BETA


2008/2210(INI) Wilderness in Europe

Progress: Procedure completed

RoleCommitteeRapporteurShadows
Lead ENVI HEGYI Gyula (icon: PSE PSE)
Committee Opinion REGI
Lead committee dossier:
Legal Basis:
RoP 052, RoP 052-p4

Events

2009/06/18
   Commission response to text adopted in plenary
Documents
2009/02/03
   EP - Results of vote in Parliament
2009/02/03
   EP - Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
Details

The European Parliament adopted by 538 votes to 19, with 12 abstentions, a resolution on wilderness in Europe.

Stressing that the effective protection and, where necessary, restoration of Europe's last wilderness areas are vital to halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010, the resolution makes a certain number of recommendations to the Commission and to the Member States.

Definition and mapping : the Parliament calls on the Commission to: (i) define wilderness, addressing aspects such as ecosystem services, conservation value, climate change and sustainable use; (ii) mandate the European Environment Agency (EEA) and other relevant European bodies to map Europe's last wilderness areas; (iii) undertake a study on the value and benefits of wilderness protection.

Developing wilderness areas : the Commission is called upon to develop an EU wilderness strategy, coherent with the Birds and Habitats Directives, using an ecosystem approach, identifying threatened species and biotopes, and setting priorities.

In order to develop wilderness areas, MEPs stress the need for the provision of special funding for reducing fragmentation, careful management of re-wilding areas, development of compensation mechanisms and programmes, raising awareness, building understanding and introducing wilderness-related concepts.

Promotion : MEPs call on the Commission and Member States to: (i) co-operate with local non-governmental organisations, stakeholders and the local population to promote the value of wilderness; (ii) ensure that tourism is handled with extreme care, in view of the well-documented damage which tourism has inflicted, and continues to inflict, on a great deal of Europe's most precious natural heritage.

Moreover, Member States are called upon to: (i) launch and support information campaigns to raise awareness among the general public about wilderness; (ii) exchange their experiences of best practices and lessons learned about wilderness areas by bringing together key European experts to examine the concept of wilderness in the European Union; (iii) place wilderness on the European agenda.

Better protection : the Commission and the Member States are called upon to: (i) devote special attention to the effective protection of wilderness areas; (ii) protect wilderness areas by implementing the Birds and Habitats Directives, the Water Framework Directive and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive.

Moreover, the Commission should: (i) detect immediate threats linked to wilderness areas; (ii) develop appropriate recommendations that provide guidance to the Member States on the best approaches for ensuring the protection of natural habitats; (iii) accept the Wild Europe Initiative, a partnership of several nature conservation organisations (including IUCN, IUCN-WCPA, WWF, Birdlife International and PAN Parks), with a strong interest in wild lands or nearly wild areas.

Wilderness and Natura 2000 : the Commission is called upon to: (i) develop, in cooperation with stakeholders, guidelines on how to protect, manage, use sustainably, monitor and finance wilderness areas under the Natura 2000 network; (ii) give a special status to and stricter protection for wilderness zones in the Natura 2000 network; (iii) ensure that the Natura 2000 network will be strengthened further to become a coherent and functioning ecological network in which wilderness areas have a central place.

Moreover, MEPs call on the Commission and the Member States to work together to develop a robust legislative framework on invasive alien species that tackles both ecological and economic impacts arising from such species and the particular vulnerability of wilderness areas to this threat.

Climate change : the Parliament calls on the Commission to: (i) monitor and assess the impact of climate change on wilderness; (ii) set wilderness conservation as a priority in its strategy to address climate change; (iii) undertake research and provide guidance as to when and how human intervention can manage wilderness in order to preserve it.

Documents
2009/02/03
   EP - End of procedure in Parliament
2009/02/02
   EP - Debate in Parliament
2008/12/05
   EP - Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
Documents
2008/12/05
   EP - Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
Documents
2008/12/02
   EP - Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
Details

The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety adopted the own-initiative report drafted by Gyula HEGYI (PES, HU) on wilderness in Europe.

Stressing that effective protection and, where necessary, restoration of Europe's last wilderness areas are vital to halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010, the report sets out a number of recommendation to the Commission and the Member States.

Definition and mapping : the Commission is invited to: i) define wilderness; this definition should address aspects such as ecosystem services, conservation value, climate change and sustainable use; ii) mandate the European Environmental Agency and other relevant European bodies to map Europe's last wilderness areas; iii) undertake a study on the value and benefits of wilderness protection.

Developing wilderness areas : the Commission is invited to d evelop an EU wilderness strategy, coherent with the Birds and Habitats Directives, using an ecosystem approach, identifying threatened species and biotopes, and setting priorities. MEPs invite the Commission and the Member States to develop wilderness areas and stress the need for the provision of special funding for reducing fragmentation, careful management of re-wilding areas, development of compensation mechanisms and programmes, raising awareness, building understanding and introducing wilderness-related concepts such as the role of free natural processes and structural elements resulting from such processes into the monitoring and measurement of favourable conservation status.

Promotion : MEPs invite the Commission and Member States to : i) co-operate with local non-governmental organisations, stakeholders and the local population to promote the value of wilderness;

ii) ensure that tourism is handled with extreme care in view of the well-documented damage which tourism has inflicted, and continues to inflict, on a great deal of Europe’s most precious natural heritage.

Member States are invited to: i) launch and support information campaigns to raise awareness among the general public about wilderness and its significance and to cultivate the perception that biodiversity protection can be compatible with economic growth and jobs; ii) exchange their experiences of best practices and lessons learned about wilderness areas by bringing together key European experts to examine the concept of wilderness in the European Union and place wilderness on the European agenda.

Better protection : the Commission and the Member States are called upon to: i) devote special attention to the effective protection of wilderness areas; ii) protect wilderness areas by implementing

the Birds and Habitats Directives , the Water Framework Directive and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive in a more effective and more consistent way, with better financing, in order to avoid the destruction of these areas by harmful, non-sustainable development.

The Commission is asked to: i) detect immediate threats linked to wilderness areas; ii) develop appropriate recommendations that provide guidance to the Member States on the best approaches for ensuring the protection of natural habitats; iii) accept the Wild Europe Initiative, a partnership of several nature conservation organisations including IUCN, IUCN-WCPA, WWF, Birdlife International and PAN Parks, with a strong interest in wild lands or nearly wild areas.

Wilderness and Natura 2000 : the Commission is invited to: i) develop guidelines on how to protect, manage, use sustainably, monitor and finance wilderness areas under the Natura 2000 network, especially with regard to upcoming challenges such as climate change, illegal logging and increasing demand for goods; ii) give a special status to and stricter protection for wilderness

zones in the Natura 2000 network; iii) ensure that the Natura 2000 network will be strengthened further to become a coherent and functioning ecological network in which wilderness areas have a central place.

Invasive alien species : MEPs call on the Commission and Member States to work together to develop a robust legislative framework on invasive alien species that tackles both ecological and economic impacts arising from such species and the particular vulnerability of wilderness areas to this threat.

Climate change : the Commission is invited to: monitor and assess the impact of climate change on wilderness; ii) set wilderness conservation as a priority in their strategy to address climate change; iii) undertake research and provide guidance as to when and how human intervention can manage wilderness in order to preserve it.

2008/11/12
   EP - Amendments tabled in committee
Documents
2008/10/14
   EP - Committee draft report
Documents
2008/09/23
   EP - Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
2008/08/27
   EP - Responsible Committee

Documents

Activities

AmendmentsDossier
40 2008/2210(INI)
2008/11/12 ENVI 40 amendments...
source: PE-415.261

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)

committees/0
type
Responsible Committee
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Environment, Public Health and Food Safety
committee
ENVI
rapporteur
name: HEGYI Gyula date: 2008-08-27T00:00:00 group: Socialist Group in the European Parliament abbr: PSE
committees/0
type
Responsible Committee
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Environment, Public Health and Food Safety
committee
ENVI
date
2008-08-27T00:00:00
rapporteur
name: HEGYI Gyula group: Socialist Group in the European Parliament abbr: PSE
docs/2/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A6-2008-478&language=EN
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-6-2008-0478_EN.html
docs/3/body
EC
events/2/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A6-2008-478&language=EN
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-6-2008-0478_EN.html
events/5/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P6-TA-2009-34
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-6-2009-0034_EN.html
activities
  • date: 2008-09-23T00:00:00 body: EP type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading committees: body: EP responsible: True committee: ENVI date: 2008-08-27T00:00:00 committee_full: Environment, Public Health and Food Safety rapporteur: group: PSE name: HEGYI Gyula body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Regional Development committee: REGI
  • date: 2008-12-02T00:00:00 body: EP committees: body: EP responsible: True committee: ENVI date: 2008-08-27T00:00:00 committee_full: Environment, Public Health and Food Safety rapporteur: group: PSE name: HEGYI Gyula body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Regional Development committee: REGI type: Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
  • date: 2008-12-05T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A6-2008-478&language=EN type: Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading title: A6-0478/2008 body: EP type: Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
  • date: 2009-02-02T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20090202&type=CRE type: Debate in Parliament title: Debate in Parliament body: EP type: Debate in Parliament
  • date: 2009-02-03T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/sda.do?id=16462&l=en type: Results of vote in Parliament title: Results of vote in Parliament url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P6-TA-2009-34 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading title: T6-0034/2009 body: EP type: Results of vote in Parliament
commission
  • body: EC dg: Environment commissioner: DIMAS Stavros
committees/0
type
Responsible Committee
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Environment, Public Health and Food Safety
committee
ENVI
date
2008-08-27T00:00:00
rapporteur
name: HEGYI Gyula group: Socialist Group in the European Parliament abbr: PSE
committees/0
body
EP
responsible
True
committee
ENVI
date
2008-08-27T00:00:00
committee_full
Environment, Public Health and Food Safety
rapporteur
group: PSE name: HEGYI Gyula
committees/1
type
Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Regional Development
committee
REGI
opinion
False
committees/1
body
EP
responsible
False
committee_full
Regional Development
committee
REGI
docs
  • date: 2008-10-14T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE414.259 title: PE414.259 type: Committee draft report body: EP
  • date: 2008-11-12T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE415.261 title: PE415.261 type: Amendments tabled in committee body: EP
  • date: 2008-12-05T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A6-2008-478&language=EN title: A6-0478/2008 type: Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading body: EP
  • date: 2009-06-18T00:00:00 docs: url: /oeil/spdoc.do?i=16462&j=0&l=en title: SP(2009)1843 type: Commission response to text adopted in plenary
events
  • date: 2008-09-23T00:00:00 type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP
  • date: 2008-12-02T00:00:00 type: Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading body: EP summary: The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety adopted the own-initiative report drafted by Gyula HEGYI (PES, HU) on wilderness in Europe. Stressing that effective protection and, where necessary, restoration of Europe's last wilderness areas are vital to halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010, the report sets out a number of recommendation to the Commission and the Member States. Definition and mapping : the Commission is invited to: i) define wilderness; this definition should address aspects such as ecosystem services, conservation value, climate change and sustainable use; ii) mandate the European Environmental Agency and other relevant European bodies to map Europe's last wilderness areas; iii) undertake a study on the value and benefits of wilderness protection. Developing wilderness areas : the Commission is invited to d evelop an EU wilderness strategy, coherent with the Birds and Habitats Directives, using an ecosystem approach, identifying threatened species and biotopes, and setting priorities. MEPs invite the Commission and the Member States to develop wilderness areas and stress the need for the provision of special funding for reducing fragmentation, careful management of re-wilding areas, development of compensation mechanisms and programmes, raising awareness, building understanding and introducing wilderness-related concepts such as the role of free natural processes and structural elements resulting from such processes into the monitoring and measurement of favourable conservation status. Promotion : MEPs invite the Commission and Member States to : i) co-operate with local non-governmental organisations, stakeholders and the local population to promote the value of wilderness; ii) ensure that tourism is handled with extreme care in view of the well-documented damage which tourism has inflicted, and continues to inflict, on a great deal of Europe’s most precious natural heritage. Member States are invited to: i) launch and support information campaigns to raise awareness among the general public about wilderness and its significance and to cultivate the perception that biodiversity protection can be compatible with economic growth and jobs; ii) exchange their experiences of best practices and lessons learned about wilderness areas by bringing together key European experts to examine the concept of wilderness in the European Union and place wilderness on the European agenda. Better protection : the Commission and the Member States are called upon to: i) devote special attention to the effective protection of wilderness areas; ii) protect wilderness areas by implementing the Birds and Habitats Directives , the Water Framework Directive and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive in a more effective and more consistent way, with better financing, in order to avoid the destruction of these areas by harmful, non-sustainable development. The Commission is asked to: i) detect immediate threats linked to wilderness areas; ii) develop appropriate recommendations that provide guidance to the Member States on the best approaches for ensuring the protection of natural habitats; iii) accept the Wild Europe Initiative, a partnership of several nature conservation organisations including IUCN, IUCN-WCPA, WWF, Birdlife International and PAN Parks, with a strong interest in wild lands or nearly wild areas. Wilderness and Natura 2000 : the Commission is invited to: i) develop guidelines on how to protect, manage, use sustainably, monitor and finance wilderness areas under the Natura 2000 network, especially with regard to upcoming challenges such as climate change, illegal logging and increasing demand for goods; ii) give a special status to and stricter protection for wilderness zones in the Natura 2000 network; iii) ensure that the Natura 2000 network will be strengthened further to become a coherent and functioning ecological network in which wilderness areas have a central place. Invasive alien species : MEPs call on the Commission and Member States to work together to develop a robust legislative framework on invasive alien species that tackles both ecological and economic impacts arising from such species and the particular vulnerability of wilderness areas to this threat. Climate change : the Commission is invited to: monitor and assess the impact of climate change on wilderness; ii) set wilderness conservation as a priority in their strategy to address climate change; iii) undertake research and provide guidance as to when and how human intervention can manage wilderness in order to preserve it.
  • date: 2008-12-05T00:00:00 type: Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A6-2008-478&language=EN title: A6-0478/2008
  • date: 2009-02-02T00:00:00 type: Debate in Parliament body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20090202&type=CRE title: Debate in Parliament
  • date: 2009-02-03T00:00:00 type: Results of vote in Parliament body: EP docs: url: https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/sda.do?id=16462&l=en title: Results of vote in Parliament
  • date: 2009-02-03T00:00:00 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P6-TA-2009-34 title: T6-0034/2009 summary: The European Parliament adopted by 538 votes to 19, with 12 abstentions, a resolution on wilderness in Europe. Stressing that the effective protection and, where necessary, restoration of Europe's last wilderness areas are vital to halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010, the resolution makes a certain number of recommendations to the Commission and to the Member States. Definition and mapping : the Parliament calls on the Commission to: (i) define wilderness, addressing aspects such as ecosystem services, conservation value, climate change and sustainable use; (ii) mandate the European Environment Agency (EEA) and other relevant European bodies to map Europe's last wilderness areas; (iii) undertake a study on the value and benefits of wilderness protection. Developing wilderness areas : the Commission is called upon to develop an EU wilderness strategy, coherent with the Birds and Habitats Directives, using an ecosystem approach, identifying threatened species and biotopes, and setting priorities. In order to develop wilderness areas, MEPs stress the need for the provision of special funding for reducing fragmentation, careful management of re-wilding areas, development of compensation mechanisms and programmes, raising awareness, building understanding and introducing wilderness-related concepts. Promotion : MEPs call on the Commission and Member States to: (i) co-operate with local non-governmental organisations, stakeholders and the local population to promote the value of wilderness; (ii) ensure that tourism is handled with extreme care, in view of the well-documented damage which tourism has inflicted, and continues to inflict, on a great deal of Europe's most precious natural heritage. Moreover, Member States are called upon to: (i) launch and support information campaigns to raise awareness among the general public about wilderness; (ii) exchange their experiences of best practices and lessons learned about wilderness areas by bringing together key European experts to examine the concept of wilderness in the European Union; (iii) place wilderness on the European agenda. Better protection : the Commission and the Member States are called upon to: (i) devote special attention to the effective protection of wilderness areas; (ii) protect wilderness areas by implementing the Birds and Habitats Directives, the Water Framework Directive and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Moreover, the Commission should: (i) detect immediate threats linked to wilderness areas; (ii) develop appropriate recommendations that provide guidance to the Member States on the best approaches for ensuring the protection of natural habitats; (iii) accept the Wild Europe Initiative, a partnership of several nature conservation organisations (including IUCN, IUCN-WCPA, WWF, Birdlife International and PAN Parks), with a strong interest in wild lands or nearly wild areas. Wilderness and Natura 2000 : the Commission is called upon to: (i) develop, in cooperation with stakeholders, guidelines on how to protect, manage, use sustainably, monitor and finance wilderness areas under the Natura 2000 network; (ii) give a special status to and stricter protection for wilderness zones in the Natura 2000 network; (iii) ensure that the Natura 2000 network will be strengthened further to become a coherent and functioning ecological network in which wilderness areas have a central place. Moreover, MEPs call on the Commission and the Member States to work together to develop a robust legislative framework on invasive alien species that tackles both ecological and economic impacts arising from such species and the particular vulnerability of wilderness areas to this threat. Climate change : the Parliament calls on the Commission to: (i) monitor and assess the impact of climate change on wilderness; (ii) set wilderness conservation as a priority in its strategy to address climate change; (iii) undertake research and provide guidance as to when and how human intervention can manage wilderness in order to preserve it.
  • date: 2009-02-03T00:00:00 type: End of procedure in Parliament body: EP
links
other
  • body: EC dg: url: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/environment/ title: Environment commissioner: DIMAS Stavros
procedure/dossier_of_the_committee
Old
ENVI/6/65495
New
  • ENVI/6/65495
procedure/legal_basis/0
Rules of Procedure EP 052
procedure/legal_basis/0
Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament EP 052
procedure/legal_basis/1
Rules of Procedure EP 052-p4
procedure/legal_basis/1
Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament EP 052-p2
procedure/subject
Old
  • 3.70.01 Protection of natural resources: fauna, flora, nature, wildlife, countryside; biodiversity
New
3.70.01
Protection of natural resources: fauna, flora, nature, wildlife, countryside; biodiversity
activities
  • date: 2008-09-23T00:00:00 body: EP type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading committees: body: EP responsible: True committee: ENVI date: 2008-08-27T00:00:00 committee_full: Environment, Public Health and Food Safety rapporteur: group: PSE name: HEGYI Gyula body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Regional Development committee: REGI
  • date: 2008-12-02T00:00:00 body: EP committees: body: EP responsible: True committee: ENVI date: 2008-08-27T00:00:00 committee_full: Environment, Public Health and Food Safety rapporteur: group: PSE name: HEGYI Gyula body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Regional Development committee: REGI type: Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
  • date: 2008-12-05T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A6-2008-478&language=EN type: Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading title: A6-0478/2008 body: EP type: Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
  • date: 2009-02-02T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20090202&type=CRE type: Debate in Parliament title: Debate in Parliament body: EP type: Debate in Parliament
  • date: 2009-02-03T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/sda.do?id=16462&l=en type: Results of vote in Parliament title: Results of vote in Parliament url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P6-TA-2009-34 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading title: T6-0034/2009 body: EP type: Results of vote in Parliament
committees
  • body: EP responsible: True committee: ENVI date: 2008-08-27T00:00:00 committee_full: Environment, Public Health and Food Safety rapporteur: group: PSE name: HEGYI Gyula
  • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Regional Development committee: REGI
links
other
  • body: EC dg: url: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/environment/ title: Environment commissioner: DIMAS Stavros
procedure
dossier_of_the_committee
ENVI/6/65495
reference
2008/2210(INI)
title
Wilderness in Europe
legal_basis
stage_reached
Procedure completed
subtype
Initiative
type
INI - Own-initiative procedure
subject
3.70.01 Protection of natural resources: fauna, flora, nature, wildlife, countryside; biodiversity