Connecting Human Rights and Nature inside the Council of Europe

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The new Environment, Climate Change, Heritage and Health Committee inside the Conference of INGOs of the Council of Europe, chaired by EUROPARC Federation, aims to develop an integrated approach between human rights, environment, heritage and health in the Bern, Florence, Aarhus and Faro Conventions.

The climate change emergency, the perilous state of biodiversity, the ongoing land consumption and even more recent, the COVID-19 pandemic, have highlighted the intrinsic need of and link between human health, heritage and nature.

All of these critical topics – environment, climate change, heritage, and health -, have inequalities in terms of access and effects embedded in them, and moreover, their governance needs to be founded in sound participatory democratic principles. Democracy, human rights and the rule of law are deeply applicable and need to be ensured across these important themes in our societies.

Council of Europe

presentation of the new Committee by Carol Ritchie at the Assembly of INGOs, April 2021

Thus, a new Thematic Committee inside the Conference of INGOs of the Council of Europe, dedicated to bridge the perceived nature-culture divide, improve mutual understanding, gather, and disseminate good practice, ensure a check and balance for public institutions, and provide a cross sectoral platform, was definitely urgent from EUROPARC’s perspective.

Therefore, thanks to the initiative of the EUROPARC Federation, the new Environment, Climate Change, Heritage and Health Committee (ECCH&CH) has been officially approved on 28th of April 2021 by the INGOs General Assembly.

By bringing together INGO’s from a range of different sectors, the ECCH&H Committee seeks an integrated approach. It addresses the human rights aspect of environment and heritage in the framework of the Bern, Florence, Aarhus and Faro Conventions and, references the Sustainable Development Goals, climate change commitments and the need for greater connectivity between people and nature.

The Committee aims to overcome the nature/culture divide that hinders collaboration and progress towards a shared vision that protects human rights, upholds democracy and the rule of law. It wants to raise awareness and encourage the development of Europe’s cultural identity and shared values.

The Committee has started working on the analysis of the gaps and potentialities of the Council of Europe (CoE) Conventions. It has already identified some crucial needs that will be at the core of the Committee’s actions:

  • to re-launch the importance of the Conventions among public authorities and civil society, in particular the Bern Convention;
  • to update and connect key concepts of the Conventions, i.e. “equality” with climate change impacts;
  • to enable different experts to work together to develop the synergies and create a toolbox composed by the different CoE Conventions.

The members of the Committee will also act to generate synergies between the ECCH&H Committee and different European Union NGOs Platforms.

Members of the ECCH&H Committee are:

EUROPARC Federation

CivilScape

EAA

ECYC

EEB

EURODOC

Friends of the Earth/Pro Natura

IDF

The Conference of International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs) of the Council of Europe is the representative body of the INGOs enjoying participatory status with the Council of Europe. EUROPARC is a member since 2013.

The substantive work on particular issues is undertaken in Committees. They provide a focus for discussion and research on issues relevant to the work of the Council of Europe. They prepare reports and where appropriate, draft declarations, recommendations and resolutions for consideration by the General Assembly.

New EU Forest Strategy for 2030

PN Puebla de San Miguel Spain

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The European Commission released the Communication for the New EU Forest Strategy 2030. It is part of the “Fit for 55 Package” which falls under the European Green Deal.

New EU Forest Strategy for 2030

Last Friday (16-07-2021), the European Commission released the Communication for the New EU Forest Strategy 2030. This strategy is part of the “Fit for 55 Package”, which aims to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of 1990 with 55% by 2030. This package is in turn a presentation of the reduction targets following the revisions and initiatives of the European Green Deal. In other words, it contains the practical actions the European Commission wants to take to move towards a climate-neutral Europe. The “Fit for 55 Package” will be discussed by the European Parliament and Member States in the upcoming months and it will have to be approved.

The Forest Strategy acknowledges the importance of large, healthy, and more diverse forests for carbon storage and sequestration, reduction of the effects of air pollution on human health and halting loss of habitats and species.

The Forest Strategy acknowledges the importance of large, healthy, and more diverse forests for carbon storage and sequestration, reduction of the effects of air pollution on human health and halting loss of habitats and species. This will allow the forests to provide livelihood and boost socio-economic benefits. The Forest Strategy does not only safeguard the natural habitats but also encourages cutting down forests – albeit sustainably.

These high ambitions are part of the EU’s effort to be a leading figure on the climate agenda and the European Commission’s aims to work closely with global partners to work towards forest protection and sustainable forest management.

EUROPARC expects that in the implementation of this strategy, sufficient attention will be paid to the important role forests play for biodiversity, wildlife, and climate change mitigation and adaptation. It welcomes the development of sustainable economic opportunities for local authorities, although this should be done with caution.

Bio-based economy boost

A big part of the Strategy is the forest bio-based economy boost, which aims to produce sustainable wood and non-wood materials, which includes eco-tourism. According to the Strategy, sustainably-produced and long-lived wood-based products can help achieving climate neutrality by storing carbon and substituting fossil-based materials. The role of wood products will turn the construction sector from a source of greenhouse gasses to a carbon sink.

Another bio-economic benefit the Forest Strategy has set its arrows on is the use of biofuels, where no effective wood material utilisation is possible. Biofuel is a hot topic amongst conservationists because it involves cutting down trees. However, it is positive to note that to ensure nature protection purposes are not limited, the biomass for this purpose is prohibited in primary forests, and the use of whole trees is to be minimised.

Management practices and skills training

The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 has the ambitious goal to protect 30% of the land area, of which 10% will be strictly protected. The Forest Strategy outlines that all primary and old growth forests should be part of this 10%. However, the definition of these forests is not set yet, nor are the locations of these forests mapped. Forest management that preserves biodiversity and ensures resilient ecosystems is one of the key values of the Strategy. In terms of management practices, the Strategy wants to enforce resilient forests that can deliver their environmental and socio-economic functions. This contains management practices such as uneven-aged and continuous-cover forestry, enough deadwood, regulation of wildlife densities and the establishment of protected habitat patches. Together with the Member States and different forest stakeholders, the European Commission will develop Guidelines on closer-to-nature forestry and a closer-to-nature voluntary certification scheme, so the most biodiversity-friendly management practices benefit from an EU quality label. Another part of the strategy is re- and afforestation and includes the planting of 3 billion additional trees by 2030.

As part of the implementation of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the Commission will propose a legally binding instrument for ecosystem restoration at the end of 2021. This will include forest ecosystems, and also others with high potential to capture and store carbon and to prevent and reduce the impact of natural disasters. Furthermore, the European Commission will encourage all forest stakeholders to join the Pact for Skills to improve the managemental skillset of the stakeholders. Member States can use the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) to equip people with these skills or enhance employment and entrepreneurship. Financial incentives will be developed, particularly for private forest owners and managers, to provide these ecosystem services.

Other focal points of the Forest Strategy include an improvement of the now insufficient monitoring practices and a proposal for research and innovation partnership on forestry. The forest governance framework is updated in a way that promotes policy coherence and synergies between actors. This also includes bringing together the Standing Forestry Committee and the Working Group on Forest and Nature. The European Commission additionally aims for better synergies with the Expert Group on Forest-based Industries Sector-related Issues. Apart from this, Member States are encouraged to establish multi-stakeholder dialogue platforms. Lastly, implementation and enforcement of existing European rules and regulations are improved, especially to halt illegal logging.

EUROPARC expects that in the implementation of this strategy, sufficient attention will be paid to the important role forests play for biodiversity, wildlife, and climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Implementation withing Green Deal framework

All in all, the forest strategy acknowledges the importance of forests for preserving biodiversity and mitigating climate change. At the same time, it promotes the sustainable exploitation of wood and-non wood products, whilst setting up a framework to communicate with the Member States, forest managers and other stakeholders.

According to EUROPARC, the biodiversity of the forests and delivery of ecosystem services should remain a priority in Protected Area management: economical activities managed by local communities can be welcomed in Protected Areas but must be agreed and implemented in partnership with Protected areas’ authorities.

The Member States are encouraged to set up payment schemes for forest managers, as well as to boost carbon farming practices. EUROPARC underlines the importance of Member States adhering to the objectives set in the Biodiversity Strategy, and that the European Commission controls and guarantees the consistency of the national implementation with the EU Green Deal framework.

Read about the strategy here, or read the full strategy here.

Click here to read the Management Recommendations and FAQs of LIFE Red Bosques, a project that aims to improve the management of Spanish Mediterranean forests included in the Natura 2000 network. They have released these documents prior the release of the EU Forest Strategy for 2030 and underline the importance of protecting the biodiversity of Mature Forests.

The One Planet Summit and the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People

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On the 11th of January, the One Planet Summit was held in which more than 50 countries announced their commitment to protect 30% of land and sea before 2030. This is a key milestone that will set the tone for 2021.

The one Planet Summit is a platform for commitments to combat climate change. It started in 2017, two years after the Paris Agreements were signed with the idea to make stronger and more concrete commitments and to mobilise funding.

This year’s summit was hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron in Marseille and was mainly focused on biodiversity. Nevertheless, there were many other topics, such as the COVID-19 crisis, the climate crisis and the fact that none of the Aichi targets were met. It was stressed that biodiversity decline is linked to so many other issues.  Moreover, this summit precedes the future COP15 for Nature in Kunming, and COP 26 in Glasgow which means it has the opportunity to set the bar for higher environmental ambitions.

When we lose forests, we don’t ‘just’ lose green space or natural habitat. We lose a key ally in our fight against climate change. – Ursula von der Leyen

The event was split up in four themes: the protection of terrestrial and marine ecosystems, agro-ecology, funding for biodiversity, and the link between deforestation, species and human health. For each theme, leaders addressed concerns and presented initiatives. Major initiatives were the ‘Great Green Wall’ which aims to create a green horizontal ‘belt’ below the African Deserts to prevent desertification and provide ecosystem services such as drinking water and tillable soil and the Mediterranean cooperation to facilitate ecological transition.

One Planet Summit 2021 Marseilles

One planet Summit 2021 in Marseilles

Financial commitments

Furthermore, the initiatives were strengthened by financial commitments from several leaders. Emmanuel Macron, promised to earmark 30% of it’s climate funding to ‘nature-based solutions’, Boris Johnson promised 3 billion pounds to be spent on nature and biodiversity and Justin Trudeau committed up to 44 million dollars to the UN’s land degradation neutrality fund. Moreover, the world bank promised to spend 35% of their budget on climate co-benefits. These financial commitments are severely needed as UN research found that an additional 700 billion dollars are needed yearly to reverse human endorsed environmental degradation.

The most important commitment of this day was the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People. More than 50 countries joined this coalition to express the ambition to protect over 30% of land and sea by 2030. This ambition is necessary to protect species, biodiversity and ecosystem services and to reach other environmental targets like the Paris Agreements. Reaching these targets will in its turn have social and economic benefits for societies worldwide. Costa Rica, France and the United Kingdom co-chair this initiative.

France hopes to protect 30% of their terrestrial and marine areas by 2030 and of course we will be buttressing our efforts over the three coming years mobilising many young people also through the civilian service which we are setting up. We will of course be allocating additional resources to that end. – Emmanuel Macron

EUROPARC Federation warmly welcomes these coalitions and targets and will follow them with interest to see what tangible actions will soon follow these promises.

For more information about the One Planet Summit, click here.

For more information about the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People, click here.

Farm to Fork Conference – Building sustainable food systems together

Farm to Fork Conference

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15 and 16 October, the first Farm to Fork conference took place. This event was a first common platform to bring together European Stakeholders to think about a future towards sustainable food systems.

The Farm to Fork Strategy was published by the European Commission in May 2020. It is at the heart of the European Green Deal aiming to make food systems fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly. The Farm to Fork Strategy aims to accelerate our transition to a sustainable food system that should:

  • have a neutral or positive environmental impact
  • help to mitigate climate change and adapt to its impact
  • reverse the loss of biodiversity
  •  ensure food security, nutrition and public health, making sure that everyone has access to sufficient, safe, nutritious, sustainable food
  • preserve affordability of food while generating fairer economic returns, fostering competitiveness of the EU supply sector and promoting fair trade

Putting our food systems on a sustainable path also brings new opportunities for operators in the food value chain. New technologies and scientific discoveries, combined with increasing public awareness and demand for sustainable food, will benefit all stakeholders

More info can be found here.

The future of our food systems

The Farm to Fork conference was hosted by the European Commissioner for Health & Food Safety, Ms. Stella Kyriakides, and the European Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Janusz Wojciechowski. The opening address of the Conference was given by the European Commission Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans.

Stakeholders across the food value chain, public authorities, international and civil society organisations, as well as other citizens and the interested public joined the debate on how to contribute to the implementation of a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system. Stakeholder involvement on all levels is key in implementing the EU Farm to Fork Strategy and in shaping the future of food systems. The Farm to Fork conference facilitates this by creating a platform for discussion among stakeholders across the food value chain.

Starting the first day, the three Commissioners expressed the importance of the ambitious Farm to Fork strategy for acting towards sustainable food systems.

Vice President Timmermans underlined that the concrete impacts of climate change on agriculture, such as dramatic drought and catastrophic floods, show how urgent it is to change the current economic model. This is not only good for climate and environment but also for social and economic targets. Having battled cancer herself, The Commissioner Stella Kyriakides stressed the importance of healthy food in this strategy and reminded that health is a holistic concept, including humans and nature.

Health is animals, plants and human health. These are so close that we cannot look at the health perspective only from one side – Stella Kyriakides

Commissioner Wojchiecowski emphasized that general European policy on agriculture, including the Farm to Fork Strategy, wants to be better for the environment, climate and animal welfare. Additionally, it should be better for farmers as well and help protect their income.

Experts views

Apart from the Commissioners, there were expert speakers on the topics of consumption and consumer perceptions. Roberto Flore from Skylab Foodlab stressed the importance of changing consumer behaviour at home and how some changes are easily made. Professor Klaus Grunert from Aarhus University showed the results of a widespread survey that indicated that consumers find a healthy and local diet important and broadly share sustainability and health values.

Our current approach to sustainability is fundamentally flawed [..] If you want to have good food, you have to care about the environment surrounding it. Revolution begins in the kitchen – Roberto Flore

Panel discussion

The second day, which was also the World Food Day hosted a panel discussion with different stakeholders ranging from policy makers to consumer representatives. Everyone agreed that it will take all stakeholders across all sectors to move towards more sustainable food systems. This is necessary to adapt to and mitigate climate change and also reverse biodiversity decline. Farmers organisation Copa Cocega represenative Pekka Pesonen emphasised the need for funds to make such changes in agriculture.

Farm to Fork Strategy Targets

Farm to Fork Strategy Targets

Points on which stakeholders disagreed also came up: the role of innovation and technology, what a fair price for consumers entails and whether consumers are willing to change consumption patterns were openly debated. Many stakeholders finally asked for a thorough impact assessment before the implementation of the Farm to Fork strategy, which could delay changes that are necessary now.

From conference to the field

Of course, the Farm to Fork conference is only the beginning of the transition towards sustainable food systems. The strategy will have to be implemented in many different European sectors, throughout the value chain. In a time where many important dossiers such as the Common Agriculture Policy are revised, it is key to have this strategy at the cornerstone. Otherwise, the promises of the farm to fork strategy will remain mere words.

Why is Farm to Fork important for European Protected Areas?

The ambitions and the implementation of the F2F Strategy definitely concern the European Protected Areas.

EUROPARC strictly believes in the possibility of a good and win-win alliance between biodiversity conservation and sustainable agriculture and fishery sectors. For many years, EUROPARC Federation and its members has been reinforcing the dialogue with farmers in and near National and Regional Parks, as well as with the fishermen in Marine Protected Areas. Favouring those partnerships contributes to improve the status of farmers and fishermen by rewarding their effort to include nature conservation in their practices and by promoting local, nutritious and sustainable products.

The Farm to Fork Strategy recognises the inextricable links between healthy people, healthy societies and a healthy planet. The key mission of the Protected Areas is to guarantee healthy habitats: EUROPARC is committed to promote the key contribution that protected areas provide to human health, with the campaign of Healthy Parks, Healthy People. 

More on the topic of sustainable agriculture and health can be found here:

 

Interested in the F2F conference? Find the recordings of the two days here: