Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-07-06-Speech-2-615"
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"en.20100706.34.2-615"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, I would also like to begin by thanking the rapporteurs of this excellent work.
As we know, deforestation is one of the planet’s main environmental and social problems, and each year we lose 13 million hectares of forest, thereby contributing 20% of global carbon emissions and constituting an enormous threat to biodiversity.
Deforestation’s contribution to climate change is undeniable and, as such, is a major cause of extreme weather events and floods, and even of the desertification of vast areas of the planet. The loss of forest puts all humanity at risk, but this risk and this impact is not shared equally by all of us. The communities with the least resources and those that depend most on the forest and nature to survive are those most affected.
Deforestation is linked to our collective existence, the scarcity of natural resources, their distribution, the rights of local and indigenous communities, and social justice. The main cause of deforestation is illegal logging, which accounts for 20 to 40% of the world’s industrial timber production. We are therefore also talking about the transfer of wealth from the producer to the countries consuming this timber. This illegal practice places sustainable timber exploitation and the companies involved in it at risk.
Nice sounding words are not enough. Parliament must adopt strong and consistent measures in this fight. This report takes a very important step in this direction by defining prohibitions on timber trading.
Good intentions are not enough either. Effective means are needed, particularly penalties, which could be of three types in this case. Firstly, fines that eliminate any financial benefit from the illegal practice, to be increased for repeat offenders; secondly, the confiscation of the timber and any products in question, and; thirdly, the immediate suspension of authorisation to exercise any commercial activity.
That is why those exploiting or trading a natural resource must be socially responsible, and that is why those importing timber or timber products into the European Union for the first time must be investigated to ensure that the timber has come from legal sources.
That is also why all subsequent operators must supply basic information on this timber, namely its origin and its destination. The public must also have the right – and I am ending here, Mr President – to access information on those in compliance and those who are not."@en1
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