under the EU Action Plan on Financing Sustainable Growth1a including EU taxonomy for sustainable activities, in the area of forestry and other economic activities related to forests; _________________ 1a Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Central Bank, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: Action Plan: Financing Sustainable Growth (COM/2018/097 final)
Amendment 94 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Stresses the need forto apply non- intervention principle in a certain proportion of European forest areas arising from climate and biodiversity crisis, to replace intensive management practices by long-term sustainable forest management, and the regional, environmental, social, cultural and economic importance of forests.
Amendment 109 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses that according to scientific research, sustainably managed forests6a there is a reduction in forest carbon stocks as a result of increased wood harve a higher CO2 absorption capacity than unmanaged forestssting, and the long periods required (decades to centuries) before the initial increase in emissions is reabsorbed.; urges, therefore, that the new forest strategy should promote sustainable forest management; recognises the positive impact of sustainable forest management, in particular non-intervention management, on European forest biodiversity; notes that forest protection and production do notcan act in contradiction, but canould in fact be complementary to one another;atible with one another and have positive result also for climate when principles of nature-based solutions are adopted7a; _________________ 6aEuropean Academies Science Advisory Council, February 2019: Forest bioenergy, carbon capture and storage, and carbon dioxide removal: an update 7aEEA, December 2019: The European environment - state and outlook 2020
Amendment 127 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Stresses that according to research4a old-growth forests and forest grew old continue to accumulate carbon, contrary to the view that they are carbon neutral or even sources of CO2; _________________ 4a S.Luyssaert et al., 2008: Old-growth forests as global carbon sinks. In Nature
Amendment 131 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Reiterates the fact that conservation of high-carbon ecosystems, including forests, represents a response option with immediate impact on climate change, unlike afforestation, reforestation and restoration which take more time to deliver8a, calls for policy actions in the EU to be guided by this principle; _________________ 8aIPCC, 2019: Climate Change and Land Report-Summary for Policymakers
Amendment 136 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)
Paragraph 2 c (new)
2c. Stresses that the continuing decline in biodiversity has had negative consequences for the delivery of many ecosystem services over the last decades, whereas these declines have occurred in part because of the intensive agriculture and forestry practices, whereas the continuing decline in regulating services can have detrimental consequences for quality of life 12a; _________________ 12aIPBES(2018): Summary for policymakers of the regional assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services for Europe and Central Asia of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and EcosystemServices. M. Fischer, M. Rounsevell, A. Torre-Marin Rando, A. Mader, A. Church,M. Elbakidze, V. Elias, T. Hahn. P.A. Harrison, J. Hauck, B. Martín-López, I. Ring,C. Sandström, I. Sousa Pinto, P. Visconti, N.E. Zimmermann and M. Christie(eds.). IPBES secretariat, Bonn, Germany. available at: https://ipbes.net/sites/default/files/ipbes_6 _15_add.4_eca_english.pdf
Amendment 153 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Emphasises the important role forests can play in substituting to some extent fossil- based materials 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;
Amendment 158 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Recalls the letter of more than 700 scientists calling for a scientifically-sound revision of the Renewable Energy Directive, in particular excluding certain types of woody biomass from counting towards the target and from the eligibility to receive support;
Amendment 162 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Amendment 168 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Amendment 171 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 d (new)
Paragraph 3 d (new)
3d. Stresses particular importance of the Carpathian region and notes that EU accession to Carpathian convention would be of relevance to provide support to the region which holds irreplaceable natural values in continental Europe;
Amendment 173 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 f (new)
Paragraph 3 f (new)
3f. Highlights the value and the potential of newly established and traditional extensive agroforestry systems for agricultural production, diversification, including for the purpose of bioeconomy, carbon sequestration, prevention of desertification and potential to decrease pressure on forest ecosystems; regrets that the rules of the reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy have systematically led to their degradation and in many cases have hampered their restoration, regeneration and rejuvenation; notes with concern the current large-scale die-off of iconic Mediterranean high-nature value agroforestry system and urgently calls for change of the rules in order to facilitate regeneration and restoration of existing agroforestry systems, and establishment of new ones;
Amendment 186 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Calls for the introduction of a coordinated electronic timber tracking and tracing system and for support for the development of automated tools for the timber circulation analysis and monitoring at all stages of its transformation and integration with related government and commercial record keeping, reporting, permits issuance, agreements registration systems;
Amendment 209 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Expresses its concern over the health condition and resilience of forests in many parts of Europe; highlights the need to strengthen and make full use of EU mechanisms to tackle the transboundary pressures, including those man-induced, on forests from the spread of invasive alien species, pests, and diseases, excessive or illegal logging.
Amendment 225 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Notes that accomplishing a unified information system on EU forests is a long-lasting, and not fully achieved endeavour up to now. Stresses that for addressing present data gaps, synergies between authorities and relevant organizations need to be sought, going beyond project-bound limitations. This includes data availability, harmonized methodologies as well as supporting financial and capacity resources;
Amendment 232 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Calls for strict protection of EU's primary and old-growth forests as part of the EU Forest Strategy;
Amendment 239 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Notes that the implementation of adapted forest management plans takes place on Member State level and requires increased cooperation between forest and environmental authorities, NGOs, the local communities and forest owners;
Amendment 251 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5c. Highlights the importance of the environmental defenders in common efforts to protect and restore EU forest. We call for zero tolerance on attacks or harassment against them;
Amendment 254 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 d (new)
Paragraph 5 d (new)
5d. Stresses the need for the European Union to do more to stop the clear-cutting and illegal logging and enforce EU rules that prohibit the degradation of old- growth forests. Highlights the need for EU to follow through on the illegal logging cases through organisms such EPPO or OLAF;
Amendment 259 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 e (new)
Paragraph 5 e (new)
5e. Stresses that tree planting schemes must be an adjunct to restoring natural forests as the wrong tree in the wrong place can intensify forest fires and actually release more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Notes that forest- restoration schemes must increase their carbon sequestration potential to meet global climate commitments;