Activities of Louis MICHEL related to 2018/2003(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Citation 33 b (new)

– having regard to the European Commission's strategic ‘Larger than Elephants’ approach to wildlife conservation in Africa and the forthcoming publication of the ‘Larger than Tigers’ study on biodiversity conservation in Asia,

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Citation 33 c (new)

– having regard to the UNODC Global Programme for Combating Wildlife and Forest Crime,

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Citation 33 d (new)

– having regard to the Report on the impact of international trade and the EU's trade policies on global value chains (2016/2301),

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas forests are home to an estimated 80 % of all plants and all terrestrial species; whereas 300 million people live in forests and 1.6 billion people rely directly on forests for their livelihood;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas deforestation and forest degradation occur for the most part in the southern hemisphere and tropical forests;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas forest restoration is crucial for limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees; whereas all countries should accept their responsibilities and take measures to reduce the costs of greenhouse gas emissions in their own country;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas while FLEGT-VPAs have proved valuable in helping to improve forest governance, the~~y still have many flaws~~ir full implementation needs to be further stepped up; whereas they need greater synergy with other procedures linked to protecting the rights of indigenous peoples and combating deforestation and climate change;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

Da. whereas the aim of the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) is to ensure no illegal timber is placed on the EU market; whereas a public consultation was launched at the start of this year on possible changes to the Regulation's scope;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)

Db. whereas illegal logging causes considerable damage to the environment, threatens the survival of species and often entails criminal offences, land grabbing and attacks on the rights of local communities;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Recital D c (new)

Dc. whereas protected areas should be at the heart of any strategic approach to wildlife conservation; whereas they should act as secure and inclusive economic development poles, based on sustainable farming, energy, culture and tourism, and lead to the development of good governance;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Recital D d (new)

Dd. whereas public-private partnerships play an important role in the sustainable development of parks in sub- Saharan African, with the rights of forest communities respected;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Recital D e (new)

De. whereas diasporas may play an interface role in knowledge transfer;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas the UN’s Agenda 2030 sets the target of halting and reversing deforestation and forest degradation by 2020, and this commitment is reiterated in the Paris Climate Agreement;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)

Ga. whereas as actors and partners in sustainable development, indigenous women and women farmers play a central role in protecting forest ecosystems; whereas promoting their empowerment is important;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Recital I

I. whereas agriculture accounts for 80 % of deforestation worldwide, with particular reference to the palm oil, soya, beef and leather sectors, commodities that are largely intended for the EU market;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)

Ia. whereas the EU is one of the main importers of agricultural commodities currently associated with deforestation and forest degradation (soya or palm oil, for example); whereas the EU can have a significant impact therefore, particularly in regard to demand and its due diligence requirements;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)

Ja. Recalls that the EU is one of the main import markets for timber and agricultural commodities and has, therefore, a decisive role to play in combating deforestation and forest degradation; insists on all necessary measures being taken to avoid illegally logged timber being placed on the EU market; stresses the importance of widening the scope of the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) to include as many timber products as possible;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Recalls that the Agenda 2030 recognises that forests play a critical role in sustainable development; reiterates that sustainable and inclusive forest management and responsible use of forest commodities constitute the most effective and cheapest natural system for carbon capture and storage;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Notes with concern that the forest sector is particularly vulnerable to poor governance, including corruption, fraud and organised crime, and that organised crime still enjoys a significant degree of impunity;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Calls on the Commission to step up its efforts regarding the full and effective implementation of the FLEGT Action Plan and to monitor regularly the progress made by consulting all the parties concerned on a regular basis;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Urges the Commission to immediately launch a thorough impact assessment, and a genuine stakeholder consultation, with the purpose of establishing a meaningful EU Action Plan on deforestation and forest degradation that includes concrete and coherent regulatory measures to ensure that no supply chains or financial transactions linked to the EU cause deforestation, forest degradation, or human rights violations; calls for this Action Plan to promote enhanced financial and technical assistance to producer countries with the specific aim of protecting, maintaining and restoring forests and critical ecosystems, and enhancing the livelihoods of forest- dependent communities;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Calls for particular attention to be paid to the practice of transhumance, to protecting borders from armed groups, and to the trade sustaining said groups; calls for improvements to technical and political governance to be developed;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5b. Calls for the promotion of community forestry, which guarantees local communities a means of subsistence while ensuring ecosystems are conserved;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 c (new)

5c. Calls for local populations living in high biodiversity areas to receive the tangible benefits of conserving these environments;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Urges partner countries to recognise and protect ~~indigenous peoples’ right to customary ownership and control of their lands and natural resources, as set out~~the right of local forest-dependent communities, and of indigenous peoples, notably indigenous women, in particular, to customary ownership and control of their lands and natural resources, as set out in international human rights instruments such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and in ILO Convention 169; calls on the EU to support partner countries in this effort and in applying the principle of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) to large-scale land acquisitions;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Denounces the rising number of attacks on civil society's and local communities' freedom of expression in regard to forest governance;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Deplores the DRC Government's challenge to the moratorium on granting two Chinese companies new licences for logging in the DRC's tropical rain forests; calls for the moratorium to be maintained until the logging companies, the government and local forest-dependent communities reach an agreement on protocols ensuring satisfactory environmental and societal management;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Stresses the need to ensure that global supply chains and financial flows only support legal, sustainable and deforestation-free production and do not result in human rights violations;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14a. Calls on the EU to strengthen its dialogue with countries that are also major import markets so that they establish ambitious and binding regulatory frameworks to combat deforestation and forest degradation;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14a. Calls too on the EU to promote a similar binding regulatory framework at international level;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Calls for the EU to introduce cross- compliance criteria for animal feed in the CAP reform with the objective of ~~reducing imports of protein feed crops and livestock~~ensuring that public subsidies are only granted for sustainable foodstuffs from a legal source, reducing imports of protein feed crops and livestock, and encouraging diversification of protein sources;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15a. Stresses that the new CAP will have to be aligned with the EU's international commitments, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)

15b. Calls for the SDG indicators to be used to assess the CAP's external effects, as suggested by the OECD;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)

17a. Recalls that PCD is considered to be a fundamental aspect of the EU's contribution to achieving the SDGs;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)

17b. Recalls that the Consensus calls for interconnections between the different SDGs to be tackled and a global and strategic approach adopted in order to implement Agenda 2030 in all policies, seeking synergies, particularly on the five strategic challenges (trade and finance, the environment and climate change, food security, migration and security) and in close coordination with the implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

21. Stresses the need to restore natural, biologically diverse forests, recalling that this is a commitment that has already been agreed to (Sustainable Development Goal 15) and must therefore be honoured;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Notes that, according to UNEP and INTERPOL, illegal logging and trade in timber are one of the five most important sectors of environmental criminality, with transnational organised crime groups playing an ever greater role;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

22a. Stresses that combating illegal international trade requires concerted and inclusive action to stop the destruction, deforestation, illegal logging and combat the fraud, the slaughter and the demand for forest commodities and wildlife; calls for an international police force to be set up to keep protected areas safe;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 b (new)

22b. Calls on the Commission to support cross-border financial cooperation projects set up by neighbouring countries to fight environmental crime together;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. Stresses the need to address the root causes of environmental crime, such as poverty, corruption, poor governance and to develop a conservation policy that fits African society instead of imposing one that is out of step with the African continent's cultural context;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)

23a. Calls on the Commission to widen the scope of Directive 2008/99/EC on the protection of the environment through criminal law to include illegal timber logging;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)

23a. Stresses the importance of deploying truly dissuasive and effective penalties in producer countries to combat illegal logging and trade in timber;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 b (new)

23b. Encourages the EU to provide assistance in strengthening surveillance of deforestation and illegal activities;

2018/05/22
Committee: DEVE