Activities of Paolo DE CASTRO related to 2019/2157(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
The European Forest Strategy - The Way Forward (debate)
Amendments (62)
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 a (new)
Citation 5 a (new)
— having regard to Regulation No 1143/2014 of the EP and the Council on the prevention and management of the introduction and spread of invasive alien species and the consecutive Implementing regulations with updates of the List of invasive species, among which also tree species,
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 a (new)
Citation 16 a (new)
— having regard to the responsibilities of the EU States under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD),
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union makes no reference to a common EU forest policy, and responsibility for forests lies with the Member States, but whereas the EU has a long history of contributing, through its policies, some of which already have implications on the Member States' forestry policies, to sustainable forest management (SFM) and the Member States’ decisions on forests;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas approximately 40% of EU's forests are publicly owned, Member States are obliged to set an example for sustainable forest management in their publicly owned forests for the public good;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
Bb. whereas European forests absorb and store approximately 10% of EU carbon emissions, contributing thus to climate change mitigation efforts;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas forests and the entire forest-based value chain are fundamental to the further development of the circular bioeconomy as they provide jobs, ensure economic welfare in rural and urban areas, deliver climate change mitigation and adaptation services, offer health-related benefits, and protect the biodiversity and prospects of mountainous and rural areas and combat desertification;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas riverside forests have a very important role to play being natural protection against increase of water level during floods, but also in terms of preserving humidity in a situation of rising global temperature; whereas they play a key role in preserving biodiversity, but also tend to absorb among others agricultural mineral residues through the groundwater, thus limiting the expose of rivers to polluting factors; whereas in some member states there have been some regional projects of replanting riverside forests at least several meters from the river shore;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas properly funded high- quality research, innovation, collection of information, maintenance and development of databases, best practise and knowledge sharing are of utmost importance for the future of EU´s multifunctional forests and for the entire forest-based value-chain, in light of the increasing demands being placed upon them and the needs to meet the multiple opportunities and challenges facing the society;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas the Rural Development Fund, in the framework of the CAP, has provided tools and resources to support the forestry sector and should continue to do in the post-2020 CAP, through a strong focus on Sustainable Forest Management (SFM);
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas sustainably managed forests are enormously important in guaranteeing jobs in rural areas, representing a benefit for human health, while at the same time making a vital contribution to the environment and biodiversity;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas access to natural forest terrains and/or forest products comprise a crucial element for some breeds of domesticated or semi domesticated autochthonous and local breeds of animals, which have a high socio- economic and cultural value, such as the East Balkan swine or the Black Iberian pig; whereas the quality of the products from these animals depend highly on the presence of acorns and other forest products, which is why it is crucial to allow the breeders have access to the necessary conditions for the respective animal breeding;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas the crucial role of sustainable forest management should be promoted to European society, which is increasingly disconnected from forests and forestry, underlining the multiple benefits forests provide under the economic, social and environmental, as well as cultural and historical point of view;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas almost 23% of European forests are to be found in Natura 2000 sites, with the share in some Member States exceeding 50%, and almost half of the natural habitats in Natura 2000 areas are forests;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C c (new)
Recital C c (new)
Cc. whereas High Conservation Value Forests (HCV Forests) have a crucial role to play in preserving vulnerable habitats, but also in enhancing science; whereas some EU member states have adopted targeted policies towards HCVF, which is commendable; whereas the added value from these forests cannot be compared or measured in economic terms, which makes it difficult at times to be understood by forest owners, which is why some sort of compensatory mechanism could be further designed, if and where applicable;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C c (new)
Recital C c (new)
Cc. whereas according to the latest estimations, only 26% of forest species and 15% of the forest habitats were found to be in favourable conservation status1a; _________________ 1a https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/biodive rsity/forests/forest-dynamics-in-europe- and
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C d (new)
Recital C d (new)
Cd. whereas forests can be sources of both primary forest products such as wood, they provide for valuable secondary products such as mushrooms, truffles, herbs, honey and berries, which are very important for the economic activities in some regions of the Union;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C d (new)
Recital C d (new)
Cd. whereas it is clear that old growth forests, mixed stand forests and agroforestry offer climate, biodiversity and resilience benefits that exceed those of plantation forestry;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C e (new)
Recital C e (new)
Ce. whereas agroforestry, defined as land use systems in which trees are grown in combination with agriculture on the same land unit, is a suite of land management systems, which boost overall productivity, generate more biomass, maintain and restore soils and provide a number of valuable ecosystem services;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C f (new)
Recital C f (new)
Cf. whereas forests play a crucial role in the fight against soil erosion, but also desertification of land masses; whereas studies show that trees in parks and city- environment have positive effect on keeping lower temperatures as compared to treeless areas;
Amendment 90 #
Cg. whereas in the current programming period (2014-2020) there are measures in the CAP targeted at helping economic actors in building capacities with regard to forestry management;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C h (new)
Recital C h (new)
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Recognises that the eight plus one priority areas of the strategy have been implemented with relatively few impediments, with the exception of ongoing challenges in the areas of ‘What forests do we have and how are they changing?’ and ‘Fostering coordination and communication’specifically concerning the public perception and information on the forestry sector and ‘Fostering coordination and communication’, specifically concerning forest-related policies;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Takes note of the fact that forests fulfil several, often-conflicting objectives (including regulating water quality, biodiversity protection and providing raw materials for paper, construction and energy), which is why, as a result, many of these forests fall consequently under distinct domains where the EU is competent, such as energy, agriculture, environment, climate and water, and many European Commission Directorates General are engaged in forest related issues1a although forests per se remain outside the realm of EU competences; calls, therefore, on the Commission and the Directorates Generals with forest- related competences to work strategically to ensure coherence in any forestry- related work and enhance the sustainable management of forests; as well as to review its organisational structures relevant to forest, agroforestry and the forest-based sector to ensure effective implementation of the strategy; _________________ 1ahttps://www.mdpi.com/1999- 4907/9/3/125/htm#
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Emphasises that the EU’s forests are multifunctional and characterised by great diversity, including differences in ownership patterns, size, structure, biodiversity, resilience and challenges; points out, in addition, that forests offer society a wide variety of ecosystem services including raw materials, improved air quality, absorbing and storing around 10% of EU carbon emissions thereby significantly contributing to climate change mitigation efforts, clean water, erosion control, and protection from droughts, floods and avalanches;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Notes that forests and other wooded areas cover at least 43 % of the surface of the EU and that the sector employs at least 500 000 people directly3 and 2.6 million indirectly in the EU4 ; stresses that this workforce is dependent on a well- preserved and sustainably managed forest ecosystem in the long term; _________________ 3 Eurostat database on forestry, available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/forestry/d ata/database 4European Parliament fact sheet of May 2019 on the European Union and forests.
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Points out that over 60 % of the productive forests in the EU, and over 20 % worldwide are certified according to Sustainable Forest Management voluntary standards; notes also that the share of the round wood stemming from certified forests processed by the wood- based industries globally is higher than 20 % and that this share is reaching 50% in the EU;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Stresses that around 60% of the EU´s forests are privately owned; supports all measures improving the exchange of information and best practises as regards the implementation of sustainable forest management;
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Acknowledges the crucial climate benefits of forests and the forest-based sector; highlights the need to increase CO2 sequestration in forests and agroforests, and their soils, carbon storage in wood- based products and the substitution of fossil-based materials and energy;
Amendment 202 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Underlines the importance of resilient and healthy forest ecosystems including fauna and flora, in order to maintain and enhance delivery of multiple ecosystem services forests provide such as biodiversity, clean air, water, healthy soils, wood and non-wood raw-materials; highlights that voluntary tools and legislations in place, such as the EU Birds and Habitats directives, affect land management decisions and must be respected and implemented appropriately;
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Notes that farmers and forest owners are key actors in rural areas; welcomes the recognition of the role of forestry, agro-forestry and forest-based industries in the Rural Development Programme of the 2014-2020 CAP, and the improvements introduced through the Omnibus Regulation; encourages to safeguard this recognition in the CAP 2021-2027 and in the implementation of the European Green Deal;
Amendment 210 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9b. Calls on the Member States to give the necessary provisions for breeders of autochthonous breeds of animals, which are dependent on access to forests, to get such smoothly so that jobs can be preserved in rural areas, which also preserves traditional knowledge and biodiversity, while at the same time providing quality products to the EU consumer;
Amendment 212 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 c (new)
Paragraph 9 c (new)
9c. Encourages the Member States to intensify their respective forestry stakeholders to reach to a broader segment of the population through educational tools and programmes both for pupils, but also for people of the other age groups, stressing the importance of forests both for human-led activities, but also for preserving biodiversity and various ecosystems;
Amendment 237 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Emphasises the crucial role of forests, agroforests, the forest-based sector and the bioeconomy in achieving the goals of the European Green Deal; stresses that achieving the EU’s environmental and climate goals will never be possible without multifunctional, healthy and sustainably managed forests and viable industries; encourages, in addition, actions tocalls on the Commission, in addition, to consider creating a special budget, outside the Common Agricultural Policy budget, to incentivise Member States to comply with EU-wide targets for increaseing forest cover, especially in areas not suitable for food production and those in proximity to urban areas, in order to mitigate adverse heat effects and pollution, while curbing deforestation;
Amendment 264 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
Amendment 281 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Takes the view that the EU Forest Strategy should act as a bridge between national forest and agroforest policies and EU objectives relating to forests and agroforests, recognising both the need to respect national competence and the need to contribute to wider EU objectives, while coherently addressing the specificities of both private forests and publicly owned ones;
Amendment 288 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Calls on the Member States to improve national legislation to put in place, or strengthen where necessary, protection against illegal logging and loss of biodiversity;
Amendment 289 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)
Paragraph 14 b (new)
14b. Calls on the European Commission to encourage the commercialization of felled wood and trimmed wood/roundwood, instead of living trees from publicly-owned forests, as a method to prevent illegal logging and overexploitation, which would give state authorities more control over the volume of cut and commercialized wood, thereby discouraging illegal practices by privately contracted firms;
Amendment 302 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Calls on the European Commission to invest supplementary funds - additional to the budget already allocated to the CAP scheme - in an EU- wide action on reforestation, afforestation and to implement specific subsidies for forestry management and environmental protection, to contribute to the Green Deal 2050 climate change mitigation efforts;
Amendment 308 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Highlights the need to take into consideration the links between the forest- based sector and other sectors as well as the importance of digitalisation and investing in research and innovation, which can positively contribute to further solutions for climate change mitigation and job creation; stresses the crucial role of wood-based materials in substituting fossil-based alternatives in industries such as the construction industry, the textile industry, the chemical industry and the packaging industry;
Amendment 320 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Recognizes the value of wood for energy purposes, but calls on the Commission and Member States to consider introducing binding sustainability criteria for biomass, in order to avoid overexploitation of wood resources and forests;
Amendment 322 #
16b. Considers that the EU should encourage the use of locally-sourced timber, harvested wood products or forest biomass in order to minimise the carbon footprint created by transport of imports from third countries and to stimulate sustainable local production and jobs;
Amendment 332 #
17. Stresses that due to climate change, natural disturbances such as droughts, floods, storms, pest infestations, erosion and fires will occur more frequently, causing damage to forests in the EU; emphasises, in this context, the need to better prevent such events by making forests more resilient, for example by encouraging forest grazing and the conversion of at-risk forests to agroforests, through more research and innovation and by offering better support mechanisms for affected areas and properties sto they can beprotect and restored them;
Amendment 342 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Calls on the state or regional actors, which responsible for forests, to support either with adequate resources or expertise and knowledge the repopulation of riverside forests, where relevant, with local and/or specialised stakeholders, with the aim of creating biodiverse habitats, after the creation of which ecological services, such as absorption of harmful substances, which circulate through groundwaters, will be achieved;
Amendment 345 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Given the worrying increased risk of forest fires in Europe, calls on the European Commission to include support for silvopasture (forest grazing) within the agroforestry measure and to encourage Member States to implement it in the next Rural Development programme;
Amendment 348 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)
Paragraph 17 b (new)
17b. Calls on the members states where secondary forest products play an important socio-economic role to develop and enhance guidelines, or where necessary also national legislation with regard to practicing these activities;
Amendment 349 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 c (new)
Paragraph 17 c (new)
17c. Calls on the member states to design initiatives for preserving and where necessary establishing HCV Forests with necessary mechanisms and instruments for incentivising and compensating, where applicable, forest owners, so that knowledge and science can advance vis-à-vis these forests, alongside preserving natural habitats;
Amendment 355 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Recognises the role of biodiversity in ensuring that forest ecosystems remain healthy and resilient; highlights the importance of the Natura 2000 sites; notes, however, that sufficientencourages further research into the relationship between biodiversity and resilience; notes, however, that technical advice and fresh financial resources are needed to manage such areas;
Amendment 388 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Stresses the crucial importance of the CAP, forestry and agroforestry measures in implementing the EU Forest Strategy; encourages the continuity of forestry and agroforestry measures under the 2021-2027 CAP; highlights the need for other easily accessible, well- coordinated and relevant EU funding mechanisms;
Amendment 394 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Takes note of the challenge for both farmers and administrators in identifying and monitoring the preservation of landscape features, in particular those aiming to protect scarce woody vegetation; calls on the European Commission to reduce and simplify the administrative requirements, in order to boost woody vegetation promotion and preservation linked to landscape features policies associated with Pillar I and Pillar II payments;
Amendment 398 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Calls on the member states to align the various strategies and plans for forestry management so that the respective targets can be followed and corrected accordingly in due course, instead of creating administrative mosaics, which then threatens achieving the goals set in these strategic documents;
Amendment 402 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 b (new)
Paragraph 21 b (new)
21b. Takes note of the low uptake of the numerous measures within the 2014-2020 Rural Development Regulations designed to support the deliberate integration of woody vegetation with farming; therefore calls on the European Commission to bundle various agroforestry promotion initiatives in the post 2020 Common Agricultural Policy Reform into a unique “agroforestry” measure, which will promote the use of woody component in agrarian and forestry systems;
Amendment 404 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 b (new)
Paragraph 21 b (new)
21b. Calls on the European commission together with its respective agencies and centers, where necessary to invest in and where necessary intensify the research on finding a solution to the spread of the Cryphonectria parasitica on chestnut trees and forests;
Amendment 411 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 d (new)
Paragraph 21 d (new)
21d. Calls on the European Commission to support the promotion of the recognition of the high quality products and ecosystem services that agroforestry delivers, by appropriate market promotion and agroforestry identification, or labelling;
Amendment 412 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 e (new)
Paragraph 21 e (new)
21e. Acknowledges the lack of knowledge about agroforestry among many farmers; calls, therefore, on the European Commission to promote EU- wide specialised training programmes, in order to make farmers and female farmers aware of the benefits and the practice of integrating woody vegetation with agriculture at local, regional and global scales;
Amendment 414 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 f (new)
Paragraph 21 f (new)
21f. Recognizes the significant capacity of agroforestry to boost overall biomass productivity and therefore encourages the European Commission to treat it as a productive measure; underlines that such mixed ecosystems produce more biomass and absorb more atmospheric carbon and therefore encourages promotion of agroforestry systems;
Amendment 421 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Underlines the essential role of high-level research and innovation in fostering the contribution of forests, agroforests and the forest-based sector to overcoming the challenges of our time; stresses the importance of the EU’s post- 2020 research and innovation programmes and recognises the role of the Standing Committee on Agricultural Research;
Amendment 436 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. Stresses the importance of education and skilled, well-trained workforce as it comes to the successful implementation of sustainable forest management in practice; calls on the Commission and the Member States to continue to implement measures and to use existing European instruments such as the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF) and the European training programmes (ET2020) to support generation renewal and to compensate for the skilled workforce shortage in the sector;
Amendment 439 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. Notes that digitalisation and sustainable technologies play a key role in providing added value in the further development of the forest-based sector; calls on the Commission and the Member States to encourage knowledge and technology transfer and sharing best practises on e.g. sustainable and active forest management;
Amendment 446 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Stresses the need to develop an EU- wide Forest Information and Monitoring System for Europe under the shared responsibility of all of the relevant Commission Directorates-General, that is able to provide real-time information on forest resources, monitor whether natural reserves and protected trees are well preserved and forecast and measure the impact of natural disasters and disturbances on forest condition and health; stresses the importance of science- based, balanced information with socio- economic indicators for the development of any forest-related EU policy;
Amendment 449 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Stresses the need to develop an EU- wide Forest Information System for Europe under the shared responsibility of all of the relevant Commission Directorates-General; stresses the importance of science-based, balanced information with socio-economic indicators for the development of any forest-related EU policy; notes that national forest inventories represent a comprehensive monitoring tool for assessing forestry stocks and take into account regional considerations;
Amendment 453 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Stresses the need to develop an EU- wide Forest Information System for Europe under the shared responsibility of all of the relevant Commission Directorates-General; stresses the importance of providing real- time, science-based, and balanced information on European forest resources and aiming at forecasting the impact of natural disturbances and their consequences with socio-economic indicators for the development of any forest-related EU policy;
Amendment 459 #
24a. Welcomes the trend toward digitalization in the sector and calls on the European Commission to consider the implementation of an EU-wide digital wood-traceability mechanism for data gathering, consistent transparency, ensuring a level playing field, reducing uncompetitive behaviour and deliberate wrongful action in the wood trade, within and outside the EU, through a verification system; further takes the view that such a verification system would improve compliance, limiting and combating financial fraud, while hampering cartel practices and dismantling illegal logging logistical operations and movement; would further encourage exchanges of good practices with Member States which have already implemented such reforms at national level;