WRITTEN QUESTION E-1072/02

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(17 April 2002)

Subject: Imports of the tree fern Dicksonia antarctica and the danger that this poses to the species

1. Is the Commission aware of the report in the edition of The Times for 18 February 2002 concerning the threat posed to the tree fern Dicksonia antarctica by a craze for using the species as a decorative garden plant?

2. The plant is legally imported into the European Union, with 91 % of imports going to Great Britain, where it has been popularised by television gardening programmes. 140 000 plants have been legally imported over the last five years, of which almost half have been taken directly from the wild. Specimens do not replace themselves, as their rate of reproduction is extremely slow. According to the World Wildlife Fund, which has published a report on the matter which was the subject of the article in The Times, most tree ferns are ripped from old-growth, wet, temperate rainforests, subsidising logging operations that are wrecking wildlife habitats in south-eastern Australian states such as Victoria and Tasmania.

3. Does the Commission agree that, given the impossibility of distinguishing specimens taken from the wild from those cultivated specifically for the market, a complete ban on imports would be the most appropriate action? Does it plan to propose such a ban, or does it believe that some other form of action would be effective in conserving this prehistoric species?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(6 June 2002)

1. The Commission is aware of the report Alert over tree ferns loved by TV garden makeovers in the edition of The Times from 18 February 2002 as well as of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) report Traded towards extinction? from February 2002.

2. The international trade in endangered plants is regulated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The provisions of CITES are implemented in the Union by Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97(1) and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1808/2001(2).

Dicksoniaceae spp. were listed on CITES Appendix II and Annex B of Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 until March 2000, when the CITES Conference of the Parties agreed on a change of the listing of Dicksoniaceae spp. to Dicksonia spp. (originating in the Americas

only). The proposal for this partial de-listing had resulted from a review undertaken by the CITES Plants Committee. It was recognised that Dicksonia antarctica was one of the species which were traded in significant quantities but the trade was not considered to be a threat for the conservation of the species (except in the Americas). In addition, both in Australia and New Zealand, commercial trade of tree fern was regarded as well regulated.

3. Matters concerning bans on imports to the Union can be discussed in the Scientific Review Group (SRG) which is a consultative body established under Article 17 of Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97. At the moment there are no proposals from the Member States to ban commercial imports of Dicksonia antarctica. Any new evidence in this regard will need careful examination.

(1) Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 of 9 December 1996 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein, OJ L 61, 3.3.1997.

(2) Commission Regulation (EC) No 1808/2001 of 30 August 2001, laying down detailed rules concerning the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97, OJ L 250, 19.9.2001.