Following the debate held on 23 April 2008 on Oral Questions O-0022/2008 to the Council and O-0023/2008 to the Commission, the European Parliament adopted by 546 votes in favour, 7 against and 11 abstentions, a Resolution on preparations for the COP-MOP meetings on biological diversity and biosafety in Bonn (Germany) in May 2008. The Resolution had been tabled by the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety.

In its Resolution, the Parliament expresses its deep concern at the continued loss of biodiversity and at the European Union’s ever increasing ecological footprint, which extends the impact on biodiversity well beyond the borders of the EU. It calls on the Commission and the Member States to show leadership and conviction by agreeing to and facilitating concrete measures for the protection of biodiversity, both domestically and internationally.

MEPs recognise the contribution of the European Natura 2000 network of protected areas as a cornerstone of EU efforts to fulfil its international and internal biodiversity commitments and a major contribution to the global network of protected areas. Furthermore, the Commission and Member States are called upon to ensure full implementation of the Birds and Habitats Directives and the Parliament strongly opposes any attempts to weaken their protection.

Regarding the contribution of the Commission and Member States to the forthcoming Conference, MEPs adopted a detailed list of recommendations. Member States and the Commission are called upon to:

ensure that the COP 9 decisions are geared to implementing the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Programme on Protected Areas and to strengthening the implementation with a view to the 2010 targets, with particular reference to the CBD's Programme of Work on Forest Biological Diversity; play a leading role in the negotiations to adopt a fair and equitable, legally binding international regime on access to and benefit sharing (ABS) of genetic resources; ensure the recognition of effective management and financing of protected areas and their network as a vital necessity, and the adoption of innovative and permanent financial mechanisms; carry out an EU impact assessment on droughts and water scarcity caused by climate change and its effects on wildlife habitats; ensure that COP 9 invites parties to begin a discussion and agree on common principles and criteria of good forest governance and on a global mechanism to regulate timber harvesting and trade; ensure acceleration of the implementation of existing commitments for better conservation and sustainable management of marine biodiversity and ensure the adoption of the proposed set of scientific criteria for the identification of marine areas in need of protection; ensure that COP 9 adopts a final decision to ban all terminator technologies (GURTS) and agree a moratorium on the environmental release, including field trials, and commercial use of genetically modified trees; ensure that COP 9 considers, as soon as possible, the negative effects of the production of biomass for energy, including the production of agrofuels, on biological diversity and on indigenous and local communities.

O-0022/2008

O-0023/2008

A motion for a resolution winding up this debate was due to be put on 24 April 2008.