8.2.2022
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
C 67/31 Wednesday 9 June 2021
AN. whereas forests and the entire forest-based value chain are fundamental to the further development of the circular bio-economy, as they provide jobs, ensure economic welfare in rural and urban areas, deliver climate change mitigation and adaptation services, offer health-related benefits, protect the biodiversity and prospects of mountainous, island and rural regions and combat desertification;
AO. whereas forests account for 43 % of the EU’s land area and contain 80 % of its terrestrial biodiversity (36); whereas forestry activities are the second largest reported pressure category for species (37), affecting in particular arthropods, mammals and non-vascular plants; whereas many forest-dependent species are negatively affected by the removal of dead, dying and old trees (38), reduction of old-growth forests and certain forest management methods such as clear-cutting;
AP. whereas forests harbour more than 75 % of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity (39); whereas Parliament has made recommendations to the Commission on an EU legal framework to halt and reverse EU-driven global deforestation and forest and ecosystem degradation (40);
AQ. whereas the good status of the environment and healthy ecosystems are vital in fighting climate change, with ecosystems playing a fundamental role in climate mitigation and adaptation; whereas climate change affects biodiversity as climate variables largely determine the geographical distribution ranges of species; whereas in areas where the climate is no longer suitable, some species shift their geographical ranges and others go extinct locally;
AR. whereas nature-based solutions and ecosystem-based approaches have the potential to provide a strong policy connection between the three Rio conventions, addressing climate change and biodiversity loss in an integrated manner;
AS. whereas according to IPBES, pollution is one of the five drivers of biodiversity loss; whereas it is estimated that robust information exists for about 500 chemicals and whereas by April 2019, the European Chemicals Agency considered 450 substances as being sufficiently regulated; whereas another 10 000 substances are considered to have their risks fairly well characterised, while limited risk information is available for around 20 000 substances; whereas for the majority, around 70 000 substances, there is hardly any information on their hazards or exposure risks; whereas significant knowledge gaps regarding all impacts of chemicals on biodiversity and the environment need to be urgently closed;
AT. whereas light pollution alters the natural night light levels for humans, animals and plants, thus negatively affecting biodiversity by, for example, unbalancing the migratory, nocturnal and reproductive activity of animals, leading also to the loss of insects and pollinators who are fatally drawn to artificial light;
AU. whereas according to the Joint Research Centre 2020 report (41), invasive alien species (IAS) are now present in all ecosystems and are threatening urban ecosystems and grasslands in particular;
AV. whereas current negative trends in biodiversity and ecosystems will undermine progress towards not only the SDG environmental targets, but also those related to poverty, hunger, health, water, cities and climate; whereas loss and
(36) (37) (38) (39) (40) (41)
European Parliament article of 9 December 2020 entitled ‘Sustainable forestry: Parliament’s work to fight deforestation’.
Commission report of 15 October 2020 entitled ‘The state of nature in the European Union — Report on the status and trends in 2013 — 2018 of species and habitat types protected by the Birds and Habitats Directives’ (COM(2020)0635). Ibid.
FAO and the United Nations Environment Programme report of 22 May 2020 entitled ‘The State of the World’s Forests — Forests, biodiversity and people’.
Resolution with recommendations to the Commission on an EU legal framework to halt and reverse EU-driven global deforestation.
Commission Joint Research Centre Science for Policy report of 13 October 2020 entitled ‘Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystem and their Services: An EU ecosystem assessment’ (supplement) and Commission Directorate-General for Environment BEST initiative (voluntary scheme for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in EU Outermost Regions and Overseas Countries and Territories).