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1、 On 20 May, the European Commission took steps towards sustainable biodiversity, food and farming policies, by publishing roadmaps for the next 10 years that should guide the EU on the path to more resilient and sustainable economies and societies. In the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak, which has br
2、ought our relationship with the natural world into sharp focus, the strategies have never been more timely and of utmost importance. The EU Farm to Fork and 2030 Biodiversity Strategies are potential game changers for EU nature, food and farming policies. The strategies propose a new wave of essenti
3、al and long overdue targets on topics such as protected areas, restoration of nature, organic farming and the reduction of agricultural chemicals. WWFs reaction to the release of both strategies can be found here. This document contains a more detailed assessment by WWF of the 2030 EU Biodiversity S
4、trategy, based on our expertise, and therefore does not cover all the chapters of the strategy. The document highlights the commitments that WWF is calling on the European Parliament and Council to endorse and indicates for each of the sections where ambition should be higher or how the commitments
5、should be implemented. Simon Rae / Unsplash WWF welcomes: The clear message that protecting and restoring biodiversity and well-functioning ecosystems is fundamental to boosting our resilience and preventing the emergence and spread of future diseases and that we need to give nature the space it nee
6、ds to also create healthy and resilient societies. The clear message that investing in nature protection and restoration will also be critical for Europes economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and that when restarting the economy, it is crucial to avoid falling back and locking ourselves into d
7、amaging old habits. The clear messages on the interlinkages between the biodiversity and the climate crises and the fact that nature is a vital ally in the fight against climate change. The aim of the strategy to serve as a compass and a frame for the EUs green economic transition, including the ind
8、ustrial, energy, circular economy and sustainable food transitions. The whole society approach, reflecting that action by citizens, businesses, social partners, research organisations and strong partnerships between different levels of government will be needed to protect and restore nature. The ack
9、nowledgement of the need for urgent, transformative and ambitious action to reverse biodiversity loss. The reference to the role of the EU at the global level to act by example and take the lead at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) COP 15 summit, expected in the negotiations for a tran
10、sformative and ambitious post-2020 global biodiversity framework. Further improvements needed: While the five main direct drivers of biodiversity loss (land and sea use changes, overexploitation of resources and organisms, climate change, pollution and Invasive Alien Species (IAS) are clearly highli
11、ghted, the important reference that those are underpinned by unsustainable production and consumption patterns and commitments to reduce the EUs ecological footprint, is missing. Furthermore the Biodiversity Strategy does not refer to what drives unsustainable production and consumption and what red
12、ucing our ecological footprint actually implies. 2.1. A coherent network of protected areas WWF welcomes: The commitment to legally protect a minimum of 30% of the EU land area and 30% of the EU sea area and integrate ecological corridors. The commitment to strictly protect at least of the EU protec
13、ted areas (10% on land and 10% at sea), including all remaining EU primary and old-growth forests. The commitment to effectively manage all protected areas, focus on areas of very high biodiversity value, defining clear conservation objectives and measures, and monitoring them appropriately. The ack
14、nowledgement that investments in green and blue infrastructure and cooperation across borders among Member States should be promoted and supported, including through the European Territorial Cooperation. The assessment by the Commission by 2024 on whether an EU legislative proposal is needed to reac
15、h the protected area targets. This is a step in the right direction to make the target enforceable. Further improvements needed: Effective management of all protected areas must lead to an improvement in the conservation status of the protected habitats and species. Without implementation and monito
16、ring on the ground of the management effectiveness, the establishment of conservation objectives and measures can be solely a paper exercise. When assessing whether an EU legislative proposal is needed to reach the protected area targets, the Commission must also assess the much needed increase of m
17、anagement effectiveness of existing protected areas. There needs to be a clear requirement to the need for the network of protected areas to be ecologically coherent and representative to cover the full range of biodiversity across EUs land and seas. The particular focus on protecting the ecosystems
18、 in the outermost regions must not lead to a reduction of the objectives for the mainland. There is not enough reference to the need to cooperate (within the EU and with non-EU states) with the protection and management of shared, transboundary ecosystems. This is particularly important for marine e
19、cosystems and the designation of marine ecological corridors. Establishment of scientific reference areas at sea are needed to scientifically monitor for example the effect of climate change on the environment, without the added input of human pressures. 2.2. An EU Nature Restoration Plan: restoring
20、 ecosystems across land and sea 2.2.1. Strengthening the EU legal framework for nature restoration. WWF welcomes: The commitment to present binding EU nature restoration targets in 2021 to restore degraded ecosystems, in particular those with the most potential to capture and store carbon and to pre
21、vent and reduce the impact of natural disasters. The commitment that no species and habitats protected under the Birds and Habitats Directives should show a deterioration in trends and status. Further improvements needed: A SMART target for the restoration of nature was not proposed. For WWF, at lea
22、st 15% of the EUs land (approximately 650,000 km2) and sea (approximately 1,000,000 km2)1 should be restored. The Commission should also propose (if this is not set or required by the upcoming EU climate law) a stretching target for CO2 removal by sinks, separate from the 2030 emissions reduction ta
23、rget, to be met through nature-based solutions such as the restoration of forests and other natural ecosystems. 1 This figure still includes the Exclusive Economic Zone/EEZ of the United Kingdom. The final figure should correspond to the EU 27 EEZ. In regards to restoration actions for farmland habi
24、tats, the strategy should have proposed a thorough revision of farming subsidies. The Common Agricultural Policy payments should offer support for changing farming practices, especially for rewetting peatlands and restoring high- diversity grasslands, and avoid operating against the restoration obje
25、ctives. The proposed target that 30% of habitats and species which are “not in favourable conservation status” should achieve “favourable” status in 2030 or that they should at least show a strong positive trend, does not reflect the full ambition of the Birds and Habitats Directive. 2.1. 2.2.2. Bri
26、nging nature back to agricultural land WWF welcomes: The commitment to have at least 25% of agricultural land under organic farming. The commitment to have 10% of agricultural area under high-diversity landscape features such as buffer strips, fallow land, hedges or ponds. The commitment to reduce t
27、he risk and use of chemical pesticides by 50% in the EU by 2030. The commitment to reverse the decline in pollinators and the full implementation and review of the EU pollinators initiative, to evaluate if additional measures are necessary. Further improvements needed: While these commitments are am
28、bitious and smart, they are all voluntary. The announced revision of the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Directive must be used to enshrine the pesticides reduction target into legislation. For all EU agricultural targets, the crucial step will be to make them part of the Common Agricultural Policy (C
29、AP). The Commission has suggested some ways to do so (e.g. by asking Member States to set national targets which are aligned with the EU ones) but they will only be truly enforceable if the co-legislators (Parliament and Council) include such provisions in the CAP post-2020 regulations. There needs
30、to be much higher attention to High Nature Value farming systems, on which much of the EUs farmland biodiversity relies. Semi-natural grasslands are highlighted as a type of ecosystem to restore (section 2.2.1), but the analysis or correction of the drivers that are leading to their disappearance, i
31、ncluding the inadequate farming policy - the CAP - is missing in the strategy. The commitment to have 10% of agricultural land under high diversity landscape features includes an uncertain geographical scale of application, which could mean that the target will be met mainly through less productive
32、farmlands that are already managed more extensively and more diverse. To maximise its positive effect on nature and the co-benefit for farming (e.g., limiting losses of soil and nutrients), this target should be prioritised in intensively managed cropland and regions with very low presence of natura
33、l or semi-natural ecosystems. 2.2.3. Addressing land take and restoring soil ecosystems Not covered in the analysis. 2.2.4. Increasing the quantity of forests and improving their health and resilience WWF welcomes: The commitment to define, map, monitor and strictly protect all remaining EU primary
34、and old growth forests and to advocate for the same globally (section 2.1). A clear statement that all forests need to be preserved in good health to retain their functions for biodiversity and climate change. The commitment to plant at least 3 billion additional trees in Europe in full respect with
35、 ecological principles. Strong safeguards as for where and how (fully respecting ecological principles like the use of autochthonous species etc.) are however needed to make sure this will not be detrimental to biodiversity. Further improvements needed: A comprehensive strategy to actively promote b
36、iodiversity protection, next to economic and social aspects is needed if we want to achieve better resilience of forests, in addition to reforestation and afforestation. Active protection of biodiversity should be recommended as a crucial element for the Forest Strategy as well as the Biodiversity S
37、trategy, going beyond planting 3 billion trees. There needs to be a much stronger emphasis on the fact that forest protection and forest restoration are more important than reforestation or afforestation, both from a biodiversity perspective and from a climate perspective. The development of guideli
38、nes on biodiversity-friendly afforestation and reforestation and closer-to-nature forestry practices are positive developments. However, a SMART target on the amount of forests covered by such practices is missing. 2.2.5. Win-win solutions for energy generation WWF welcomes: The statement that bioen
39、ergy should be based on wastes and residues rather than whole trees or food and feed crops (although the suggestion that the new RED will be much help in this regard is simply wrong). The commitment to publish the Commissions assessment of the sustainability of forest biomass use for energy by the e
40、nd of 2020 and use that to inform changes to policy in this area. Further improvements needed: The text is weak and disappointing when radical reform to EU bioenergy rules is long overdue and essential to meeting climate and biodiversity goals. As regards to new offshore wind development, the necess
41、ity to apply the ecosystem approach and ensure that development takes place in line with EU biodiversity protection and restoration targets must be highlighted. WWF requires that, as a first principle, future marine renewable energy developments should not be placed within Marine Protected Areas (MP
42、As) or other ecologically valuable areas for sensitive species and habitats and those that act as climate refugia (i.e. areas that provide a refuge for marine species to move into as their geographical distribution is forced to change as a result of climate change). Additionally, renewable energy de
43、velopment at sea must always use marine space carefully based on effective, integrated and ecosystem-based marine spatial planning, support ocean resilience, work in a nature-based way, and apply the precautionary principle at all times. Given that sea space is limited and marine species are mobile,
44、 coordination and cooperation across borders is paramount. The deployment and interconnection as well as the identification of the most suitable areas for renewable energy, require a shared long term vision at a sea- basin scale. 2.2.6. Restoring the good environmental status of marine ecosystems WW
45、F welcomes: The request to harvest the marine resources sustainably with a zero-tolerance for illegal practices. The emphasis on the importance of applying the ecosystem-based approach in marine spatial plans, and the emphasis that these need to be cross-sectoral and include area-based conservation
46、measures. The new action plan to be developed by 2021 to protect marine ecosystems and conserve fisheries resources, and especially using the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) to support fisheries transition to more selective and less damaging fishing techniques. The emphasis on the reduct
47、ion of bycatch to species threatened to extinction, in bad conservation status or not in Good Environmental Status (GES), and on the need to increase data collection for sensitive species whose status is unknown. Further improvements needed: The need to reconcile, in a socio-economically just way, t
48、he use of bottom-contacting fishing gear with biodiversity objectives, with an emphasis on the urgent need to conserve vulnerable seabed habitats, to support a sustainable blue economy and future fisheries. Therefore bottom-trawling should be kept outside of MPAs. The fisheries management measures r
49、equested to be established in all marine protected areas must ensure that the primary goal of any MPA is environmental conservation and restoration, and that any fishing carried out in the area does not contradict or impair these goals. It should be highlighted that the impacts caused by climate change on the ocean must be taken into account, especially when talking about the full implementation of the Common Fi