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November 10, 2004
Europe must do more to save its threatened wildlife
BirdLife International, has challenged EU Member States and the European Commission
BirdLife International, represented by the RSPB in the UK, [1] has today challenged EU Member States and the European Commission to adopt a five-point challenge to stop the decline of wild birds in the EU.
BirdLife International's call for immediate action was issued in response to the latest assessment of European bird populations, published in the global organisation's new in-depth study, Birds in the European Union [2]. The study reveals that, despite EU legislation protecting many species, many are
still declining at an alarming rate and still face an uncertain future.
At an EU conference in Bergen op Zoom (Netherlands), celebrating the 25th anniversary of the European Union's Birds Directive [3], BirdLife International today (Tuesday 9 November, 2004) warned 150 delegates from European institutions, member states and NGOs, that without better
implementation of EU wildlife protection laws, birds and other wildlife would continue to be lost forever.
Clairie Papazoglou, head of BirdLife's European Community Office in Brussels said: "BirdLife welcomes the conclusions of this Conference, as it recognises the EU Birds Directive has protected many threatened birds over the last 25 years through targeted measures for species and sites." "However, as the newest information shows, we have to be very concerned about many species being in deep trouble, even some common birds are in rapid decline. This is largely because EU legislation, like the Birds Directive, is not fully implemented by member states or that other policies, like the Common Agricultural Policy, can jeopardize conservation efforts".
BirdLife's five-point recovery plan for the European Union's wildlife
includes:
* Full implementation of existing wildlife conservation laws
(in particular the EU Birds and Habitats Directives) in all EU Member
States.
* Ensuring integration of this legislation into other EU
policies, such as agriculture and transport.
* Urgent action by Member States to complete and properly
manage the network of Special Protection Areas (SPAs) for birds, by
classifying all Important Bird Areas (IBAs) as such (IBAs have been
scientifically selected by BirdLife International according to EU criteria).
* Adequate and targeted EU co-funding for nature conservation
measures, provided and secured through the Commission's "LIFE Nature" fund
(or an equivalent instrument), in addition to Rural Development and
Structural Funds.
* Setting up of monitoring schemes for birds by the European
Commission with adequate information and support provided by all Member
States, as well as adoption of birds as a headline structural indicator for
the EU's sustainable development strategy.
Clairie Papazoglou added: "If these challenges are not met, it is hard to see how the EU and governments can fulfil their joint commitment to halt the loss of wildlife by 2010, on which they have agreed back in 2001 in Gothenburg."
Posted by Surfbirds at November 10, 2004 07:04 PM
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