2023/0222R(NLE) | [ParlTrack]

Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 a (new)

– having regard to the Paris Climate Agreement and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) on halting and reversing nature loss,

Amendment 10 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Draws attention to the particular challenges arising from the requirements of the Deforestation Regulation for Côte d’Ivoire’s authorities, administration and commercial operators, in particular those set out in Articles 8 to 11 of the Regulation, i.e. the provision of so-called due diligence declarations; encourages the Commission and the Union’s customs and administrative authorities to provide additional legal and administrative support, in particular with regard to requirements such as the compulsory geolocation of land from which goods and products covered by the Regulation are sourced; stresses, at the same time, that the obligations under the Regulation must be fully met in order for the relevant products and goods originating in Côte d’Ivoire to be placed on the EU market;

Amendment 11 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Welcomes the recent actions taken by Côte d’Ivoire to reverse the trend of deforestation including: the adoption of the national reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD+) strategy, including the ‘zero deforestation agriculture’ strategic option, in 2017; the signing of the Joint Action Framework of the Cocoa and Forests Initiative; the adoption of the policy for the preservation, rehabilitation and expansion of forests; and the promulgation of the new Forest Code on 23 July 2019; appreciates in particular the plans to convert heavily degraded forests to agroforestry areas and to accelerate reforestation in order to achieve the goal of doubling forest cover from the current 10% to 20%;

Amendment 12 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Recognises the EU’s Deforestation Regulation that has now entered into force, which should complement FLEGT and other initiatives that address illegal deforestation; urges partners to avoid duplication of these measures and streamline actions so as to maximise the benefits for businesses, citizens and the environment; insists on the need for adequate support mechanisms, in particular to SMEs and smallholder farmers, in the implementation of the Regulation;

Amendment 13 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Stresses that the success of the FLEGT also depends on tackling fraud, organised crime and corruption throughout the timber supply chain; urges the Government of Côte d’Ivoire to work to stop widespread corruption and address other factors fuelling illegal logging and forest degradation, with particular regard to customs ~~and~~in cooperation with other authorities that will play a pivotal role in the implementation and enforcement of the VPA;

Amendment 14 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Stresses the importance of protecting human rights, in particular the rights of workers, when sourcing goods and products for the EU market; calls, in this context, on local authorities to extend special protection to children;

Amendment 15 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Welcomes the commitment from the Ministry of Water and Forests to take measures to effectively integrate women into the management of the country’s forest resources; further stresses the importance of the inclusion of women and other vulnerable groups in forest management in future VPA negotiations; calls for gender analysis to be mainstreamed into all activities and projects linked to the implementation of the FLEGT VPA; urges other Ivorian public bodies to adopt gender strategies in forest management;

Amendment 16 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Welcomes the commitment from the Ministry of Water and Forests to take measures to effectively integrate women into the management of the country’s forest resources; further stresses the importance of the inclusion of women in forest management in future VPA negotiations; cCalls for ~~gender analysis to be mainstreamed into all~~the role of women to be taken more fully into account in activities and projects linked to the implementation of the FLEGT VPA;

Amendment 17 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Calls to strengthen the role and participation of the private sector in the VPA implementation and to assist operators, in particular SMEs, in building capacity to ensure better clarity, understanding and compliance with the requirements of the agreement;

Amendment 18 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Recognises that the process of negotiating a VPA can allow sectors to identify shared goals and priorities to work towards sustainable forest management, as well as offer an important opportunity for ~~socie~~communities to allow for participative management of their forests at local, community and regional levels and even up to national or federal level;

Amendment 19 #

Miapetra KUMPULA-NATRI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Recognises that the process of negotiating a VPA can allow sectors to identify shared goals and priorities to work towards sustainable forest management, as well as offer an important opportunity for societies to allow for participative management of their forests at local, community and regional levels, including workers’ organisations, and even up to national or federal level;

Amendment 2 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 b (new)

– having regard to the UN Sustainable Development Goals,

Amendment 20 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Stresses the importance of forest jobs and rural employment in the economy of Côte d’Ivoire that should be taken into account in the implementation of the agreement; in this respect considers that the Commission and the Côte d’Ivoire authorities should conduct an exhaustive assessment on the impact of the VPA on the workers and small producers of the sector who could be affected by the increased logging controls; asks the Commission to promote and support programmes for the reconversion of those workers and producers into other activities;

Amendment 21 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Stresses the need to address the root causes of deforestation in Cote d’Ivoire; in this respect, recalls that Côte d'Ivoire is the world’s biggest cocoa producer, and around 40 per cent of it is destined for the European Union (EU); but notes with concern that it only receives between 5% and 7% of the profit generated by this sector globally. As a result, although this sector provides income to one-fifth of the Ivorian population, farmers can usually not make a living from their work and their production. It is estimated that 54.9% of Ivorian cocoa producers and their families currently live below the poverty line ; recalls that the best way to make cocoa sustainable is to ensure companies pay a fair price for cocoa and adequate remuneration for farmers while abolishing child labour in cocoa production;

Amendment 22 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Emphasises the importance of land use in forest governance and that a strategic vision in forest governance linked to climate change and biodiversity issues is needed; calls on the Government of Côte d’Ivoire to ensure close coordination between the existing different initiatives in the forest sector, such as REDD+, the FLEGT VPA and nationally determined contributions under the Paris Agreement and national targets under the Kunming- Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework;

Amendment 23 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

v9a. Calls on the European Commission and the EEAS to actively support Côte d’Ivoire in partnership according to EU Deforestation Regulation Article 30; emphasises that cooperation shall allow the full participation of all stakeholders, including smallholders; provide assistance on other relevant and upcoming EU legislation, such as the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive and Forced Labour Regulation;

Amendment 24 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Recognises that the VPA with Côte d’Ivoire as well as those with other countries prove that trade agreements can work without threatening the imposition of sanctions, by including different means of control and cooperation;

Amendment 25 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)

9b. Underlines that VPAs provide an important legal framework for both the EU and its partner countries, made possible with the good cooperation and engagement by the countries concerned; stresses therefore that new VPAs with additional partners should be promoted;

Amendment 26 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Calls on the EU Member States to fully comply with and implement the EU Timber Regulation; and to align with the requirements of the Deforestation;

Amendment 3 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 c (new)

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 May 2023 on the making available on the Union market and the export from the Union of certain commodities and products associated with deforestation and forest degradation and repealing Regulation (EU) No 995/2010,

Amendment 4 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas approximately 11 % of the land area in Côte d’Ivoire is covered by forests, half of which is tropical rainforest; whereas the forest cover of Côte d’Ivoire has decreased ~~considerably~~dramatically with a loss of 75% of the country’s forests since 1960, largely due to the expansion of cash crops in the country, notably cocoa, but also rubber, coffee, cashew and palm oil plantations; whereas the forest cover loss in Côte d’Ivoire has gone from an average of 275 000 ha per year between 1990 and 2000, to 71 600 ha per year between 2015 and 2021, and 26 000 ha per year between 2019 and 2021;

Amendment 5 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas in recent years, forestry as a share of the country’s economy has decreased and in 2019 it only accounted for 1 % of GDP, according to the Ministry of Water and Forests (Ministère des Eaux et Forêts); whereas the forest sector is still the fourth largest source of export revenue and a major employer, but the future of the sector has been threatened by high deforestation rates and unsustainable practices in recent decades; whereas the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) process, which emphasises legality and good governance, is helping the forest sector to increaste ~~its share, provide rural jobs and generate income for Ivorian~~sustainable rural jobs, preserve biodiversity and carbon sinks, restore nature and generate income for Ivorians by following sustainable forest management practices;

Amendment 6 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)

Ha. whereas from 1 January 2025, the supply of, among other things, cocoa and timber from Côte d’Ivoire to Union markets will be subject to compliance with the conditions laid down in Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 May 2011 on the making available on the Union market and the export from the Union of certain commodities and products associated with deforestation and forest degradation;

Amendment 7 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Recognises that the full implementation of the VPA will be a long- term process which will require the adoption of a whole set of legislation and adequate administrative capacity and expertise for its implementation and enforcement; recalls that FLEGT licensing can only begin once Côte d’Ivoire has demonstrated the readiness of its TLAS; calls therefore on any measures that can support the reduction of burdensome administrative processes; urges both partners to identify digital possibilities that can simplify the process, for instance paperless solutions such as e-certificates;

Amendment 8 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Stresses that the implementation stage requires continued consultations and stakeholder involvement including stakeholders from both within and outside the forestry sector, in particular of the local communities and indigenous populations; while also ensuring the gender factor is taken into account for its implementation; recalls in this respect the need to comply with the principles of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), which shall among others be obtained as a condition of the purchase or the use of customary forest lands, in compliance with international human rights laws, namely the ILO Convention N°169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples and the standards set out in the FAO Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests; calls on the Commission and the EU Delegation in Côte d’Ivoire to provide sufficient capacity-building and logistical and technical support in the framework of present and future development cooperation instruments in order to enable Côte d’Ivoire to fulfil the commitments for the implementation of its TLAS and related measures;

Amendment 9 #