A4-0238/96

Resolution on the Commission communication to the Council and Parliament on the wise use and conservation of wetlands (COM(95)0189 - C4-0224/95)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission communication to the Council and Parliament, COM(95)0189 - C4-0224/95,

- having regard to Articles 130r, 130s and 130t of the EC Treaty and in particular the principles contained therein of the prudent and rational utilization of natural resources, the precautionary principle and the principle of preventive action,

- having regard to the fifth Environmental Action Programme,

- having regard to the commitments entered into by the Community in respect of the implementation of Agenda 21,

- having regard to the international conventions concerning wetlands to which the Community has acceded,

- having regard to the conclusions adopted by the Council of Ministers of the Environment on 4 March 1996,

- having regard to the communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on cohesion policy and the environment, COM(95)0509,

- having regard to the Council resolution of 25 February 1992 on a global Community strategy for the integrated management of coastal areas,

- having regard to the draft communication to the Commission submitted jointly by Mrs Bjerregaard and Mrs Wulf-Mathies in conjunction with Mrs Bonino concerning a draft communication to the Council and the European Parliament on integrated land-use planning for coastal areas XI/557/95,

- having regard to the Commission communication to the Council and the European Parliament entitled 'Europe 2000' (COM(94)0354),

- having regard to the conclusions of the German Presidency following the informal Council of Regional Planning Ministers of 21-22 September 1994 entitled the 'European Spatial Development Perspective',

- having regard to its resolution of 16 September 1992 on the environmental damage caused by oil spills from ships ((OJ C 284, 2.11.1992, p. 80.)), and its resolution of 27 March 1996 on the 'Sea Empress' maritime disaster ((OJ C 117, 22.4.1996, p. 18.)),

- having regard to the conclusions of the informal Council of Ministers of the Environment of 20-22 June 1995 in Seville concerning the ecological quality of water,

- having regard to the resolution of the Council of Ministers of Transport of 8 June 1993, the conclusions of the Council of Ministers of the Environment of 28-29 June 1993 and the conclusions of the joint Council of Ministers of the Environment and Shipping of 24 March 1994 regarding the cleaning up of marine areas of special ecological interest, in which the passage of tankers carrying petroleum products or other hazardous products must be prohibited,

- having regard to its resolution of 10 July 1987 on the erosion of agricultural land and wetlands in the European Community ((OJ C 246, 14.9.1987, p. 124.)),

- having regard to the report of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection and the opinions of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, the Committee on Transport and Tourism and the Committee on Fisheries (A4-0238/96),

A. having regard to the European Union's obligations to preserve the wetlands arising from its accession to the 1979 Bonn Convention on the conservation of migratory species, the 1979 Berne Convention on the conservation of European wildlife and natural habitats, the 1982 Geneva Protocol on special conservation areas in the Mediterranean region, the Helsinki Convention of 17 March 1992 on the protection of transboundary water courses and international lakes and the Espoo Convention of 25 March 1991 which obliges environmental impact assessment to be carried out for major dam and ground water abstraction projects,

B. having regard to Directive 79/409/EEC on wild birds, and to

(a) Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural and semi-natural habitats, which provides for the establishment of 'Natura 2000', a Europe-wide network of habitats,

(b) Directive 91/271/EEC concerning urban waste water treatment,

(c) Directive 91/676/EEC concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources,

(d) Directive 85/337/EEC on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment,

C. having regard to Article 130r of the Treaty, and also to the fifth Environmental Action Programme, 'Towards sustainability',

D. having regard to Regulation (EEC) 3907/91 on nature conservation (ACNAT), and in particular to

(a) Regulation (EEC) 1973/92 creating a financial instrument for the environment (LIFE),

(b) Regulation (EEC) 2080/92 on aid for forestry measures in agriculture,

(c) Regulation (EEC) 2085/93 on the implementation of the European Agricultural Guarantee and Guidance Fund,

(d) Regulation (EEC) 2078/92 on agri-environmental measures,

(e) Regulation (EEC) 2081/93 on the Structural Funds,

(f) Regulation (EEC) 1164/94 on the Cohesion Fund,

E. having regard to the MedWet action for Mediterranean wetlands under the ACNAT programme, and to

(a) the OECD study entitled 'Market and Government Failures in Environmental Management', 1993,

(b) the WWF Greece study entitled 'A Strategy for the Protection of Freshwater Ecosystems in Southern Europe',

(c) the STOA (DG IV) study entitled 'Assessment of EU Water Quality Policy', 1995,

F. recognizing the importance of wetlands, which are among the most productive and complex of ecosystems, for the entire biosphere, and in particular

(a) aware of the functions performed by wetlands, inter alia in relation to biodiversity, regulating the water balance and controlling floods, improving water quality, replenishing ground water, protecting coastlines from erosion and storing carbon,

(b) emphasizing the economic importance of wetlands for renewable resources, (eco)tourism, as pastureland and reservoirs and as nurseries for many commercially valuable species of fish, shellfish and crustaceans,

(c) emphasizing the importance of wetlands as staging points and breeding grounds for wild birds,

(d) recognizing that wetlands constitute a part of the natural and cultural heritage of mankind,

(e) whereas the functions and value of wetlands are dependent on the hydrological and ecological network of which wetlands form a part,

(f) whereas an integrated approach to the river basin is necessary as activities in wetlands have consequences for the river basin elsewhere and vice-versa,

G. concerned at the continuing loss and degradation of wetlands in Europe and throughout the world, and in particular

(a) recognizing that the continuing loss and degradation of wetlands is due to economic pressures, uncoordinated administrative and legislative interference and the failure to inform the public and its leaders of the functions and value of wetlands,

(b) drawing attention to the failure to record and evaluate the wetlands in the EU on the basis of a unified system,

H. wishing to help conserve the wetlands which remain and reinstate those which have been degraded,

I. believing that the 'wise use' of wetlands as defined in the Ramsar Convention and put forward in the Commission communication on the wise use and conservation of wetlands is in full accordance with the Community aim of sustainability and consequently may provide the basis for developing a Community policy and strategy in this field,

J. considering that the strategy for the wise use and conservation of wetlands will inter alia provide a means of establishing the 'Natura 2000' network and ensuring its consistency, and for the EU to meet its obligations under the international environmental conventions to which it and the Member States have acceded,

K. pointing out that wetlands are affected by activities in their catchment areas, even at a great distance from them,

L. emphasizing that the basis for the wise use and conservation of wetlands is the proper management and economic use of water so that it is available in the right quantities and quality to meet domestic socio-economic needs as well as the needs of wetlands and other ecosystems throughout the year,

M. recognizing the need for the wetlands strategy to be included in the regional planning (spatial development) strategy in general so that it may be fully integrated into other policies having an influence on decisions on land use and land reclamation, and to prevent the frequent conflicts between the various development initiatives of the EU and the Member States with Community environmental objectives, and

(a) emphasizing the special role of the operations of the Structural Funds, the Cohesion Fund, the EIB and the programmes financing projects in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the countries of the CIS and the developing countries, such as INTEREG, TACIS and PHARE, and believing that the failures of the past must be avoided,

(b) concerned at the afforestation of wetlands with aid under Regulation (EEC) 2080/92,

N. pointing out the need for increased Community support for measures directed towards the wise use and conservation of wetlands in the EU and in third countries, and stressing the special role the Cohesion Fund is in a position to play in supporting large-scale schemes to restore degraded wetlands,

O. calling for improved international cooperation with the developing countries and with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe with a view to enlarging the EU so that they may meet minimum environmental requirements, and with the countries of the CIS and the ACP countries in order there too to further the wise use and conservation of wetlands,

1. Urges the Commission and the Member States to make additional funds available for the protection and maintenance of wetlands and to integrate the maintenance and protection of wetlands into the relevant policy areas such as fisheries, transport, agriculture, regional policy and development cooperation and tourism and recreation;

2. Calls on the Commission to put forward proposals for a Community policy on wetlands, which should be defined and should benefit from a special status related to a global policy of sustainable management;

3. Considers that the efforts made by the EU to date to protect and conserve wetlands have been insufficient to check their continuing loss and degradation;

4. Welcomes the recognition of wetlands as part of the natural and cultural heritage, and of their ecological value and the value of their functions to mankind and the environment and recommends that the EU accedes to the Ramsar Convention, establishing a 'Euro-wetland' within its boundaries;

5. Invites the Commission to take measures to list and evaluate all European wetlands and to map their habitats on the basis of a consistent system. This inventory and the creation of a databank are preconditions for observing the wise use of wetlands and the establishment of a dense network of interlinked wetlands under 'Nature 2000'; this type of system has already been developed and set up under the Community MedWet scheme to establish an environmental strategy for the Mediterranean wetlands; this can be used as the basis for developing a consistent system applicable throughout the continent of Europe; the Commission will have to provide technical and financial support for the inventorization of the wetlands over the next four years;

6. Calls on the Member States to classify all wetlands meeting the relevant criteria of the Ramsar Convention as wetlands of international importance;

7. Calls on the Commission to treat natural wetlands, and in particular those which qualify as 'wetlands of international importance' under the Ramsar Convention or have been designated 'special protection areas' and automatically included in the Natura 2000 network, with the obligations arising under Article 6 of the Habitats Directive, and pursuant to the Wild Birds Directive or 'special conservation areas', pursuant to the Habitats Directive as irreplaceable and to prohibit any destruction or degradation of them for any reason at all, as moreover Community and international law and the precautionary principle dictate; the loss or degradation of semi- natural or man-made wetlands may be permitted only where there is an overriding public interest in respect of public health or safety and where there is no possible alternative. In such cases ecological criteria must be used to determine the wetlands to be restored or created to replace the lost wetland areas;

8. Believes that research must be carried out, which shall also result in the adoption of measures, to determine and make a quantitative assessment of the value of the various elements of the wetlands to enable a scale of prices for the natural resources of the wetlands to be applied which should blunt some of the unfortunate effects of the workings of the market;

9. Believes that the basic problem bedeviling the wise use and conservation of wetlands is the conflict over the allocation of water resources, in particular with the farmers, and fertilizer and pesticide pollution of water. The problem is made worse by the constantly increasing demand for water from agriculture, industry, tourism and households, which results in shortages, especially in the southern countries of the EU;

10. Calls therefore on the Commission to draw up a water-saving programme for the EU, laying down clear quantitative objectives so as to ensure the long- term coverage of socio-economic needs and the ecological needs of wetlands and of other ecosystems throughout the year. Water prices must also be set at levels reflecting the full cost of production and use;

11. Calls on the Commission to adopt measures to protect coastal wetlands, which are being put under greater destructive pressure, within the framework of its obligations to protect environmentally sensitive coastal areas against pollution which is likely to be caused by tankers carrying oil or other dangerous products and considers that the possibility of establishing tanker-free zones should be examined;

12. Repeats once again its call for the Commission to submit, at the earliest possible date, a directive on the integrated planning and management of coastal zones, as set out in its resolution of 29 February 1996 on the Communication from the Commission to the Council and Parliament on the integrated management of coastal zones (( OJ C 78, 18.3.1996, p. 16.));

13. Considers that measures must be taken to ensure that the Structural Funds, the EIB and programmes in favour of developing countries and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe such as INTERREG, TACIS and PHARE should no longer finance projects damaging to wetlands;

14. Calls on the Commission to include in the PHARE and TACIS programmes a section on wetlands and to take account of the resolution adopted at Windhoek during the XXII EU-ACP Joint Assembly, calling for cooperation in the area of wetlands between the European and ACP countries;

15. Considers that the Commission communication to the Council and European Parliament on the wise use and conservation of wetlands covers the most important aspects of this topic and consequently may be a useful basis for developing a Community policy and strategy for the wetlands;

16. Recognizes that the principle of wise use put forward in the communication fully corresponds to the principle of sustainability which is an objective of the fifth Action Programme on the Environment;

17. Concurs with the final conclusion of the communication according to which a comprehensive and coherent Community wetland policy is the only way of ensuring the wise use and conservation of wetlands, within the EU and internationally;

18. Believes that any further loss and degradation of wetland areas must be prevented;

19. Considers that wherever possible degraded wetlands should be restored;

20. Does not however regard restored or man-made wetlands as a rule as equivalent to natural wetlands, as regards either their ecological value or functions;

21. Considers that there are three basic reasons for the loss or degradation of wetlands: poor information to the public and decision-makers, the malfunction of market forces and misguided administrative action at both national and EU level;

22. Calls therefore on the Commission to step up its efforts to inform the public and decision-makers of the adoption of decisions concerning the value and functions of wetlands on the basis of the most recent scientific research results. The training of 'wetlands managers' and technical experts capable of advising local authorities on decisions relating to the wise use and conservation of wetlands must take place at EU level. Minimum qualifications for these professions must also be laid down at Community level;

23. Considers any integrated conclusive approach whose aim is the wise use and conservation of wetlands must cover the wider area and all activities which might affect a wetland; stresses that the proper eco-geographical unit is the water catchment area within which the wetland is located; believes that the wise use and conservation of wetlands must be included in the EU's policies and activities;

24. Calls on the Commission to include the strategy for the wise use and conservation of coastal wetlands in the strategy for the integrated regional planning of coastal areas as defined in the draft communication on the subject addressed to the Commission by Mrs Bjerregaard and Mrs Wulf-Mathies in cooperation with Mrs Bonino; considers that wetland management must be included as a separate topic in the planned 'demonstration programme', which will allow the trial of models for cooperation between the various authorities and administrative levels involved in the management of wetlands and the collection of the information needed for the dialogue between the EU bodies to establish the criteria and machinery to incorporate the wise use and conservation of wetlands in all other policies and in particular the Structural Funds; the creation of a special coordination unit on the lines of the ORNIS and Habitat committees monitoring the implementation of the Wild Birds and Habitats Directives respectively will have to be undertaken with care;

25. Calls on the Commission to take action for the progressive prohibition of the use of toxic shot in hunting within a defined period;

26. Calls on the Commission to take action to halt the extraction of peat where it is damaging active peat-bogs which are priority habitats under to the Habitats Directive; the origin of imported peat must be scrutinized to ensure that its extraction does not destroy active peat-bogs in the European Union and in particular in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe;

27. Calls on the Commission to discontinue financial support for the afforestation of wetlands such as water-meadows and peat-bogs funded by Regulation (EEC) 2080/92, which regulation should be amended to support afforestation above all on degraded agricultural land, provided that it does not have a harmful influence on the hydrology of neighbouring wetlands;

28. Considers that monitoring the implementation of the Community's environmental legislation arising from international conventions to which the EU is a party falls within the sphere of the Commission (Article 155 of the Treaty), and calls on it to propose to the Council that resources be made available to support measures to realise their objectives;

29. Considers that Directive 85/337/EEC on environmental impact assessment should be amended to make environmental impact assessment compulsory for any project within a water catchment area which might have an impact on a wetland and in particular any large dam or groundwater extraction project pursuant to the Espoo Convention; criteria must be established for 'acceptable' environmental impact on the basis of the capacity of the ecosystems to tolerate it;

30. Considers that the approach at water catchment area level and the avoidance of intervention conflicting with the wise use and conservation of wetlands requires a 'strategic' assessment of environmental impact which needs to cover not isolated projects but programmes, plans and policies;

31. Considers that the attainment of the quality objectives for wetlands requires the utilization of existing financial machinery to support measures for the wise use, conservation and restoration of wetlands, and that support must be granted to non-governmental organizations concerned with the preservation, restoration and management of wetlands or having qualifications in these fields;

32. Considers that the agri-environmental Regulation 2078/92 is potentially the principal instrument for incorporating environmental requirements into the Common Agricultural Policy provided that its funding is substantially increased;

33. Believes that support must be given for both traditional non-intensive activities making as little as possible use of fertilizers and pesticides and to specific traditional wetland products, that drainage must be discouraged and the creation and restoration of buffer zones around wetlands and along rivers must be supported in the framework of an environmental regulation;

34. Calls on the Commission to support traditional forms of fishing and aquaculture in the wetlands, the protection of fish spawning and breeding grounds and the study and inventorization of natural fish stocks with the aim of exploiting them on the sustainability principle;

35. Calls on the Commission to amend the regulation on the European Fund so as not to encourage further drainage and irrigation works;

36. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to take the required institutional measures at EU, national and regional level so as to ensure the effective participation of local bodies, non-governmental organizations and the public in decisions likely to have an impact on wetlands; NGO participation in the planned coordinating body, and on the Wild Birds and Habitat committees, must be put on a formal basis. The NGOs must be encouraged to inform the Commission of activities threatening wetlands and the Commission must reexamine the complaint procedures with a view to speeding them up;

37. Calls on the Commission to examine the possibility of creating a section on wetlands under the PESCA programme;

38. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the parliaments of the Member States.