13 Amendments of Mick WALLACE related to 2019/2157(INI)
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas forests and other wooded land cover at least 43 % of the EU’s territory, and some Member States have more than half of their territories covered by forests and are heavily invested in forestrydependent on their natural environment;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
Bb. whereas genetic variety in forests is essential for adapting to changing environmental conditions such as climate change and for restoring biodiversity;
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Recital B c (new)
Recital B c (new)
Bc. whereas the conservation of high- carbon ecosystems, including forests, is identified by the IPCC as having immediate positive impacts and should thus be prioritised in this strategy;
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas Europe’s forests are of immense value in terms of climate mitigation, since they absorb and store 10 % of EU carbon emissions; whereas maximum CO2 sequestration potential comes from untouched woodland, compared to efforts to sequester CO2 with commercial forestry;
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas forests are habitats and forest ecosystems are home to many of the species that are at risk of extinction and their value cannot be offset, monetised or quantified; whereas nature has a value in and of itself beyond its use value to humans;
Amendment 54 #
Draft opinion
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Amendment 84 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the decision from the Commission to introduce a new forest strategy as part of the European Green Deal; stresses the unlocked potential and urgent need for forests to play a bigger role in limiting global warming and restoring biodiversity; stresses the need for the forest strategy to fully observe the principle of subsidiarity; emphasises, in this regard, the need for a holistic and, consistent and Paris-compliant 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;
Amendment 111 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses that according to scientific research, sustainably managundisturbed forests have a higher CO2 absorption capacity than unmanaged forests; urges, therefore, that the new forest strategy should promote sustainable forest management; recognises the positive impact of sustainable forest management on European forest biodiversity; notes that forest protection and production do not act in contradiction, but can in fact be complementary to one another; regretfully notes that many areas across the EU have had forestry policies that encouraged commercial forestry at the expense of the natural environment;
Amendment 147 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. EmphasiStresses the important role forests can play in substituting fossil- based materials with bio-based productce of natural carbon sinks in limiting global warming and notes that commercial forestry has less CO2 sequestration potential compared to natural, regenerated forests and woodlands; believes that the new forest strategy should reflect the importance of the role played by European forests and the EU’s circular bio- economy in reaching climate neutrality byas soon as possible, and well before 2050 and that measures to this end should be included;
Amendment 161 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Stresses that nature-based solutions to tackle climate change must have no negative social or environmental consequences; calls for safeguards in this respect within the forthcoming strategy;
Amendment 182 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes that research and technology have come a long way since the forest strategy was introduced in 2013; stresses the importance of encouraging further public research in forestry and bio-based products and believes that EU funds for research should be further directed towards this; stresses that more research and funding would make a positive contribution to climate change mitigation, sustainable economic growth and employment, especially in rural areas;
Amendment 205 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Expresses its concern over the health condition and resilience of forests in many parts of Europe caused by intensive agriculture and forestry practices, air and water pollution, the use of pesticides and other harmful human activities; 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., as well as rectify legislation that does harm to forests;