Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-05-21-Speech-1-099"
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"en.20070521.16.1-099"2
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".
Madam President, first of all I would like to apologise on behalf of Commissioner Dimas, who regrettably could not be here today.
I am very pleased to know that Parliament’s report welcomes the communication and its action plan. I wish to thank the rapporteur Mr Adamou for his efforts, and Mr Berman and Mr Gklavakis from the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development and the Committee on Fisheries respectively for their contributions. The report echoes the equally warm reactions of the Council, the Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee, as well as that of environmental NGOs. It seems we have a broad consensus on what needs to be done. The challenge now is changing this political support into real actions on the ground.
There can scarcely be a more important question for any parliament to debate than the survival of life on earth. I urge you to use this opportunity to send a clear message on the gravity of biodiversity loss and the need for full and vigorous implementation at all levels of the biodiversity communication and its action plan.
It was precisely one year ago that the Commission adopted its communication on halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010 and beyond. Given that tomorrow is International Biodiversity Day, it is a fitting time for Parliament to debate its report.
I am pleased that Parliament is using this opportunity to send a clear message to the world on the importance of protecting the planet’s biodiversity. The theme of this year’s International Biodiversity Day is ‘biodiversity and climate change’. I have said before, and wish to underline today, that biodiversity loss is as great a threat to the planet as climate change. Like climate change, biodiversity loss is an economic problem, a social problem and a growing threat to global security. Both issues are closely linked. Climate change is a major force behind species loss while at the same time the loss of ecosystems contributes to climate change.
Fighting climate change is now at the heart of the European project and is at the top of national political agendas. Unfortunately, the same is not yet true for biodiversity loss. Perhaps the threat is less apparent, but when we stop to look at the facts the situation is every bit as worrying.
Human activities mean that extinction rates are already between 100 and 1000 times the natural background rate – around 30 000 species a year, or three species every hour. If this process remains unchecked, we will have erased millions of years of evolution within the next few decades. This dramatic species loss matters because it weakens ecosystems of which species are the building blocks.
The UN’s 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment has two key messages. The first is that we are all ultimately dependent on ecosystem services, such as raw materials, medicines and clean water, for our prosperity and wellbeing. The second is that ecosystems are being fragmented, degraded and destroyed to the extent that some two thirds of the services that we receive from ecosystems are in decline. Combined with environmental threats such as climate change, increasing population levels and increasing per capita consumption, this means the pressures on species and ecosystems are intensifying.
Without urgent action we will soon reach a point of dangerous and irreversible change in global ecosystems, just as without action we will soon reach a point of dangerous climate change. As with climate change, the window of opportunity to prevent dangerous ecosystem change is rapidly closing.
Last year’s biodiversity communication represents a first attempt by the European Union to set out a coherent response to the problem of biodiversity loss. It should be seen as one of the most important policy documents issued by the Barroso Commission, and there are two innovations which are of particular significance. The first is that the communication introduces the concept of ecosystem services into the EU-level debate. It highlights the extent to which these services are essential to our prosperity and wellbeing and makes the vital link between biodiversity loss and the decline of those services.
The second innovation is that the communication sets out a very specific action plan for the period 2007-2013. The action plan is an important step forward since it spells out what needs to be done both at Community level and at Member State level. It is only through complementary actions at these two levels that we will be able to make the necessary progress. The action plan also makes it clear what needs to be done to meet the European Union’s commitments to halt the loss of biodiversity in the EU, and to reduce significantly the rate of loss worldwide, by 2010. With the inclusion of a process for regular evaluations against a clear set of targets, both the Commission and the Member States can be held to account on its delivery."@en1
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