Rapporti verbatim tad-dibattiti

It-Tnejn, 3 ta' Ottubru 2016 - Strasburgu

17. Nindirizzaw il-qtugħ illegali tas-siġar għall-injam, id-deforestazzjoni u d-degradazzjoni tal-foresti (dibattitu)

  Przewodniczący. – Kolejnym punktem porządku dnia jest debata nad pytaniem wymagającym odpowiedzi ustnej skierowanym do Komisji przez Lindę McAvan w imieniu Komisji Rozwoju, Giovanniego La Vię w imieniu Komisji Ochrony Środowiska Naturalnego, Zdrowia Publicznego i Bezpieczeństwa Żywności, Bernda Lange w imieniu Komisji Handlu Międzynarodowego, Czesława Adama Siekierskiego w imieniu Komisji Rolnictwa i Rozwoju Wsi oraz Jerzego Buzka w imieniu Komisji Przemysłu, Badań Naukowych i Energii w sprawie przeciwdziałania nielegalnemu wyrębowi, wylesianiu i degradacji lasów – program działań UE (O-000112/2016 - B8-0720/2016) (2016/2824(RSP)).

  Paavo Väyrynen, author. – Mr President, in 2003 the European Union took action against illegal logging and trade in illegally—logged tree timber by adopting the FLEGT Action Plan, the central element of which is the system of voluntary partnership agreements signed between the EU and timber—producing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

In 2015, the European Court of Auditors issued a special report identifying gaps in FLEGT implementation and enforcement. The Court found that EU support to timber—producing countries was not sufficiently effective and targeted and called for an appropriate work plan with clear objectives, milestones and a dedicated budget. The Court also found that monitoring and reporting on progress had been inadequate, in particular due to the lack of an accountability framework.

The Commission has recently issued an evaluation of the FLEGT Action Plan, 12 years after its entry into force. Given this context, five committees asked the Commission to answer the following questions. First, how will the Commission concretely respond to the European Court of Auditors recommendations in its Special Report No 13/2015? Will additional resources be mobilised to respond to implementation challenges and will specific monitoring and evaluation mechanisms be developed to strengthen implementation of the EU Action Plan on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade? What is the Commission strategy to revive the political momentum for FLEGT in voluntary partnership agreement countries and to accelerate the governance reforms that are necessary for the issuance of FLEGT licences? Thirdly, how is the Commission ensuring coherence and synergies between climate mitigation policies and FLEGT, especially on governance aspects?

  David Martin, author. – Mr President, I am speaking on behalf of Bernd Lange, who cannot be here this evening. Illegal logging and trade in illegal timber has a devastating impact on the world’s forests, threatening the survival of various wildlife species and contributing to climate change. Regrettably, we have not managed to reverse global deforestation, even though illegal timber imports to the EU have declined. This signals the urgent need to step up our efforts. The Committee on International Trade is a lead committee for FLEGT, the voluntary partnership agreements that are signed under the FLEGT Regulation between the EU and timber-producing countries, and that should address the supply side of the problem.

I note with satisfaction that Indonesia will be the first country to start issuing FLEGT licenses this autumn, and the whole process has contributed to strengthened forest governance through an inclusive multi-stakeholder approach. Today, over 90% of Indonesia’s timber exports are from independently—audited factories and forests, compared to just 20% in 2002. It is an important milestone, especially as one third by value of the EU’s tropical timber imports come from Indonesia.

I would like to hear from the Commission how they are going to step up and accelerate the process in other Voluntary Partnership Agreement countries (VPAs). Could the Commission indicate which VPA countries, in addition to Indonesia, are closest to signing FLEGT licenses, and – as we have just heard, this is especially relevant in light of the Court of Auditors recommendation – notably that resources should be allocated to where they are likely to have the greatest impact in tackling illegal logging and related trade? In cases where implementation of the VPA requirements appears less feasible, would the Commission agree to propose measures supporting forest governance without necessarily signing a VPA?

  Karmenu Vella, Member of the Commission. – Mr President, I have to start by saying and reconfirming that the EU is strongly committed to the fight against illegal logging and the associated trade. The FLEGT Action Plan has built an effective global coalition against it, tackling both the supply and demand sides through trade measures, through development cooperation and through broad stakeholder engagement.

Our action plan tackles some of the real drivers of deforestation and forest degradation. But deforestation continues and its consequences are potentially catastrophic at many levels – for the local communities that depend on forests, for the ecosystems that they support and at the global level as we deplete one of the most effective carbon sinks that we have.

We must continue this fight both through our own actions and in the new global dynamic of the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement. The honourable Members are right to raise their concerns, and I welcome the interest of the Parliament in the follow-up to the European Court of Auditors report. FLEGT has been the subject of two reviews in the past two years. EU support to timber production countries under FLEGT was reviewed by the European Court of Auditors, while the overall performance of the action plan was also independently evaluated.

A basic finding is that FLEGT remains highly relevant and that the work carried out so far under the action plan is delivering significant results. Forest governance has improved, particularly in targeted countries, while demand for illegal timber in the EU has been reduced. The design of FLEGT has also been found to be future proof.

That being said, things have changed since the inception of the action plan. Imports of tropical timber in the EU have fallen, whilst China has become the world’s largest market and global political attention has shifted to other drivers of deforestation such as the competition for land and to other drivers of climate change. The evaluation stressed that such changes may have an impact on the relevance of the action plan if not sufficiently addressed. That is why the Commission has been considering opportunities to scale up efforts to combat deforestation through FLEGT but also through other instruments such as REDD+ and the EU timber regulation.

We have now commissioned a study to consider the feasibility of a comprehensive EU action plan on deforestation. The review of the Court and of the independent evaluation have highlighted important implementation challenges and areas for improvement in the way the FLEGT Action Plan has been managed, particularly in relation to the support to the countries concerned, and have recommended adjustments.

We are working to address these findings to a multiannual work plan with clear objectives, targets, timeframes and budget. This will redefine priorities geographically and thematically and will ensure more effective monitoring of progress, achievements and impact. FLEGT is our flagship priority under the Global Public Goods and Challenges Programme of the European Development Cooperation Instrument, but we should remember that the action plan is a joint initiative. It must draw on the combined strengths and capacities of the EU and of its Member States. According to the evaluation, stronger commitment and more active support by more Member States is needed.

Finally, the honourable Members also asked about voluntary partnership agreements (VPAs). As mentioned by Paavo Väyrynen, VPAs are a central FLEGT element, and the Commission has invested intensely in their negotiation and implementation through political dialogue, through stakeholder engagement and through capacity building.

Our colleague David Martin also mentioned Indonesia and yes, soon we will be launching Indonesia’s FLEGT licensing, and hopefully Ghana will follow soon after, hopefully next year. These efforts are yielding good results in those countries where there is willingness to implement the necessary reforms. The difficulty of putting in place these reforms should not be underestimated. There are often strong vested interests, benefiting from the status quo.

We will, of course, continue to make all possible efforts to maintain political momentum in VPAs and address the challenges with our partner countries.

  Franc Bogovič, v imenu skupine PPE. – Najlepša hvala najprej kolegoma za postavitev tega zelo pomembnega vprašanja in seveda tudi vam, komisar Vella, za odgovore, ki ste nam jih podali na začetku te točke.

Evropska unija se zaveda pomena ekosistema gozda, zato se že vse od devetdesetih let ukvarja s problemom nezakonitega krčenja, trgovine s tem lesom in, kot ste dejali, se tudi skozi teh, sedaj že 25 let, stvari bistveno spreminjajo.

Ne vem, Kitajska se pojavlja sedaj kot največji kupec, v vmesnem času je tudi Evropska unija namenila in to, kar je pregledalo tudi Evropsko sodišče, kar 300 milijonov evrov sredstev v to, da se to gospodarjenje z gozdovi po svetu izboljša in da se tudi na osnovi teh ugotovitev, pa tudi skupnih priporočil izboljša gospodarjenje z gozdovi.

Poleg velike biotske raznovrstnosti, ki je eden od ključnih problemov ob okoljski škodi, je zagotovo tudi velik problem tega področja, področje korupcije in pa pravzaprav nedelovanje držav od koder prihajamo. Zato je na neki način tudi manjše razočaranje to, da imamo podpisanih le nekaj, se pravi sporazum z Indonezijo in pa nekaj sporazumov z afriškimi državami.

Želim vam v tem delu veliko uspeha, kajti, kot sem že dejal tudi sam, zelo podpiram, da se ta problematika reši. Ti problemi, hočemo ali nočemo, slejkoprej pridejo tudi na naše domove.

Naj samo povem lastno izkušnjo iz Slovenije izpred dobrih dveh let, ko smo pozimi leta 2004 po velikem žledu imeli veliko škodo, se pravi klimatske spremembe, povzročajo različne pojave, veliko škodo, ko je skoraj polovica slovenskega gozda bilo kovanega v led in kot posledica, dve leti po tistem, čutimo pa tudi po zelo vročem letu velike posledice s podlubniki, ki uničujejo sedaj smrekov gozd.

Tako, da problem, o katerem govorimo, na prvi pogled zgleda, da je zelo daleč od nas, posledice pa zelo hitro čutimo tudi na lastnih tleh. Zato podpiram ta prizadevanja, v tej smeri, kot ste jih omenili, tu pri tej točki.

  Renata Briano, a nome del gruppo S&D. – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, ringrazio il Commissario Vella per gli impegni e le risposte. Ci sono paesi in cui il tasso di disboscamento illegale raggiunge il 90 %, implicando forme di corruzione in tutta la filiera di abbattimento, trasporto e vendita. Gli obiettivi posti nell'Action Plan sono ancora ostacolati da una moltitudine di fattori, tra cui la resistenza al cambiamento del settore forestale, il ritardo nell'applicazione del regolamento europeo, l'importanza di altri mercati come Cina e India, nonché il boom delle materie prime agricole la cui produzione occupa superficie forestale.

L'agricoltura estensiva gioca un ruolo chiave nel processo di deforestazione, se pensiamo che dal 2000 circa la metà della foresta tropicale è stata convertita in terreno agricolo o per piantagioni monocultura, spesso contro il volere delle popolazioni autoctone, come è il caso dell'olio di palma in Indonesia, in Liberia e in Ecuador. Si stima che oggi l'80 % della deforestazione globale è causato dall'agricoltura e con l'importazione di prodotti come olio di palma, manzo, cuoio, soia, gomma, cacao e legname anche l'Unione europea è attore di questo problema.

Non si possono sottostimare inoltre i danni ambientali legati alla deforestazione. In aggiunta alla gravissima perdita di biodiversità, la deforestazione è una delle principali cause di dissesto idrogeologico e provoca alluvioni e frane. Bisogna quindi che l'UE dimostri e continui a dimostrare un forte impegno politico per l'efficace attuazione dei Voluntary Partnership Agreement, per rafforzarne l'impatto, per assicurare l'attuazione efficace del regolamento sul legname e per adottare ulteriori misure per sostenere la tutela e il recupero degli ecosistemi forestali.

  Ruža Tomašić, u ime kluba ECR. – Poštovani predsjedniče, pitanje nezakonite sječe, deforestacije i degradacije šuma od posebnog je značaja za moju domovinu Hrvatsku jer je gotovo polovica njezina teritorija prekrivena šumama. Posljednjih je nekoliko godina sve izraženije djelovanje tzv. „šumske mafije“ koja godišnje ukrade na tisuće kubika drvne mase, bilo da je riječ o drvu za ogrjev ili skupim hrastovim i bukovim trupcima kojima nezakonito opskrbljuju drvno-prerađivačku industriju.

Problem je posebno izražen u privatnim šumama čiji vlasnici ne žive na svom posjedu i gdje nisu sređeni imovinsko-pravni odnosi, no ne zaobilazi ni državne šume. Lopovi su dobro organizirani i umreženi, državni šumari ne mogu učinkovito patrolirati i sprječavati krađe na tolikom prostoru, a policija lopovima teško ulazi u trag.

Ako doista želimo zaštititi šume, država mora učinkovitije upravljati onima u svom vlasništvu, a vlasnike privatnih šuma trebamo poticati na osnivanje udruga privatnih šumoposjednika i uvođenje sustava zajedničkog nadzora koji bi uključivao stalnu razmjenu informacija s državnim šumarijama i policijom.

Za zemlje poput Hrvatske drvo je u svakom smislu strateški resurs i ne smijemo dozvoliti da ga bilo tko nezakonito prisvaja te svojim razbojništvom ugrožava budućnost naših šuma, njihovog ekosustava i budućnost naše djece.

  Ulrike Müller, im Namen der ALDE-Fraktion. – Herr Präsident! Ich begrüße die Aussprache hier im Plenum über den FLEGT-Aktionsplan ganz besonders. Ein weltweit nachhaltiger Einschlag und Handel von Holz ist die Grundlage für eine funktionierende Holzwirtschaft. Mir persönlich ist es besonders wichtig, sorgsam mit unserer Ressource umzugehen und unsere Märkte zu schützen.

Der illegale Holzeinschlag beschäftigt uns schon lange. Hier ein paar Fakten: Es werden ungefähr 20 bis 40 % der globalen Holzproduktion illegal geschlagen. Der wirtschaftliche Schaden beträgt durch entgangene Einnahmen im Bereich des Staates, der Kommunen, der Industrie, aber auch der privaten Waldbesitzer etwa 15 Milliarden Dollar. Weltweit wird dadurch der Holzpreis ungefähr um 10 % gedrückt. Ungefähr 16 % der Holzimporte in die Europäische Union stammen aus illegalem Holzeinschlag, und die Weltbank spricht sogar von organisiertem Verbrechen, das mit schärferen Gesetzen bekämpft werden muss. Wir können also hier nicht weiter zusehen.

Heute bewerten wir den Aktionsplan FLEGT. Mit ihm sollten die Probleme angegangen und gelöst werden. Kernstück des Aktionsplans sind bilaterale Abkommen zwischen Europa und den Holz exportierenden Ländern. Trotz aller Bemühungen, hier verantwortungsvolle Rechtsstaatlichkeit zu schaffen, werden weiter Regenwälder gerodet und Artenvielfalt zerstört. Unsere Vorsorgemaßnahmen haben bisher kaum Erfolg. Wir brauchen Aktionen gegen die Hintermänner des Handels. Greifen wir also die wichtigsten Punkte vom Rechnungshof auf! Ich fordere Sie hier dazu auf, bitte auch eine klare Strategie zu beschreiten, kohärente Arbeitspläne, Prioritäten, Zeitpläne und Etappenziele zu erklären und aus diesem zahnlosen Tiger endlich ein Regelwerk zu schaffen, das europaweit in allen Staaten gleich umgesetzt wird.

  Maria Lidia Senra Rodríguez, en nombre del Grupo GUE/NGL. – Señor Presidente, yo creo que la Unión Europea podría hacer muchísimo más para desincentivar la tala ilegal en el mundo. Podría empezar, por ejemplo, por desincentivar el monocultivo del eucalipto o de otras especies de crecimiento rápido y promover en su lugar en la producción de maderas de calidad. Esto contribuiría muchísimo a mantener la biodiversidad, a mantener también el medio ambiente.

Me parece que otro aspecto importantísimo que podría tener en cuenta la Unión Europea para desincentivar la tala ilegal sería no aplicar solo medidas voluntarias, sino poner fin al comercio ilegal controlando las importaciones y también a los importadores.

Promover una política forestal en Europa que incentive la ordenación de los bosques, que evite la deforestación de tierras agrarias y potencie la producción de madera de calidad sería una magnífica contribución a este proyecto.

  Heidi Hautala, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – Mr President, it is of the utmost importance that the Commission really comes up with a comprehensive EU action plan on deforestation and forest degradation. We have lots of reasons and obligations as to why we need this. First of all, we have the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris climate agreement, which both require effective action on illegal logging and deforestation. Besides, illegal logging is a major problem in illicit capital flows from developing countries. Indeed, FLEGT has had many successes, but the global context has changed a lot since its introduction in 2003.

So now we really need new measures and we need to look at innovative ways of shedding light on the supply chains. It is a very important task for us to make sure that consumers in the end—user countries, like those in the European Union, have full access to information on the origin of the timber. I believe that FLEGT could actually inspire many other sectors and products. The approach is really innovative, with the voluntary partnership agreements.

One of the things that I have noticed is that the evaluation has come to the conclusion that there are limitations in terms of lack of data on illegal logging and trade and on governance achievements. Here I believe some new instruments could be introduced. We could see how customs information could be used to shed light on which companies are importing what to the EU Member States. I also firmly believe that we could look in the countries of origin at how we can support the countries to put in place proper systems of forest inventory. I am proud to say that Finland, my country, has been very active in helping countries like Vietnam and Tanzania in this field.

  Julia Reid, on behalf of the EFDD Group. – Mr President, illegal logging is symptomatic of wider governance problems, such as weak and unclear laws, corruption, big business behaving badly and poor local people with few incentives to behave well – all brought about by scientific theories which have been preached with the certainty of religious fervour. This, with the assertion that the rule of law means the same everywhere, is not a pretty picture, and it applies to much in the developing world – especially in the issue of industrial scale illegal logging and deforestation, which is threatening the survival of some of the world’s most endangered animal species.

There is a stupid response to rush to criminalise in ways which further incentivise bad behaviour, based on questionable science, and to reinforce this with due diligence bureaucracy which adds to costs, thus further incentivising the very activity that we want to stop. If you raise the price of something, you encourage new market entrants, including illegal ones. What is needed is to ask the Commission whether it has done a robust behavioural economic analysis of the incentive system in the global logging market. This is, of course, not the kind of question asked by or of the European institutions. Instead, we have the usual cliché buzzwords: ‘political momentum’, ‘coherence’, ‘synergies’, ‘climate’, ‘mitigation’. Thank goodness my country is leaving.

  Philippe Loiseau, au nom du groupe ENF. – Monsieur le Président, le rapport spécial n° 13/2015 de la Cour des comptes européenne décrit l'échec du programme européen de soutien aux pays producteurs de bois dans la lutte contre l'abattage illégal. Ce fléau met en péril le patrimoine forestier mondial, mais aussi des populations indigènes qui tirent leur subsistance de cette forêt.

Les raisons de ces abattages illégaux sont diverses. Tout d'abord, en Indonésie, une grande quantité d'arbres sont coupés pour laisser place à des plantations qui produiront du papier ou de l'huile de palme, détruisant ainsi la biodiversité. En Amérique du Sud, l'abattage illégal sert à l'exportation de ce bois au profit d'organisations parfois liées aux autorités corrompues qui, bien sûr, veulent s'enrichir en répondant à la demande de bois sur les marchés internationaux. On poursuit les bûcherons alors qu'ils sont victimes d'un système qui les exploite et, bien entendu, les décideurs ne sont jamais arrêtés.

Outre la corruption, la lutte contre l'abattage illégal n'est pas toujours la priorité du gouvernement du pays en question. L'extension des productions d'huile de palme ou de champs de soja pour soutenir l'agriculture intensive fait partie du problème.

Enfin, le dernier problème est celui de la traçabilité des produits sur le marché. Par exemple, 80 à 90 % du bois exporté du Pérou vers la Chine et d'autres marchés asiatiques est illégal, ce qui correspond à une perte d'environ 86 millions d'euros.

Pour finir, je pense que développer et durcir l'impératif de traçabilité serait une bonne solution. Au vu de la complexité du problème, savoir d'où vient le bois et connaître la société d'abattage apparaît évidemment comme une solution crédible et tout à fait envisageable.

  Γεώργιος Επιτήδειος ( NI). – Κύριε Πρόεδρε, η σημασία της υπάρξεως δασών σε παγκόσμια κλίμακα είναι μεγάλη, όχι μόνο διότι αυτά συμβάλλουν στον περιορισμό των αερίων του θερμοκηπίου και κυρίως του διοξειδίου του άνθρακος, περιορίζοντας κατ’ αυτό τον τρόπο τις κλιματικές μεταβολές, αλλά και διότι αποτελούν σημαντική πηγή πλούτου για τις χώρες που τα διαθέτουν. Συνεπώς, η προστασία των δασών από παράνομη υλοτομία και αποψίλωση πρέπει να αντιμετωπιστεί από την Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση ως ένα θέμα πρώτης προτεραιότητας.

Πρέπει η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση να εκπονήσει μία σχετική πολιτική και να συνεργαστεί όχι μόνο με τα κράτη μέλη της Ενώσεως, αλλά και με τα κράτη εκείνα τα οποία παράγουν μεγάλες ποσότητες ξύλου, ούτως ώστε να περιοριστεί η παράνομη υλοτομία καθώς επίσης και το εμπόριο των αγαθών των οποίων η παραγωγή συνεπάγεται την αποψίλωση των δασών. Παράλληλα, πρέπει να χρηματοδοτήσει κατάλληλα αυτή την προσπάθεια και να συνάψει και τις απαραίτητες εμπορικές συμφωνίες, ούτως ώστε να υπάρξει δυνατότητα επιτυχίας του προγράμματος.

Τέλος, το θέμα του περιορισμού τόσο της παράνομης υλοτομίας, όσο και των καταστροφών των δασών οι οποίες προκαλούνται είτε από πυρκαγιές, είτε από εμπρησμούς, είτε από συμπτωματικά γεγονότα, πρέπει επίσης να αντιμετωπιστεί στο πλαίσιο της Ευρωπαϊκής Ενώσεως.

  Elisabeth Köstinger (PPE). –Herr Präsident, Herr Kommissar! Ich möchte doch noch einmal darauf hinweisen und halte es für wichtig herauszustreichen, dass die heutige Debatte kein Fingerzeig auf unsere europäischen Waldbesitzer ist, die bereits seit Generationen mit nachhaltiger Waldbewirtschaftung unseren grünen Schatz pflegen. Es geht heute vielmehr darum, alle Kräfte zu bündeln, damit der Handel mit illegalem Holz endlich gestoppt wird.

Weltweit wird alle zwei Sekunden eine Waldfläche in der Größe eines Fußballfeldes illegal gerodet, und zuverlässige Daten von illegaler Waldholzung in Drittstaaten sind nach wie vor sehr schwer zugänglich. Schätzungen zufolge wird aber in der Europäischen Union jährlich illegales Holz im Wert von 1,2 Mrd. EUR verkauft. Der wirtschaftliche Schaden für die Holzerzeugerländer ist demnach auch enorm. Jährlich entgehen ihnen Einnahmen in Höhe von 10 bis 15 Mrd. EUR, und dieses Geld, vor allem auch in Hinblick auf die immens großen Herausforderungen, insbesondere in den Staaten – vor auf dem afrikanischen Kontinent, ist hier wirklich von ganz besonderer Bedeutung.

Geschätzte Kolleginnen und Kollegen, wir haben hier eine Verantwortung für die nachfolgenden Generationen zu tragen, denn neben dem wirtschaftlichen Schaden ist illegaler Holzeinschlag auch ein massiver Eingriff in unser weltweites Ökosystem. FLEGT ist die Antwort der Europäischen Union auf das globale Problem. Das Konzept ist innovativ und absolut richtig. Der Sonderbericht des Rechnungshofs zeigt allerdings massive Umsetzungsdefizite auf. Hier gibt es großen Erklärungsbedarf: Welche Konzepte hat hier die Kommission? Wie können wir aber vor allem auch die Partnerstaaten zu Reformen animieren? Wie können wir ihnen auch unterstützend zur Seite stehen? Und gibt es hier wirklich auch eine nach vorne weisende Strategie?

Als Berichterstatterin der freiwilligen Partnerschaftsabkommen mit Indonesien, Liberia und Zentralafrika möchte ich die Kommission auch um einen Fortschrittsbericht zur Umsetzung dieser Abkommen bitten.

  Ricardo Serrão Santos (S&D). – Senhor Presidente, Senhor Comissário, em março de 2015 abordei em plenário a questão da desflorestação ilegal de florestas tropicais, o conflito com a agricultura, o papel da corrupção e a perda de diversidade. Hoje, foco-me no plano de ação desenhado pela Comissão Europeia, pois a sua implementação carece de clarificação, de objetivos e de prioridades.

É difícil entender algumas das opções. Por exemplo, ao abrigo deste plano foi estabelecido um acordo de parceria voluntária com a Libéria, que incluía apoios no valor de 12 milhões de euros, mas este país exporta apenas 5 milhões de euros em madeira para o nosso território. A Costa do Marfim, que exporta para a Europa um valor 30 vezes superior, foi deixada de fora. Caso tivesse sido incluída garantiria a adequação ambiental e social dessa madeira.

Para além de ser um problema ambiental grave constitui uma competição desleal com as nossas regiões produtoras que estão a fazer um esforço de certificação, como é o caso dos Açores, ilhas portuguesas de que sou de origem e que estão no centro do Atlântico.

  Ivan Jakovčić (ALDE). – Poštovani predsjedniče, lako ćemo se složiti oko stanja u Latinskoj Americi i znamo da je pretjerana proizvodnja palminog ulja u raznim državama prouzročila veliku sječu šuma, da je neplanska loša poljoprivreda također napravila veliku štetu za naš planet. Ali, ja želim govoriti o Europi, želim govoriti o nama, želim govoriti o problemima s kojima se suočavamo u zemljama članicama Europske unije u kojima također postoji ilegalna sječa šuma, krađa šuma, krađa drva i gdje postoji krađa resursa ljudi koji žive okruženi šumama.

Konkretan primjer je Gorski kotar u Hrvatskoj. Promašena politika koju država vodi već 25 godina, zbog koje mladi odlazi iz Gorskog kotara jer ne vide svoju perspektivu i svoju budućnost, a okruženi su kvadratnim kilometrima šuma prve klase. Loša državna politika koja ne vodi brigu o lokalnom zajednici i na taj način ne omogućava da fantastični resursi koje Gorski kotar ima budu iskorišteni u korist razvoja građana tog jednog malog, ali predivnog dijela Hrvatske. Mislim da i o takvim temama trebamo govoriti, gospodine povjereniče.

  Josu Juaristi Abaunz (GUE/NGL). – Señor Presidente, los compromisos y medidas recogidos en el Plan de Acción siguen siendo relevantes, pero su eficacia será menor si no es reforzado, como reconoce la Comisión. Y será ineficaz si la Unión Europea no garantiza su total implementación, como por ejemplo, la del Reglamento relativo a la comercialización de la madera.

Hay que detener la circulación de madera extraída ilegalmente, que viola la normativa sobre protección de bosques y los derechos de las poblaciones nativas. Necesitamos medidas adicionales, como las que ha mencionado mi colega Lidia Senra, para proteger la biodiversidad, los bosques y los pueblos del bosque.

En 2015 los Estados miembros reconocieron la necesidad de una acción urgente cuando se comprometieron con los objetivos de desarrollo sostenible y el Acuerdo de París sobre el cambio climático. Creo que es hora de cumplir dichos compromisos y de cerrar las brechas del Plan de Acción.

  Bogdan Brunon Wenta (PPE). – Panie Przewodniczący! Panie Komisarzu! Problem nielegalnego wykorzystania zasobów leśnych i zagrożeń, jakie niosą ze sobą takie działania, dotyczy aspektów nie tylko środowiskowych, ale także ekonomicznych i społecznych. Niewłaściwe użytkowanie lasów wywołuje znaczne szkody nie tylko dla środowiska naturalnego. Oprócz wylesiania, utraty bioróżnorodności i zwiększonej emisji gazów cieplarnianych nielegalny wyrąb przyczynia się do konfliktu wśród rdzennych i lokalnych społeczności, łamania praw człowieka i korupcji. Dochody z tych działań używane są często do finansowania konfliktów zbrojnych, przyczyniają się do zwiększenia poziomu ubóstwa. W Afryce największe straty w sektorze leśnym zanotowano w ostatnich latach w Nigerii, Tanzanii, Zimbabwe, Demokratycznej Republice Konga. Władze niektórych z tych krajów stosują tak zwane kontrolowane wypalania obszarów leśnych w celu pozyskania tych ziem pod uprawy.

Przeciwdziałanie negatywnym tendencjom, w tym nielegalnej wycince drewna, wymaga ścisłej współpracy z krajami rozwijającymi się, gdzie duże znaczenie dla gospodarki ma użytkowanie drewna i handel nim. Niezbędne jest wsparcie w zakresie wymiany dobrych praktyk i odpowiednie reformy polityki leśnej. Dlatego plan działania FLEGT mający na celu zwiększenie zdolności krajów rozwijających się do kontroli nielegalnego użytkowania lasów – przy jednoczesnym ograniczaniu handlu wyrobami z nielegalnego drewna pomiędzy tymi krajami a Unią Europejską – jest dobrą postawą. Jednak należy przeznaczyć dodatkowe środki, aby sprostać wyzwaniom związanym z jego wdrażaniem oraz monitorowaniem.

  Tonino Picula (S&D). – Gospodine predsjedniče, gospodine povjereniče, ilegalna sječa i trgovina nezakonito posječenom drvnom sirovinom godišnje generira ekonomski gubitak od 7 milijardi eura. Još je značajniji iznimno nepovoljan utjecaj na biološku raznolikost i razinu ispuštanja stakleničkih plinova, a to posljedično utječe na živote ljudi koji ovise o šumama, narušava tržište i, svakako, potiče korupciju.

Akcijski plan Europske unije za provedbu zakonodavstva, upravljanje i trgovinu u području šumarstva (FLEGT), iako je u teoriji dobro zamišljen, u praksi je zakazao. Zbog toga je potrebno što prije oživiti tu političku inicijativu i iskoristiti njezin potencijal.

Osim toga, vrijeme je da se potakne zanimanje za stanje šuma u Europskoj uniji. Prekomjerna, nelegalna sječa i trgovina nezakonito posječenim drvom nije problem samo trećih zemalja s kojima sklapamo FLEGT sporazume jer se sve to na dnevnoj bazi događa i u našim zemljama članicama. U Hrvatskoj se uništavaju putevi i ceste koji su građeni desetljećima, a nelegalno posječeno drvo se uglavnom odvozi u susjedne zemlje i bez kontrole stavlja na tržište.

Zbog toga još jednom pozivam na pojačanu aktivnost i koordinaciju kada je u pitanju očuvanje europskih šuma. Šume su puno značajnije nego što nam se čine; one su pluća Europe, izvor energije, čuvar klime i bioraznolikosti te ih trebamo poštovati sukladno njihovoj izuzetnoj važnosti.

  Eleonora Forenza (GUE/NGL). – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, in tempi di cambiamenti climatici le foreste diventano l'unico alleato per la salvaguardia della vita e del benessere di milioni di esseri umani. Inoltre, esse rappresentano il più importante serbatoio di biodiversità e un elemento costitutivo per le comunità indigene e i contadini in tutto il mondo.

L'Europa rimane la prima destinazione per il commercio illegale di legname e per questo è fondamentale nei prossimi anni che vi sia un impegno reale di tutta l'Unione per far sì che il FLEGT non resti un impegno volontario nell'ambito degli accordi commerciali. Sono necessari impegni cogenti in grado di regolare l'attività di governi e multinazionali e al tempo stesso di bloccare il sistema di corruttele. È fondamentale che la riforma del FLEGT vieti esplicitamente il commercio di legname proveniente da zone di conflitto, prevedendo un sistema di sanzioni fino alla revoca delle licenze di importazione e alla sospensione degli accordi di libero scambio o delle tariffe preferenziali per le multinazionali e gli Stati che violino l'embargo.

In ultimo consideriamo inadeguato il sistema di monitoraggio volontario degli investimenti nel settore forestale da parte delle multinazionali dell'agricoltura e del settore finanziario. Sono invece necessari una regolamentazione efficace e meccanismi di due diligence in grado di limitare le attività illegali e fornire una speranza ai polmoni verdi del pianeta.

  Francesc Gambús (PPE). – Señor Presidente, señor Comisario, en primer lugar creo que es importante señalar que el informe del Tribunal de Cuentas Europeo es bastante devastador en sus observaciones. En resumidas cuentas nos dice que la intención política es buena e innovadora, pero que este Plan de Acción —que por sí no tendría que ser malo— no llega implementado por un buen plan de trabajo, o si llega, lo hace tarde y mal. Parece un buen resumen también de la percepción de los males que afectan a la Unión: bien pensada, pero vamos tarde y mal. Debemos actuar con una visión global, porque la deforestación es un problema grave tanto ambiental como humano, pero debemos actuar bien.

En 2015 se calcula que hubo cien mil muertes en Indonesia atribuidas a los incendios forestales. Indonesia, que en 2014 superó a Brasil en el dudoso honor de ser el país con mayor deforestación anual del mundo. Indonesia, que recibió diez millones de euros destinados a la lucha por la aplicación de las leyes, la gobernanza y el comercio forestales en 2004; y, desde entonces, la Unión Europea no ha programado ningún otro proyecto de ayuda al desarrollo para el Gobierno de este país en el sector forestal.

Sin embargo, no debemos ser pesimistas, sino —como dice el propio informe— verlo como una oportunidad para mejorar el enfoque que se le da actualmente, para tener resultados más tangibles, que también los hemos tenido.

El mismo fondo ha tenido buenos resultados, por ejemplo en Camerún, donde ha conseguido que la sociedad civil participara en la gobernanza forestal.

Debemos insistir en la necesidad de reconocer el valor ambiental pero también social y económico de los bosques. Debemos recordar el valor añadido que suponen para las poblaciones rurales, también las actividades que como el pastoreo ayudan a prevenir peligros como los incendios forestales, así como a mantener un bosque limpio.

Por ello quisiera poner en valor el informe Köstinger de este Parlamento sobre una nueva estrategia de la UE en favor de los bosques y del sector forestal en la que pedíamos un plan de acción sobre deforestación y degradación con el fin de abordar los objetivos fijados en la Comunicación respecto a la protección y mejora de los bosques mediante su gestión sostenible, así como el apoyo a los mecanismos que fomentan el desarrollo mundial de la silvicultura con miras a una explotación más sostenible de los bosques.

  Miroslav Poche (S&D). – Mr President, the EU Action Plan on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) and its implementation have fundamentally helped to increase awareness of the devastating impact of illegal logging. The commitments and measures contained remain highly relevant today and should be further strengthened. Governments have recently committed themselves to the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement. If the European Union wants to remain a credible global partner and a global force in combating climate change, we have to take concrete actions, cooperate with international partners, and increase the coherence of EU policies to effectively push for ending deforestation and the connected violations of human rights.

Tackling deforestation and illegal logging can be successful only if indigenous peoples’ land rights are respected. The EU Action Plan needs strong governance reforms, coherence with other environmental policies and additional resources. We should express our firm position on some particular points of the problem, which I believe are essential to achieving the concrete picture of what the European Union plans to undertake.

  Νεοκλής Συλικιώτης ( GUE/NGL). – Κύριε Πρόεδρε, κύριε Επίτροπε, είναι σημαντικό να στηριχτούν οι χώρες παραγωγής ξυλείας και να κινητοποιηθούν πόροι για την ανάπτυξη μηχανισμών, ώστε να ενισχυθεί το σχέδιο δράσης της Ένωσης για την εφαρμογή της δασικής νομοθεσίας. Κάθε μας ενέργεια όμως πρέπει να σέβεται και να προωθεί τους στόχους που έχουμε θέσει για το κλίμα και την προστασία του περιβάλλοντος. Είναι αναγκαίο να ληφθούν άμεσα μέτρα για την πρόληψη και αποτροπή της παράνομης υλοτομίας, της αυθαίρετης αποψίλωσης, αλλά και της σκόπιμης καταστροφής και πυρπόλησης των δασών που πραγματοποιούνται με σκοπό την οικοπεδοποίηση δασικών εκτάσεων, κάτι που ζούμε πολύ έντονα στη Νότια Ευρώπη, και την εξυπηρέτηση μεγάλων ιδιωτικών συμφερόντων.

Είναι επίσης σημαντικό να προωθηθεί η αναδάσωση. Η προστασία του περιβάλλοντος αποτελεί βασική προϋπόθεση για την αναβάθμιση της ποιότητας ζωής του ανθρώπου. Έχουμε λοιπόν χρέος να προστατεύσουμε τα δάση από κάθε μορφή παράνομης αποψίλωσης και καταστροφής και να αναπτύξουμε μια δασική νομοθεσία με γνώμονα τα συμφέροντα της κοινωνίας και των ανθρώπων.

Pytania z sali

  Stanislav Polčák (PPE). – Pane předsedající, já bych chtěl ve své jedné minutě podpořit všechny svoje kolegy, kteří zde vystupovali, protože skutečně podle mého soudu nezákonně vytěžené dřevo ohrožuje plíce světa. A v tomto smyslu bych chtěl především podpořit východiska, která jsou stanovena v akčním plánu. Na druhou stranu mám opravdu pocit, že zaostáváme v jeho provedení i právě na tom mezinárodním poli, protože tento akční plán by měl být podle mého názoru přímo provázán se zahraniční politikou Evropské unie. My bychom měli i ty státy, které skutečně nedodržují závazky, které třeba i byly smluvně sjednány s naší Unií, jaksi být schopni efektivně podpořit právě na mezinárodním poli. Já jsem byl v Singapuru před několika lety a byl jsem opravdu zděšen z toho, jak kouř z Indonésie dopadá dokonce do tohoto státu a právě pochází z vypalovaných lesů a týká se palmového oleje. Já myslím, že bychom na tyto skutečnosti neměli rezignovat a měli bychom podpořit naši politiku i právě v této zahraniční oblasti.

  Nicola Caputo (S&D). – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, per effetto della posizione di rilievo, ma non dominante, che l'Unione europea detiene nel mercato mondiale dei prodotti del legno, qualsiasi provvedimento risulterà inefficace se non condiviso con i grandi player del settore, come ad esempio Stati Uniti, Giappone e Cina.

Penso che la Commissione debba dare impulso politico al piano d'azione dell'Unione europea per l'applicazione delle normative, la governance e il commercio nel settore forestale, portando a compimento la creazione di un sistema di rilascio di licenze su base volontaria, volto a garantire l'import del solo legname tagliato legalmente. Affinché un tale sistema possa funzionare correttamente, i paesi partner FLEGT dovrebbero provvedere a istituire sistemi e strutture affidabili per una corretta identificazione e certificazione del legame del legname tagliato.

Relativamente all'aspetto finanziario, la Commissione dovrebbe integrare le iniziative previste dal programma FLEGT nei principali programmi europei di cooperazione allo sviluppo, al fine di poter attuare programmi di assistenza tecnica e di sviluppo di capacità nei paesi partner produttori di legname.

  Νότης Μαριάς ( ECR). – Κύριε Πρόεδρε, η παράνομη υλοτομία και η αποψίλωση των δασών δημιουργούν σοβαρές επιπτώσεις στο περιβάλλον, καθώς μειώνουν τη βιοποικιλότητα και συμβάλλουν αρνητικά στην αλλαγή του κλίματος. Για την αντιμετώπιση των περιβαλλοντικών καταστροφών που προκαλούνται από την παράνομη υλοτομία και την αποψίλωση, η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση από το 2003 έχει υιοθετήσει ένα σχέδιο δράσης για την επιβολή της δασικής νομοθεσίας, τη διακυβέρνηση και το εμπόριο, με στόχο την ενθάρρυνση μιας βιώσιμης διαχείρισης των δασών. Αυτό το σχέδιο δράσης δεν έχει φέρει ακόμη τα επιθυμητά αποτελέσματα. Σύμφωνα με το Ελεγκτικό Συνέδριο της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης, τα 300 εκατομμύρια ευρώ που κατανεμήθηκαν σε 35 χώρες στο πλαίσιο του σχεδίου είχαν πενιχρά αποτελέσματα.

Επομένως, η Επιτροπή θα πρέπει να λάβει άμεσα μέτρα για την καταπολέμηση της παράνομης υλοτομίας και της αποψίλωσης. Ταυτόχρονα, κύριε Vella, θα πρέπει η Ένωση να ενισχύσει οικονομικά την Ελλάδα για την αποκατάσταση των ζημιών που υπέστησαν οι παραγωγοί και το φυτικό και ζωικό τους κεφάλαιο από τις πρόσφατες πυρκαγιές στη Χίο, την Εύβοια, αλλά και την Κέρκυρα. Το ίδιο βεβαίως πρέπει να ισχύσει και για την Κύπρο, η οποία επίσης φέτος υπέφερε από πυρκαγιές.

PRESIDENZA DELL'ON. ANTONIO TAJANI
Vicepresidente

  Seán Kelly (PPE). – Mr President, this is a most interesting discussion and a serious issue for the world generally. I would hope, particularly now that we have 195 countries signed up to COP 21, that this is an issue that should be easier to tackle globally – especially now as we go to Morocco and try to implement the agreement that was signed in Paris in December. That should certainly help.

Also of interest is that in my own constituency there is an innovative company called Treemetrics who log, map and monitor what is happening in forests through satellite imagery. That might be useful, especially in tracking illegal logging, etc., and is something that might be worth looking at. I was very encouraged, though, to hear that progress has been made, for instance, in Indonesia. In the space of 14 years, there was a 70% reduction in illegal logging due to bilateral arrangements and discussions. I think, as the Commissioner pointed out, that Ghana and other countries will hopefully follow in due course.

  Csaba Sógor (PPE). – Elnök Úr, az illegális fakitermelés és erdőirtás óriás problémát jelent több európai uniós tagállamban. Ezen a téren is tapasztaljuk a jól ismert jelenséget: miközben vannak a kérdés kezelésére alkalmas jogszabályaink, a mindennapok valósága az, hogy korrupcióval átitatott rendszerek épültek ki az ellenőrizhetetlen fakitermelési tevékenység ipari méretekben való folytatására. Egész erdőket tüntetnek el, az állami hatóságok sok esetben szemet hunynak, a helyi erdőtulajdonosok pedig tehetetlenek.

Nyílt titokként keringenek olyan információk, hogy fakitermelő vállalkozások illegálisan kitermelt fát vásárolnak meg, feldolgozzák, értékesítik, nem törődve a környezetvédelmi és egyéb szempontokkal. A jogszabályok áthágásának mintha nem lenne következménye, a polgárok pedig elvárják, hogy a törvény mindenkire vonatkozzon: még azokra a cégekre is, amelyek több millió köbméter fát dolgoznak fel és több száz munkahelyet biztosítanak.

(Fine della procedura "catch-the-eye")

  Karmenu Vella, Member of the Commission – Mr President, I would like to thank all the Members for their statements, comments and suggestions, to which I have listened very carefully. I have to say that I agree with many points that have been raised. I will also communicate these to my colleagues, Neven Mimica, Miguel Arias and Cecilia, with whom I work very closely on deforestation issues.

It has already been mentioned that progress is being made even with some timber producers, and in a few weeks’ time we will see the launching of FLEGT licensing in Indonesia. I think this is a major step and one we hope will be followed by Ghana next year. At the moment we are discussing VPAs with some 15 other countries. So there should be no doubting the Commission’s commitment to making FLEGT work.

There were also some interesting points which were made like, for example, Mr Tomašić, who mentioned the joint surveillance between Member States, and the fact that we still have illegal timber coming into Europe, and I have to stress again the responsibility of the Member States.

There is also the fact of the link between deforestation and the agricultural sector, especially the fact that we have to find monoculture and so on, and the socio-economic impact as well.

I think many of you also spoke about inadequate implementation and I have to say yes, the Commission acknowledges that the absence of an implementation plan to guide strategic management and monitoring has rendered implementation of FLEGT, and VPAs in particular, largely demand-driven. That is why the Commission is working towards the development of a multiannual plan to guide activity planning by setting clear targets, indicators, monitoring deadlines and associated budgetary resources.

Many of the honourable Members also mentioned the corruption problem. I totally agree with what they said, and that is why we took a number of precautions, especially in VPAs. The scheme developed for VPAs has several layers of safeguards and independence. Firstly, compliance with legal requirements is checked by private certification companies. Secondly, a specific role is provided for civil society to check that audited enterprises and forest operators comply with legal requirements. Thirdly, there is an overall systems audit, or periodical evaluation, that is foreseen and that will be carried out at least on an annual basis to check that the system is working properly overall.

There were several mentions of dealing with SDGs and climate change, and many of the action plan’s areas of action contribute to addressing several goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including SDG 8, SDG 12 and SDG 13, which is climate change, SDG 15 which is life on land and SDG 16, which is peaceful and inclusive societies.

What the Commission intends to do: as indicated in the 7th Environmental Action Plan, the Commission remains committed to developing policy proposals to address the deforestation challenge, and to this end the Commission is in the process of considering the feasibility of measures to achieve this objective, also as a follow-up to the study on the impact of EU consumption on deforestation.

We will continue to ensure adequate resources for the implementation of the action plan, through the development and cooperation instrument, including support for the engagement of civil society, private sector and public administrations. When we talk about resources, as Notis Marias mentioned, we have not only to monitor and talk about input but, more importantly, I think we need to monitor the output as well.

As the Court’s report found, the fundamentals of the FLEGT Action Plan are right. It is making an important contribution to mitigating climate change and to improving governance by clarifying tenure rights but, I agree, still more needs to be done. The Commission is also acting to address the important recommendations of the Court to ensure that the action plan is fit for purpose in a world where the pressures on forests are increasing.

  Presidente. – La discussione è chiusa.

Dichiarazioni scritte (articolo 162)

  Viorica Dăncilă (S&D), în scris. – Pădurile ocupă suprafețe semnificative ale planetei și sunt ecosisteme importante atât pentru om, cât și din punct de vedere ecologic. Pentru atingerea obiectivelor Strategiei 2020 în ceea ce privește pădurile, consider că este necesară consolidarea strategiei pentru păduri și sectorul forestier prin: lupta împotriva despăduririlor și a degradării pădurilor, promovarea gestionării durabile a pădurilor ca mijloc de protecție a biodiversității, lupta împotriva deșertificării și de reacție la schimbările climatice, asigurându-se totodată că ecosistemele forestiere oferă bunuri și servicii, contribuind la dezvoltarea durabilă și la eradicarea sărăciei. Este nevoie de un angajament ferm, coerență și de sprijin politic din partea tuturor părților implicate în cadrul Planului de acțiune FLEGT, astfel încât politicile de dezvoltare și în materie de schimbări climatice să plaseze pădurile și sectorul forestier în centrul demersului către o economie ecologică și să pună în valoare avantajele pe care le pot oferi pădurile în mod durabil, asigurând totodată protecția acestora și combaterea despăduririlor ilegale.

  Marijana Petir (PPE), napisan. – U provedbi sporazuma iz Pariza kojeg ćemo potvrditi ovih dana, nužno je da svaka država svijeta preuzme odgovornost i da svoj doprinos ostvarivanju zadanih ciljeva. EU u provedbi svoje energetske i klimatske politike mora tražiti i od drugih da slijedeći njezin primjer doprinose očuvanju svojih šuma. Upravo na tom tragu smatram kako održivo korištenje šuma kakvo poznajemo u Europi mora biti ujedno i uvjet za trgovinu s trećim državama kada se radi o uvozu drva i drvne građe. FLEGT dozvola predstavlja dobrovoljan okvir unutar kojeg je moguće postići željene ciljeve. Smatram pozitivnim istaknuti primjer Indonezije koja je od 2002. do danas podigla udio certificirane sječe s 20 % na 90 % te na taj način pokazuje predanost očuvanju i održivom korištenju svojih šuma. To je za nas važno zbog toga što EU uvozi gotovo trećinu svojih potreba za tropskim drvom upravo iz Indonezije. Smatram potrebnim, a kako to također naglašava Revizorski sud u svom izvješću, konkretizirati akcije kroz mehanizme praćenja i ocjenjivanja uspješnosti provedbe Akcijskog plana EU-a za provedbu zakonodavstva, upravljanje i trgovinu u području šumarstva. Postojeći način dobrovoljnog certificiranja potrebno je dodatno ojačati kako bi i druge zemlje postigle zaštitu svojih šuma barem do razine njihovog održivog korištenja.