WRITTEN QUESTION E-1433/00

by Caroline Jackson (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(5 May 2000)

Subject: EC biodiversity strategy and action plans

In 1998 the Commission published A European Community Biodiversity Strategy (COM(98) 42). The strategy defines a framework for actions necessary to fulfil the EC's commitments under Article 6 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The stated aim of the strategy is to anticipate, prevent and attack the causes of significant reduction of loss of biological diversity at source. In particular, this is to be achieved by developing and implementing a number of sectoral biodiversity Action Plans.

The Action Plans were to take the form of Commission Communications to the Council and the Parliament and, where appropriate, were to include proposals for legal instruments. They were to be completed within two years after the adoption of the strategy, i.e. by February 2000.

1. Could the Commission provide an update on progress towards developing the individual plans, including those for agriculture, fisheries and economic development and cooperation, and indicate when the final Action Plans can be expected?

2. Can the Commission outline the mechanisms in place to ensure work on the different Action Plans is adequately coordinated, and to allow sufficient technical input from DG Environment? Can it also state how NGOs are being involved in the development of the individual Action Plans, as required by the strategy?

3. Can the Commission clarify how these Action Plans will relate to the sectoral Integration Strategies, that are being elaborated in follow-up to the Cardiff European Council, and to the Sixth Environmental Action Programme that is due to be proposed in December 2000?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(4 July 2000)

The Commission intends to complete a communication to the Council and to the Parliament on sectoral action plans under the Community biodiversity strategy immediately after the summer break. It should comprise four documents: an action plan on conservation of natural resources (being developed by Directorate general (DG) Environment), an action plan on agriculture (being developed by DG Agriculture, in collaboration with DG Health and Consumer Protection and DG Environment), an action plan on fisheries (being developed by DG Fisheries in collaboration with DG Environment), and an action plan on economic and development co-operation (being developed by DG Development in collaboration with DG External relations and DG Environment).

With regard to the internal Commission procedures, DG Environment co-ordinates, facilitates and provides technical input while the primary responsibility for drafting the individual action plans lies with the services responsible for the policy area concerned. The relevant services work in close collaboration and in addition more formal meetings of an ad hoc inter-service group are organised as needed. Finally, all action plans will be the subject of a joint interservice consultation procedure.

The draft action plans are being developed in a participative manner. The Commission has provided both financial and technical support for the organisation of workshops involving non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other parties on agriculture, on fisheries and on economic and development co-operation. Early drafts of the action plan on agriculture have been submitted for comments to the STAR committee and the agriculture and environment consultative forum. The fisheries management committee and the advisory committee for fisheries and aquaculture have considered drafts of the action plan for fisheries. The action plan on economic and development co-operation has been discussed with an ad hoc group of experts from Member States and also in several occasions with European and with developing countries' NGOs. Components of the action plan for conservation of natural resources incorporate comments received regarding specific initiatives. An additional consultation round is to take place when all the components have been assembled into a consolidated draft action plan. Outputs from these workshops and meetings are being considered together with other written contributions from those interested in the drafting process of the different action plans. Naturally, this extensive consultation process takes time and is a contributing factor to the delay in the transmission of the final document.

The draft action plans and the resulting final Commission communication will be a joint effort led by the members of the Commission responsible for Environment, Agriculture, Fisheries, Health and Consumer protection, Development and External relations

With regard to the relationship between this process and the sectoral integration strategies that are being prepared as a follow-up to the Cardiff European Council, the Commission would expect the Council to have in mind its own sectoral integration strategies when considering the action plans.

The Commission appreciates the continuing interest and support of the Parliament in the development and follow-up to the Community biodiversity strategy. The strategy and the sectoral action plans emerging from it will be an important building block for the sixth environmental action programme.