Activities of Bettina VOLLATH related to 2020/2273(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030: Bringing nature back into our lives (debate)
Opinions (1)
OPINION on the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030: bringing nature back into our lives
Amendments (15)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Citation 1 a (new)
Citation 1 a (new)
– having regard to the reports of 24 January 2018 and 15 July 2020, of the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment, respectively presenting framework principles on human rights and the environment and being entitled ‘Human rights depend on a healthy biosphere’,
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Citation 1 b (new)
Citation 1 b (new)
– having regard to the ‘Leaders’ Pledge for Nature’ entitled "United to Reverse Biodiversity Loss by 2030 for Sustainable Development", adopted by political leaders participating in the United Nations Summit on Biodiversity of 30 September 2020,
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Citation 1 c (new)
Citation 1 c (new)
– having regard to the study of April 2020 of the European Parliament's Policy Department for External Relations on "Biodiversity as a Human Right and its implications for the EU’s External Action" (PE 603.491) requested by the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights,
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas current negative trends in biodiversity and ecosystems will undermine progress towards 80 % of the assessed targets for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to poverty, hunger, health, water, cities, climate, oceans and land; whereas the EU has a great responsibility to play a global leadership role on biodiversity as a human right at the multilateral level as well as bilaterally and unilaterally;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect the health and livelihoods of people around the world; whereas the destruction of natural habitats, in particular tropical forests which are exceptional reserves of biodiversity, lead to an increase of areas of contact between humans and wildlife and could be a factor favourable to the future emergence and spread of viral diseases;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
Ac. whereas the CBD serves as the basis for defining policies aimed at protecting biodiversity from a human right perspective, and for extending the scope of international obligations on biodiversity in relation to human rights; whereas the work of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment paves the way to the shaping of a legal frame of human rights obligations relating to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Recital A d (new)
Recital A d (new)
Ad. whereas the EU and its Member States have to comply with their international obligations on biodiversity and human rights in good faith and with mutual support, alongside their EU law obligations on policy coherence in external action, in line with the obligation under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights to integrate a high level of environmental protection and the improvement of the quality of the environment into the policies of the Union and in accordance with the principle of sustainable development;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Recital A e (new)
Recital A e (new)
Ae. whereas the number of environmental and land human rights defenders (HRDs) murdered or subjected of acts of violence, abduction, threats, harassment, intimidation and smear campaigns has increased considerably worldwide in recent years; whereas they often face great adversities and dangers, in some contexts featured by profit-driven exploitation of natural resources coupled with endemic corruption and poverty;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Recital A f (new)
Recital A f (new)
Af. whereas at least a quarter of the global land area is estimated to be owned, managed, used or occupied by indigenous peoples and local communities, and is under growing environmental stress, mainly due to agribusiness, resource extraction, commodity production, mining and transport and energy infrastructure;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. UStresses that biodiversity and human rights are interlinked and interdependent, and recalls the human rights obligations of states to protect the biodiversity on which those rights depend, including by providing for the participation of citizens in biodiversity- related decisions; underlines the need for increased urgent efforts to maintain biodiversity, in particular by taking effective actions to simultaneously protect human rights and conserve and sustainably use nature; calls in this regard for the development of a holistic and human- rights-based EU policy approach aimed at preventing biodiversity loss and degradation; also stresses the need to strengthen international environment and human rights law, environmental legislation and procedural environmental and human rights, in particular by improving access to information, public participation and access to justice, and by supporting the crucial role of local communities, indigenous peoples and environmental human rights defenders in maintaining biodiversity;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Stresses that the pandemic has demonstrated the importance of the ‘One Health’ principle in policy-making and that transformative changes are needed involving collaboration across disciplines and sectors; calls for an urgent rethinking of how to align the EU current policies and how to strengthen human rights within the alignment;
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Stresses that measures to protect biodiversity must be integrated into all economic sectors and reiterates its call on the Commission to urgently present a proposal for an EU legal framework based on mandatory due diligence that ensures sustainable and deforestation-free value chains; underlines the need to strengthen the access to remedy for victims of corporate abuses, when encouraging the adoption of National Action Plans and in support to environmental and indigenous human rights defenders;
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the Commission to mainstream biodiversity as a human right in EU external action and promote ambitious biodiversity-related policies in international fora, in accordance with the European Green Deal and the new EU Biodiversity Strategy; also calls on the Commission to deal with cooperation issues related to the conservation of biodiversity and respect for international environmental and human rights obligations in a common and consistent way, in particular through EU international comprehensive and sectoral agreements and political dialogues with partner countries; urges the Commission, in this regard, to make the most of human rights and sustainable development impact assessments and related recommendations; also calls on the Commission to draw up guidelines on the human right to a clean, healthy, safe and sustainable environment; calls on the EEAS to support the Commission in mainstreaming biodiversity as a human right in external action arising from the Green Deal and the new EU biodiversity strategy;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Regrets that marine plastic pollution has increased tenfold since 1980, affecting at least 267 species; calls on the Union to lead negotiations for an international agreement for plastic-free oceans by 2030; also calls on a transformation of fisheries in order to promote ocean biodiversity;
Amendment 55 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Calls on the Commission to include explicit consideration of biodiversity as a human right in human rights dialogues and as part of the human rights component of policy dialogues, including as part of the practice of handing over 'an individual cases list' of human rights violations committed against human rights defenders or other individuals, as well as during visits to third-country human rights institutions, with a view to supporting integrated programming of external assistance and protection of human rights defenders; calls on the EEAS to ensure that EU Delegations offer a point of contact for NGOs, indigenous peoples’ and biodiversity defenders;