Rare birds under threat from accession transport scheme

Date: 06/09/01

By Laurence Frost

SOME of the world's most endangered bird species are threatened by EU plans for massive transport links in new member countries, conservationists are warning.

A global coalition of wildlife groups, Birdlife International, is launching a campaign next week to push for an environmental review of the transport corridors set out in the Union's pre-enlargement programme, known as TINA (Transport Infrastructure Needs Assessment).

According to a study by Birdlife, the routes will hit one in five of the sites due to become protected areas under Union law, which are home to some of the most threatened species including the Dalmatian Pelican,

Red-Breasted Goose and Aquatic Warbler. The organisation wants the Commission to cut off funding to projects that could destroy important habitat sites. "We think these are incredibly high numbers," said report author Zoltan Waliczky of the UK's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. "It would be criminal and contrary to EU legislation for a scheme partly paid for by EU taxpayers to destroy an important part of Europe's rich natural heritage."

The developments would threaten some of Europe's most important habitats including Romania's Danube Delta and Poland's Biebrza Marshes.

The EU identified more than 43,000 kilometres of roads, railways and waterways as TINA corridors in 1999, and made them investment priorities for governments and Union sources including the European Investment Bank and a €7-billion enlargement fund for environment and transport. Up to €90 billion will be required to complete the networks over 15 years.

Birdlife and its 40 European member organisations are campaigning for a review of the corridors, and for stricter environmental assessments by accession countries. They say the studies are often conducted in secret and do not consider alternative routes - which is compulsory under Union directives governing transport networks (TENs) within the EU. "If these sites were already in the EU there would be strict requirements on the sort of assessments that have to be conducted," said Waliczky. "We just want to see the same standards applied to these sites." EU rules will not be binding on TINA routes until they are fused with the TENs upon accession.

But the Commission maintains it is using its €3.5-billion transport fund as leverage to ensure the TINA projects comply with ecological rules. "It's true the legislation in place for member states isn't binding on acceding countries, so they're not obliged to follow these rules," said Josef Grüter, the transport official in charge of TENs and TINAs. "But if they want to have a penny from us then we insist on a proper environmental assessment before we put financing in."

Union transport and environment ministers will discuss the ecological impact of enlargement programmes when they meet in Louvain-la-Neuve and Leuven on 14-16 September.

Some of the world's most endangered bird species are threatened by EU plans for massive transport links in new member countries, conservationists are warning.