| Environmental campaigners have criticised
European ministers for attempting to weaken biodiversity protection
measures in the common agricultural policy (CAP).
The criticism came following December's environment council
in Brussels where ministers adopted decisions relating to
resource efficiency and biodiversity protection.
Environmental NGOs Birdlife
and WWF expressed concern over what they deemed to be a victory
for the interests of the farm lobby and a weakening of biodiversity
measures.
WWF European policy office director Tony Long said - "This
was the key opportunity for environment ministers to send
out a clear signal to their agriculture colleagues on their
position on the current on-going discussion on the CAP. Now
agriculture ministers will be on their own to decide on the
level of integration of environment in the CAP.
"Biodiversity
should be mainstreamed in all relevant EU and national policies
if we want these polices to deliver the economic and environmental
benefits they are created for." Ariel Brunner, head
of European policy at Birdlife Europe said that the lengthy
negotiations and compromises were a "dangerous preview of the
fate of biodiversity left completely in the hands of agriculture
ministers". European environment commissioner Janez
Potocnik also expressed his disappointment, saying that the
commission regretted the "deletion of all concrete indications
on the required way forward to strengthen the contribution of
the common agricultural policy to biodiversity objectives". Marcin
Korolec, Polish environment minister underlined the "urgent
need to reverse the continuing trends of biodiversity loss and
degradation of ecosystems in the EU to 2020". "In order
to do so, we have to undertake common actions, build partnerships,
include other sectors to strengthen biodiversity protection
and apply necessary measures," he said. |
