Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-01-17-Speech-1-101-000"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20110117.14.1-101-000"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
"Madam President, the tropical rainforests in Cameroon and the Congo are precious and we must welcome this voluntary agreement to address the sustainability of the harvesting of the timber that they contain.
The VPAs (Voluntary Partnership Agreements) are good for the planet, good for our partner countries and good for the EU. We must ensure that the agreements work and that any breaches are monitored and addressed. Then we must look to other countries in Africa, Asia and South America to sign up to similar agreements as soon as possible and I look forward to working with you and the Commission to achieve this.
The forests belong not only to the people of these countries but they are part of the ecosystem of the planet, they are key to the life-sustaining systems and they contain billions of tonnes of carbon.
Halting deforestation is one of the ways that we should be tackling climate change, and governments around the globe have been trying to do this for years. These two countries should be congratulated for their courage and foresight in signing up to these voluntary agreements with the EU.
However, regulating and enforcing these agreements will prove a challenge. Heaven knows, building in sustainable management of our own continent’s resources is hard enough. But the will is there and for that we should be very pleased. Careful management can bring down illegal and unsustainably imported timber.
At the moment, the amount of timber that is illegally harvested and imported into the EU constitutes almost one fifth of the timber products on our markets, despite Parliament and others trying to tackle this. Enforcement will be made easier with the involvement of local people and civil society in these countries, and we must ensure that their right to be heard and involved is maintained and listened to. After all, they have the most to lose if their forests are removed.
The widespread removal of tropical timber is driven by an insatiable appetite for products to grace our homes. We should value this resource better and take greater care of the resource that not only sustains a whole host of plant and animal species but is slow growing and takes many years to reach maturity.
We must take care not to undermine our own efforts to fight deforestation and climate change by simultaneously providing the largest market for illegal timber products in the world.
The result of these agreements may mean that tropical timber reaches a higher price, and that is something that we should not object to. It is not only a limited resource, but it is the only thing that local people have to sell. They know the true value of their resource and with this agreement, so will we.
These people are our eyes and ears in the forest and we need their help to enforce the agreements. They need us to support their ability to voice any concerns. These agreements are a two-way process and we look to you, Commissioner, to be able to enforce it."@en1
|
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata | |
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples