Members of the European Parliament
Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food
Safety
Commissioner Dacian Cioloş
Commissioner Janez Potočnik
3 April 2013
Dear Madam/Sir,
The
Society for Conservation Biology – Europe Section (SCB-ES) would like to
express its deep concern about the recent rejection by Members of the European
Parliament and the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development of necessary
elements of the CAP farm subsidy reforms. The view held by SCB-ES, (and
shared to our knowledge by all main
European environmental organisations) is that the rejection of more profound CAP reforms amounts to a significant
retreat from the international targets on sustainable development,
environmental protection and biodiversity conservation.
The
European Parliamentary Report (2012) ‘Our life insurance, our natural capital:
An EU biodiversity strategy to 2020’
deplored the failure of the European Community to meet its 2010 biodiversity
target, and made straightforward statements regarding the CAP towards 2020, emphasising
“the vital role of farmers in achieving the new EU biodiversity objectives”.
In
an uncompromising language, the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2020 indicates the commitment
required by decision-makers to ensure these targets: “biodiversity
safeguards contained in existing EU law must not be weakened, and new
strategies must not fail.” It also states that “CAP is a crucial tool
for biodiversity conservation, mitigation of climate change, and ecosystem
services.”
In
the light of the above, the recent parliamentary decision is disappointing. We are
particularly concerned that a) the reduction of ecological focus areas to merely
3%, and b) the weakened requirements on crop diversification, may lead to a failure
in achieving a favourable conservation status of 40% of all habitats and
species by 2020. These decisions specifically contradict Target 3A) By 2020 maximise
areas under agriculture to ensure conservation of biodiversity and bring about
a measurable improvement.
SCB-ES
does not doubt the need to support robust and adaptive strategies for
sustainable food production. However, scientific evidence clearly suggests that
short term maximisation of productivity may well hamper long term provision of
ecosystem services and thus productivity in agricultural systems and beyond.
We
urge the MEPs and European Commissioners to honour the parliament’s commitment
to the EU Biodiversity strategy 2020 and global biodiversity targets agreed
upon by the EU and member governments during the COP 10 in Nagoya (Aichi targets)
by ensuring that the CAP subsidy reforms are appropriately aligned to the six
principal targets of the EU strategy, as well as the environmental requirements
set by the Maastricht Treaty.
We
specifically urge to maintain the 25% minimum spending on the environment, set back the Ecological Focus
Areas at 7% or higher (noting that scientific evidence indicates a need to set
it at 10% or higher), reinstate the protection of carbon- and biodiversity rich
grasslands, and perform a careful inspection of eligibility criteria to ensure
that funding is spent wisely. SCB-ES further calls to acknowledge the
biological (and cultural) diversity of European landscapes in ensuring crop
diversification, especially in environmentally sensitive areas, as means to
halt the rapid intensification and homogenization of agricultural areas across Europe.
The
upcoming meetings of the trilogue among DG Agriculture and Rural Development,
the Council of Agriculture Ministers and representatives of the EU Parliament
offer still the opportunity to rectify these elements of the CAP reform. The SCB-ES
Policy Committee stands ready to support any effort to identify the means that are
still available to ensuring that the common agricultural policy supports maximisation
of both economic and environmental benefits, using best available knowledge. We
are prepared to provide any evidence, documentation and tools that could prove
useful, and are keen to organise any necessary meeting(s), or a round table
with relevant European Commissioners and stakeholders.
In
the longer term, it is the intention of the SCB-ES Policy Committee to present
a more comprehensive response to the recent decision made by the MEPs on the
CAP farm subsidy reforms. It will offer recommendations based on sound
principles of cost efficiency, sustainability, and adaptive ecosystem
management.
Please
be so kind to contact us at europe@conbio.org (or the addresses below) to organise a meeting or a
round table at your earliest convenience.
Yours
sincerely,
Prof. Dr. András Báldi, President, Society for
Conservation Biology - Europe Section
Institute of Ecology and Botany, Hungarian Academy
Prof. Dr. Pierre L. Ibisch, Chair of Policy Committee,
Society for Conservation Biology - Europe
Section
Centre for Econics and Ecosystem Management, Faculty
of Forest and Environment, Eberswalde
University
Dr. Guy Pe’er, Chair of Communication Committee, Society for
Conservation Biology - Europe Section
UFZ – Centre for Environmental Research, Department of
Conservation Biology. Permoserstr. 15, 04318 Leipzig , Germany
Copies: IEEP, WWF, BirdLife International, Butterfly
Conservation Europe , IUCN
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