16 Amendments of Nicolás GONZÁLEZ CASARES related to 2019/2157(INI)
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas the European Union has committed to the achievement of the Aichi Targets of the Convention on Biological Diversity, such as target 7 requiring that by 2020 areas under agriculture, aquaculture and forestry are managed sustainably, ensuring conservation of biodiversity, but the Union is not set to meet the targets;
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas the European Union has committed to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including goal 15 to Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss;
Amendment 56 #
Draft opinion
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas the European Parliament has declared a climate and environment emergency on 28th November 2019;
Amendment 61 #
Draft opinion
Recital C c (new)
Recital C c (new)
Cc. whereas according to the IPBES Global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services of 2019, nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history and 1 million animal and plant species are threatened with extinction;
Amendment 81 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the decision from the Commission to introduce a new forest strategy; stresses the need for the forest strategy to be fully observe the principle of subsidiarity; emphasises, in this regard,aligned with the European Green Deal and the upcoming 2030 biodiversity strategy; recalls that under Article 191 TFEU, Union policy on the environment shall contribute, among other objectives, to the pursuit of preserving, protecting and improving the quality of the environment, and to prudent and rational utilisation of natural resources; recalls that several pieces of EU legislation affect forests and forest management; emphasises the need for a holistic and consistent forest strategy that enhances the multifunctional role of forests and the forest-based sector in the EU and that promotes the far- reaching societal, economic and environmental benefits of forests; underlines the urgent need to prevent and manage natural disturbances; highlights that the forest strategy should not be subordinate to any other sectoral strategy in full respect of the Union's climate and environmental objectives;
Amendment 143 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Emphasises the important role forests can play in substituting fossil-based materials with bio-based products; believes that the new forest strategy should reflect the importance of the role played by European forests and the EU’s circularpotential of the EU’s circular, sustainable bio- economy in reaching climate neutrality by 2050 and that measures to this end should be included; stresses, however, that measures in the new forest strategy concerning the bio- economy and use of wood biomass should duly take into account the impacts on the conservation of forest ecosystems and on CO2 sequestration; highlights that the new forest strategy must respect resource- efficiency and the principle of cascading use;
Amendment 154 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 – point a (new)
Paragraph 3 – point a (new)
(a) Points out that in the report on progress on the implementation of the EU Forest Strategy, it is noted that despite the action taken so far, the implementation of the EU biodiversity policy remains a major challenge 1a, and that the reports on the conservation of forest habitats and species show little improvement so far; calls on the Commission to integrate in the new forest strategy as a key component the protection and restoration of forest ecosystems and biodiversity; _________________ 1a https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regdoc/ rep/1/2018/EN/COM-2018-811-F1-EN- MAIN-PART-1.PDF
Amendment 156 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Amendment 203 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Expresses its concern over the health condition and resilience of forests in many parts of Europe; highlights the need to strengthen and make full use of EU mechanisms to tackle the transboundary pressures on forests from the spread of invasive alien species, pests, and diseases. underlines that the new forest strategy should take into account that a diverse forest, especially if it reflects the composition that is natural to the region, is generally more resilient than mono-culture forest or forests that have short harvesting cycles; highlights the need to strengthen and make full use of EU mechanisms to tackle the transboundary pressures on forests; recalls that according to the European Environmental Agency the main sources 1a of pressure on forests in the EU are increased land use, expanding urban areas and climate change; emphasizes that the ecosystems are increasingly prone to natural disturbances such as storms, fires, droughts, invasive species, pests, insect infestation and diseases all amplifying vulnerability to climate change; _________________ 1aForest dynamics in Europe and their ecological consequences EEA, published 27th November 2018.
Amendment 211 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 – point 1 (new)
Paragraph 5 – point 1 (new)
(1) Points out that air pollution has a significant impact on not only human health but also the environment; invites the European Commission to explore the impacts of air pollution on forests and forest biodiversity in its upcoming zero- pollution action plan;
Amendment 212 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 – point 2 (new)
Paragraph 5 – point 2 (new)
(2) Welcomes the launch of Forest Information System for Europe (FISE) on February 2020 that provides European data infrastructure in the area of forests; calls on the Member States to fully engage in sharing data and working towards a harmonized data framework on the state of forests in Europe; calls on the work of the FISE to be completed in a timely manner on all five priority themes; on forest basic data, bio-economy, nature and biodiversity, climate change mitigation and forest health and resilience;
Amendment 216 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 – point 6 (new)
Paragraph 5 – point 6 (new)
(6) Welcomes that, as announced in the European Green Deal, the new forest strategy will have as its key objectives effective afforestation, forest preservation and restoration; highlights, that the carbon capture potential of forest ecosystems continues to increase into the maturity of the forest ecosystem and that natural forests offer important benefits; stresses that priority should be given to the protection and restoration of existing forests, in particular old-growth forests;
Amendment 218 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 – point 8 (new)
Paragraph 5 – point 8 (new)
(8) Stresses that the new EU forest strategy must strictly protect European primary forests against all activities, disturbances and fragmentation; notes with concern that data on primary forests remains incomplete, but according to available information only 46% of mapped primary forests in Europe have the highest status of protection, 24% are afforded a status of national parks and 11% remain unprotected 1a; calls on the Commission to propose without delay a comprehensive definition of primary forests and work to improve data collection on primary forests; _________________ 1a https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10. 1111/ddi.12778 figure 3.
Amendment 219 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 – point 9 (new)
Paragraph 5 – point 9 (new)
(9) Recalls, that most of the EU forests are managed 1a, including majority of old growth forests; the improvement of the proportion of old growth forests requires an EU forest strategy with a long term planning; invites the Commission to propose a long term EU forest strategy for the improvement of the proportion of old growth forest; _________________ 1a https://science.sciencemag.org/content/35 1/6273/597.full
Amendment 220 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 – point 10 (new)
Paragraph 5 – point 10 (new)
(10) Calls on the Commission to explore the potential of developing a legislative framework on a EU certification scheme for locally produced wood, that is based on the highest sustainability standards;
Amendment 221 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 – point 11 (new)
Paragraph 5 – point 11 (new)
(11) Points out that there is scope for improvement in the uptake of Rural Development funds by Member States, especially in the programs related to improving forest biodiversity; calls on the Member States to use the available support measures for the conservation of forests and biodiversity; highlights also the importance of ensuring sufficient resources for the implementation of the new EU forest strategy;