The European Union aims to adopt a new regulation on the restoration of natural ecosystems by the end of the year, but several issues, including forestry, remain a source of controversy among EU legislators.
“My goal is primarily to reach a consensus,” said Spanish socialist lawmaker César Luena (César Luena), who is the European Parliament’s rapporteur for the new EU Nature Restoration Law, which was tabled last June. “We must focus on nature restoration,” he said on Thursday (12 January) at a meeting of the Parliament’s Committee on the Environment. Environment. “This issue must come from this committee and, through a unanimous decision, be moved to the plenary session,” he added.
Last June, the European Commission submitted a new Nature Restoration Law, which for the first time sets legally binding targets to restore degraded land and halt the decline in biodiversity.
The plan also provides for a €100 billion budget for EU member states to restore nature in agriculture, forests, the sea, oceans, and urban areas.
However, EU member states seem hesitant. At a meeting held last December, the bloc’s 27 environment ministers expressed concerns about several aspects of the proposed regulation, including a lack of flexibility for member states in achieving the targets and insufficient funding.
Debate over targets
In the European Parliament, right-wing and conservative political groups have also criticised the proposal, which for the first time sets legally binding targets for member states to restore 20% of the European Union’s land and sea area by 2030.
The proposed targets – seven in total – provide for addressing the issue in several directions, for example, halting the decline of pollinator populations by 2030, removing river barriers, or halting the decline of green urban areas by 2030.
These are expected to be the main point of contention in negotiations on the approval of the new piece of legislation.
“Everyone knows that the European People’s Party (EPP) will not support the Commission’s proposal in its current form in the plenary session,” said German Christian Democrat lawmaker Peter Liese, who is associated with the Parliament’s centre-right European People’s Party (EPP). According to P. Liese, a broader dialogue and coordination with landowners and farmers, who will be directly affected by the new law, is needed. He warned his fellow Environment Committee members on Thursday that there would be “many amendments from the European People’s Party” to the draft report.
Other Members of the European Parliament want to increase the ambition of the proposal. This is the intention, for example, of Spanish MEP César Luena, who is the Parliament’s rapporteur on the bill. Although the Nature Restoration bill sets an overall target of restoring 20% of EU land and sea by 2030, C. Luena wants to increase this target to 30%, in line with the decision adopted at the UN Biodiversity Conference COP15 held in Montreal in December.
Forestry in the spotlight
If the new legislation is approved in its current form, it will oblige the European Union to legally protect all primary and old-growth forests remaining within its territory. The goal is to achieve an overall increase in biodiversity and a positive trend regarding forest connectivity, deadwood, uneven-aged forest areas, forest birds, and organic carbon stocks.
However, some MEPs argue that the Commission’s proposal does not take into account the regional diversity of forests and their socio-economic importance.
“For thousands of years, people have been managing these forests,” said Ulrike Müller (Ulrike Müller), a German MEP from the centrist 'Renew Europe' group. “We have to actively shape our forests for the future, and of course, we will need the help and involvement of those who own the forests,” she emphasised.
The issue of forest management is particularly sensitive for Nordic and Baltic countries, which have large forestry sectors and strong pulp and paper industries.
According to Eurostat data, in five EU member states, forests covered more than half of the land area in 2020: Finland (66%), Sweden (63%), Slovenia (61%), Estonia (54%), and Latvia (53%).
Parliamentary sources told EURACTIV that the Nordic countries have previously objected to forestry-related targets and added that this will also become an issue when it comes to the Nature Restoration Law. When the EU Nature Restoration Law was discussed at the EU Environment Council last December, Sweden remained silent on the matter, saying that it had to maintain neutrality because the country’s six-month presidency of the EU began on 1 January.
In contrast, campaigners are more insistent, and they express concern that Sweden’s forestry industry will influence the presidency to dilute the forestry provisions included in the EU Nature Restoration Law.
“Sweden’s relationship with its forests is tense, despite its promotion of its forestry model, and this does not bode well for the ambitious law,” said Kelsey Perlman, a representative of the forest NGO FERN. In her view, nature restoration targets make sense not only for the environment but also for the economic sustainability of the forestry sector.
As the current six-month rotating EU presidency, Sweden must remain neutral during EU negotiations. However, campaigners argue that when it comes to forestry aspects, other countries, such as the Nordic and Baltic states, will represent it. The European Parliament is expected to vote on the Nature Restoration regulation in its June plenary session. Meanwhile, the Swedish presidency aims to reach a 'general approach' among EU member states at the Environment Council, which will take place in the same month. Following that, under the leadership of Spain, which will hold the EU presidency from July, negotiations between the Parliament and EU countries will take place, and a final agreement is expected to be reached by the end of 2023.