30 Amendments of Hilde VAUTMANS related to 2020/2273(INI)
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recalls that agricultural productivity and resilience depend on biodiversity to guarantee the long-term sustainability of our food systems; underlines, furthermore, that much of the biodiversity across Europe has been created by farming and forestry and its survival is dependent on the continued active management of farmland; highlights the fact that sustainable and effective management of natural resources is of the utmost importance for maintaining biodiversity and combating climate change; therefore believes implementation should focus on profitable measures;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Stresses the importance of genetic diversity, of species and of natural landscapes, and considers that agriculture makes it possible to preserve the biodiversity of many regions, such as open mountain areas, by avoiding the proliferation of invasive plant and animal species;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1c. Requires strong support to agricultural practices, such as agroforestry and pastoralism in high value areas, which provide a wide variety of ecosystem services, including biodiversity, landscape, carbon storage, soil protection, and water cycle regulation;
Amendment 34 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the high level of ambition of the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 in seeking to halt and reverse biodiversity loss in the EU; reminds that effective implementation of the strategy calls also for economic and social aspects to be recognized in a more balanced way; considers that this level of ambition encourages policy action at all levels and promotes the development of research and innovative solutions to tackle biodiversity loss; stresses that the continuous decline in farmland biodiversity is a reality and that bold action is needed to counteract this trend; underlines that prior to expanding the cover of protected areas across Europe a holistic and in-depth evaluation of the effectiveness of current protected land areas is crucial;
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the high level of ambition of the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 in seeking to halt and reverse biodiversity loss in the EU; considers that this level of ambition encourages policy action at all levels and promotes the development of research and innovative solutions to tackle biodiversity loss; stresses that the continuous decline in farmland biodiversity is a reality and that bold action is needed to counteract this trend, carefully balancing voluntary and legislative measures;
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the high level of ambition of the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 in seeking to halt and reverse biodiversity loss in the EU; considers that this level of ambition encourages policy action at all levels and promotes the development of research and innovative solutions to tackle biodiversity loss; stresses that the continuous decline in farmland biodiversity is a reality and that bold action by society as a whole is needed to counteract this trend;
Amendment 71 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Emphasises the strong link with the Farm to Fork strategy, the Forest strategy and the Bioeconomy strategy and the need for a holistic approach to the food system and to the forest value chains, keeping in mind all three pillars of sustainability (environmental, economic and social); calls on the Commission to establish an evidence-based evaluation of the implementation of the Biodiversity strategy’s measures and targets, in particular of the individual and cumulative impacts on the social and economic sustainability of agriculture and forest based sector in the EU, food security and prices, and the potential risks of displacing biodiversity losses abroad by the replacement of local agricultural production with imports; as well as impacts on the wood availability, innovation, competitiveness, resilience and autonomy, including the potential leakage effects of the bioeconomy if the implementation restricts the sustainable usage of natural resources inside EU and which could increase the use of fossil raw-materials;
Amendment 80 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Emphasises the strong link with the Farm to Fork strategy and the need for a holistic approach to the food system; calls on the Commission to base all measures and targets included in subsequent proposals on impact assessments ex-ante and to establish an evidence-based evaluation of the implementation of the strategy’se measures and targets ex-post, in particular of the individual and cumulative impacts on the social and economic sustainability of agriculture in the EU, food security and prices, and the potential risks of displacing biodiversity losses abroad by the replacement of local agricultural production with imports;
Amendment 90 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Underlines that for the EU to be climate-neutral by 2050 there is a need for determined shift from the fossil economy to a circular bio-economy requiring investments for example in forest growth and the continued availability of wooden raw material guaranteed by sustainable forest management; highlights that sustainable forest management can support long-term wood availability for bio-based products while enhancing biodiversity and carbon storage; highlights the importance of using internationally recognized definitions to ensure consistency of collected data on global level;
Amendment 100 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Emphasises the importance of thorough and comprehensive impact assessments for any implementation actions related to the Biodiversity Strategy; calls on the acknowledgement of the subsidiarity and proportionality of the implementation measures which should avoid any unnecessary administrative burden; reminds that the consideration of specific national conditions as well as measures already taken by Member States have to be taken into account;
Amendment 118 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Emphasises the strong link of the strategy with the post 2020 EU Forest Strategy and the need for a holistic approach to forests; stresses that the future EU Forest Strategy should be used as the main policy framework to coordinate all policies related to forests, forestry and the forest-based sector; Reiterates that Member States continue to decide, as highlighted in the views of the Council and the Parliament on the EU Forest Strategy, on policies on forestry and forests, including on their conservation, protection and restoration measures; stresses that defining forest and forestry related terms and measures, including e.g. protection and strict protection, old-growth and primary forests, afforestation and reforestation, degraded areas and closer to nature forestry, should be done by the Member States;
Amendment 131 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Stresses the key role of the common agricultural policy (CAP) in protecting and promoting farmland biodiversity while keeping in mind the main objectives of the CAP stated in the Article 39 of the Treaty; underlines the potential of the green architecture components of the CAP in promoting and providing incentives for the transition to more sustainable agricultural systems for producing food and maintaining high nature valuebiodiversity on farmland; considers that Member States must ensure the timely development and uptake of actions which contribute to enhancing the delivery and potential of biodiversity benefits in line with the required level of ambition while taking account special conditions at national, regional and local level as one size does not fit all;
Amendment 157 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Highlights the importance of maintaining and restoring high-diversity landscape features in agricultural landscapes for their value in terms of biodiversity, pollinators and the natural biological control of pests; calls on the Member States to develop the necessary measures under their CAP Strategic Plans to promote non-productive areas and features with the aim of achieving an area of at least 10% of high diversity areas beneficial for biodiversity at national level, promoting interconnectivity between habitats and thereby maxas well as agricultural practices which contribute to biodiversity promoting sustainably managed interconnections between habitats and thereby maximising the potential for biodiversity where voluntary measures needs to be taken into account; stresses that dedication to high diversity should not result in the withdrawal of areas from food production, which would put additional pressure on agricultural land availability and prices; reminds that access to land is one of the primary factors limisting the potential for biodiversitsettlement of young farmers and the renewal of generations in European farms, which is an important objective of the European agricultural policy;
Amendment 160 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Highlights the importance of maintaining and restoring high-diversity landscape features in agricultural landscapes for their value in terms of biodiversity, pollinators and the natural biological control of pests; calls on the Member States to develop the necessary measures under their CAP Strategic Plans to promote non-productive areas and features with the aim of achieving an area of at least 10% of high diversity areas beneficial for biodiversity at national level, promoting interconnectivity between habitats and thereby maximising the potential for biodiversity; recognises that agriculture and forestry practices do not contradict the conservation objectives of high diversity areas per se and hence productive use must remain an option; stresses that specific local conditions must be taken into account with regard to admissible forms of productive use;
Amendment 167 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Highlights the importance of maintaining and restoring high-diversity landscape features in agricultural landscapes for their value in terms of biodiversity, pollinators and the natural biological control of pests; calls on the Member States to develop the necessary measures under their CAP Strategic Plans to promote non-productive areas and features with the aim of achieving an area of at least 10% of high diversity areas beneficial for biodiversity at national level, promoting interconnectivity between habitats and thereby maximising the potential for biodiversity; considers that the setting up of non-productive areas should be assessed to avoid as much as possible a negative impact on the access of young farmers to land;
Amendment 170 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Highlights the importance of maintaining and restoring high-diversity landscape features in agricultural landscapes for their value in terms of biodiversity, pollinators and the natural biological control of pests; calls on the Member States to develop the necessary measures under their CAP Strategic Plans to promote non-productive areas and features with the aim of achieving an area of at least 10% of high diversity areas beneficial for biodiversity at national level, promoting interconnectivity between habitats and thereby maximising the potential for, as well as agricultural practices and/or productive features which contribute to biodiversity;
Amendment 179 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. takes note of the Commission’s proposal to increase the area under protection and under strict protection; notes with concern that the Commission considers extractive activities such as fishing, hunting or forestry incompatible with strict protection, as expressed in a draft technical note on criteria and guidance for protected areas designations; insists that those activities that are compatible with protection goals or even positively contribute to biodiversity protection must remain admissible in areas under strict protection; echoes paragraph 10 of the Council Conclusions of 16 October 2020 on Biodiversity which highlights that stricter level of protection may allow for certain human activities, which are in line with the conservation objectives of the protected area;
Amendment 184 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Calls Commission to pay attention to the loss of biodiversity caused by the built environment and urbanization and to take effective measures to enhance biodiversity in urban areas, which should be seen in a holistic way with rural areas;
Amendment 188 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Stresses that where conservation measures restrict the use of privately owned land or negatively affect its value, adequate compensation must be granted to the owner;
Amendment 189 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Welcomes the recognition of organic farming as a strong component on the EU’s path towards more sustainable food systems; underlines that the development of organic food production, but stresses that besides its generally positive contribution to biodiversity there are disadvantages with regard to efficiency and yields hindering the achievement of other Green Deal and UN SDG targets and that therefore organic farming should be seen as part of the solution, but not as a silver bullet; underlines that the development of organic food production must be based on a supply and demand based approach rather than an area target and must be accompanied by research, innovation and scientific transfer, market and supply chain development, and measures stimulating demand for organic food, ensuring both theaiming to support stability of the organic products market and the fair remuneration of farmers; stresses that an area target approach threatens profitability of organic farming and hence could increase dependency on subsidies which would be in contradiction to the aim of the Farm to Fork Strategy to make sustainable farming a profitable business model for European farmers;
Amendment 202 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Welcomes the recognition of organic farming as a strong component on the EU’s path towards more sustainable food systems; underlines that the development of organic food production must be market driven and accompanied by research, innovation and scientific transfer, market and supply chain development, and measures stimulating demand for organic food, ensuring both the stability of the organic products market and the fair remuneration of farmers;
Amendment 208 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Notes that soil biodiversity covers different soil types (mineral and organic) which provide ecosystem services and public goods including food production, where organic soils rich in nitrogen supply and water retention capacity provide good conditions for biomass growth under non-rainy periods; therefore underlines that the role of climate change and biodiversity adaptation of drought-resistant organic soils needs to be seen broadly, and their essential importance on food and biomass security and resilience must be recognized;
Amendment 225 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Underlines the importance of sustainable forest management for the health and longevity of forest ecosystems including fauna and flora and the preservation of the multifunctional role of forests as well as for the achievement of the SDGs and for the implementation of the European Green Deal and combating climate change; reminds that the Member States have the responsibility for the implementation of forestry and selection of forestry measures; highlights the potential of agroforestry to improve and boost ecosystem services and farmland biodiversity, while enhancing farm productivity;
Amendment 241 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Highlights the importance of healthy soil for biodiversity, forest conversion and agricultural ecosystem services and takes note of existing knowledge and data gaps in the area; calls on Commission and Member State to support further research in soil ecosystem services and to adjust relevant existing funding programmes in order to facilitate such research projects;
Amendment 243 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Calls the Commission to ensure that any land protection target is flexible enough to allow implementation to take into account the precise conditions and opportunities of each country, with strict protection being a voluntary option for land and forest owners;
Amendment 267 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Stresses the importance of plant protection products and tools for the stability of agricultural production and the sustainability of farmers’ incomes; considers that, although progress has been made, a substantial reduction in the use and risks of chemicalfurther efforts to reduce and mitigate the environmental impacts of pesticides use is needed; stresses the key role of integrated pest management in reducing pesticide dependency, and urges the Member States to ensure it is applied and its implementation is assessed systematically; stresses that farmers need a bigger toolbox of crop protection solutions and methods, as well as bolstered training and advisory systems; underlines that in order to achieve substantial reductions in pesticide use and risk, not only safer alternatives must become available to ensure the availability of a functioning toolbox and more efficient use must be facilitated by tools such as digital and precision farming, but also there is a need for more resistant varieties that require less input to secure stable yields; stresses the importance of new breeding techniques for making such varieties available without undue delay;
Amendment 272 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Stresses the importance of plant protection products and tools for food security, the stability of agricultural production and climate change adaption and the sustainability of farmers’ incomes; considers that, although progress has been made, a substantialfurther reduction in the use and risks of chemical pesticides accompanied with development of alternative sustainable protection technologies is needed; stresses the key role of integrated pest management in reducing pesticide dependency, and urges the Member States to ensure it is applied and its implementation is assessed systematically; stresses that farmers need a bigger toolbox of crop protection solutions and methods, as well as bolstered research, innovation, training and advisory systems; as well as better access to new and better low risk active substances;
Amendment 287 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Welcomes the Commission’s proposal to reduce nutrient losses; stresses that a strategy to reduce nutrient losses should focus primarily on enabling farmers to increase efficiency of nutrient management and highlights the importance of innovative technologies and solutions in this regard; further calls for the strategy to consider the climate and environmental impacts of different fertilisers;
Amendment 292 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Stresses the role of precision agriculture in the protection of biodiversity as it contributes to reducing the use of pesticides, fertilizers and water, and therefore requires strong support for this new production model through the Common Agricultural Policy;
Amendment 306 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Regrets the fact that agricultural production is being increasingly concentrated in a limited range of agricultural crops, varieties and genotypes; underlines that preserving genetic variability in all its components is crucial to promoting the diversity and richness of agricultural ecosystems and to the preservation of local genetic resources, in particular as a repository of solutions to help in facing the environmental challenges that lie aheadand food security challenges that lie ahead; reminds that achieving effective results requires investments in both new plant breeding techniques and the utilization of old varieties.