Can Europe halt biodiversity loss by 2010?

Date: 24/05/06

Members of the environment discuss how mankind can live in better harmony with nature

The Commission and member states must follow the plans outlined by the European Parliament, says Karl-Heinz Florenz

EUROPE is marked by a large variety of habitats and species, considering the continent's comparatively small size. Therefore, great importance is attached to the goal of protecting our natural diversity. As the theme of this year's Green Week (30 May-2 June), halting biodiversity loss is the focus of EU environment policy.

Biodiversity constitutes the fabric of life and is the very foundation of human health, quality of life and prosperity. The conservation of biodiversity and the provision of ecosystem services - such as food production, water purification, nutrient circulation and climate regulation - are directly linked.

Therefore, the protection of biodiversity is of great value to our generation as well as the generations to come, in Europe and around the globe. We have to take into account that the level of biodiversity represents the variety of species within an ecosystem. It is therefore an indicator of how close to the original state this ecosystem still is.

Human activity has, and always will have, an impact on nature and its biological diversity. The worldwide consumption of natural resources, the fundamental changes in habitats, the exploitation of wild species, the unsustainable and illegal trade in wild fauna and flora and nowadays especially climate change, are putting ecosystems under severe stress.

Once biodiversity has been damaged, it is often impossible to reverse negative developments, as species within a habitat are dependent on each other. Nevertheless, European environment policy has also shown that pollution reduction leads to a re-establishment of habitats and the return of lost species. But it takes decades.

Climate change today threatens irreversible effects on biodiversity. Developing and implementing measures to stop climate change can therefore also be considered.

If a decline in biodiversity occurs anywhere, it will most likely affect the rest of the world. Therefore, the protection of biodiversity cannot be decided only from a national perspective. It is important that the European Union plays a major role and pushes the halt of biodiversity loss.

Since the 1970s, the EU has been legislating on biodiversity, with major advances made in the 1990s. In 1993, it ratified the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). This is the largest global agreement on the protection of biodiversity, addressing the conservation of biodiversity and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the use of genetic sources, signed by 188 parties. In 2001, the EU committed itself to halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010.

Although the EU has taken important steps toward its 2010 target, there is still much to be done. In its latest resolution, the European Parliament has urged the European Commission and member states to show leadership and conviction by agreeing to and facilitating concrete measures for the protection of biodiversity, both domestically and internationally.

In its recommendations, the European Parliament, moreover, proposes specific steps that should be taken. These focus mainly on improvements in implementing the CBD decisions and work programmes and the development of biodiversity indicators to ensure their effective implementation, which is still hampered by a lack of coherent information. Furthermore, the Parliament is seeking to protect marine biodiversity from destructive practices such as bottom-trawl fishing in areas beyond national jurisdiction and the development of new international financing mechanisms to establish a global network of protected areas on land and sea.

Halting the decline of biodiversity is certainly a difficult task for the EU. If, however, enough effort is put into meeting this goal and if the Commission and member states follow the steps proposed by the European Parliament, it is possible for the EU to halt biodiversity loss by 2010.

• German centre-right MEP Karl-Heinz Florenz is the chairman of Parliament's committee on the environment, public health and food safety.

The EU's rhetoric has not been translated into effective action, says Marie Anne Isler B�in

THE causal link between human activities and the extinction of plants, animals and ecosystems has been widely acknowledged since the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit in 1992, with EU member states and other industrialised countries being predominantly responsible. Our ever-growing demands for food, water, timber, fibre and fuel take their toll on ecosystems: whole sections of forests continue to disappear; climate change threatens species with extinction around the globe; the looting of genetic resources for industry research persists; over-fishing menaces marine life in all of our oceans.

There has been a tendency to regard the EU as a front-runner in environmental policy and legislation. But the EU's ecological footprint has continued to expand: currently the EU25 consume 20% of the world's natural resources, despite having only 7% of the global population.

Since 1998, the EU has had a strategy for reversing present trends of biodiversity decline. Member states agreed to the ambitious target to "protect and restore habitats and natural systems and halt the loss of biodiversity by 2010", as part of the sustainable development strategy adopted in Gothenberg in 2001. There is no paucity of rhetoric; however, it is not always translated into effective action.

Financial commitments provide a useful yardstick as to where priorities lie and the recent agreement on the EU's budget raises questions about how seriously member states take biodiversity protection. Less than 1% of the budget of 2007-13 has been earmarked for the fight against climate change, conservation of biodiversity and other relevant policies. Natura 2000, which is a vital instrument for conserving EU biodiversity by protecting habitats for flora and fauna of European importance, does not even have a budget line. If the EU is serious about realising its 2010 target, the very least it could do is to make meaningful funding available for its biodiversity-related programmes.

A consistent policy approach is equally important. Preaching commitment to reversing biodiversity loss while pursuing policies that have the opposite effect smacks of hypocrisy. EU fisheries policies are an example of this. In the north-east Atlantic 40% of fish stocks are either already over-exploited or depleted (compared to 25% globally). EU fleets are far too large but the European Commission has abandoned attempts to persuade member states to reduce their fleets. Every year, less and less fish comes from EU waters and more and more are either caught under various fisheries agreements with third countries around the world or else simply imported (over 60% of EU fish consumption comes from elsewhere). The EU must implement a precautionary approach to fisheries management.

Climate change is one of the biggest threats to world's biodiversity and the EU needs to step up its efforts to combat it. We must redouble our efforts to reduce emissions in Europe and lead the way in building a global agreement on further international emission reductions. Greater commitment to energy-efficiency and a serious expansion of renewables will help overcome our craving for polluting energy. The EU must also assist developing countries in establishing sustainable energy infrastructure - it is disturbing to hear that in a forthcoming transport policy review the Commission is set to backtrack on previously adopted targets to reduce road transport.

As a leading market for forestry-related products at international level, the EU must take responsibility for combating illegal logging and related trade, as well as improving forest law and governance. We need to speed up an environmentally and socially responsible procurement policy.

The 2010 target is ambitious but necessarily so: biological diversity is crucial to the maintenance of life on earth. If it is to progress towards the 2010 target, the EU must step up action to protect remaining biodiversity in Europe and beyond, and marry it with coherent policies that contribute to the achievement of this goal, rather than detract from it.

• French Green MEP Marie Anne Isler B�in is a member of the Parliament's committee on the environment, public health and food safety.

Two Members of the European Parliament's Environment Committee discuss how mankind can live in better harmony with nature.
Article is part of a European Voice Special Report, 'Biodiversity'.