Commission measures aim to save biodiversity
The European Commission has adopted a series of action plans to integrate the protection of biodiversity into EU agricultural, fishery, environment and development and cooperation policies. 'Rich biodiversity is important as it provides the raw materials that our society needs,' says the Commission. 'It is essential for the long-term sustainability of agriculture and fisheries and it is the basis for many industrial processes and the production of new medicines.' The concrete measures aim to stem the loss of biodiversity recorded around Europe and the rest of the world. 'During recent decades and in spite of past and current efforts by the EU and its Member States the reduction and loss of biodiversity in Europe has accelerated dramatically,' says the Commission. For example, it says, wetlands have decreased by around 60 per cent as a result of intensive agricultural practices. And some 64 plants and 45 percent of butterflies endemic to Europe are now extinct, while some 38 percent of bird species as well as an estimated five per cent of molluscs species are on the endangered list. 'Traditional national conservation policies are not enough to preserve the world's biodiversity,' the Commission says in its presentation of the action plans on conservation of natural resources. The plans stem from the European Community biodiversity strategy adopted in 1998 where the Commission promised to spell out precisely how it would achieve the objectives of the strategy, and implement the convention on biological diversity adopted in Rio in 1992. The Commission's action plans pave the way to an agreement on a sustainable development strategy at the European Council in Gothenburg in June, commented Environment Commissioner Margot Wallström. 'A loss of biodiversity is a loss of economic opportunity, also for farmers and fishermen,' she said. Development and humanitarian aid Commissioner Poul Nielsen added: 'The major part of the biodiversity of our planet lies in developing countries. The destruction of biodiversity narrows the options available for future generations, in particular in these countries, and reduces the capacity for ecosystems to adapt to changing situations.'