B4-0391, 0396, 0404, 0405, 0410, 0415, 0418 and 0421/98

Resolution on the fires devastating northern Brazil and South-East Asia

02/04/1998

The European Parliament,

- having regard to its previous resolutions on the protection of tropical forests, and in particular its resolutions of 23 October 1997 on forest fires and air pollution in South-East Asia(15) and on fires in the Brazilian Amazon region(16),

- having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 3062/95 of 20 December 1995 on operations to promote tropical forests(17),

- having regard to the provisions of the Convention on Biodiversity and the Commission communication to the Council and the European Parliament on a European Community biodiversity strategy (COM(98)0042 - C4-0140/98),

A. having regard to the vast fires which are devastating the state of Roraima (northern Brazil, border with Venezuela) and which, according to the Brazilian environment agency, have already destroyed hundreds of thousands of hectares of grassland and tropical forest since December 1997 and which are threatening a 5 million hectare area,

B. noting with great concern the continuing fires that have destroyed large parts of the tropical forests on the Indonesian island of Kalimantan,

C. noting that the gravity of the situation has been greatly exacerbated by the worst drought in the region for many years, combined with unusually high winds, both of which phenomena are believed to be associated with the impact of the 'El Niño' weather pattern,

D. emphasizing that millions of people, especially indigenous people living in the rainforests, such as the Yanomami, Macuxi and Wapixana, and the people from Kalimantan, whose existence is seriously threatened by the spreading fire, are also suffering from the immediate consequences of these forest fires such as lack of food, economic disruption and health problems,

E. having regard to the weakness of the fire-fighting measures implemented by the Brazilian authorities, despite the declaration of a state of emergency by the governor of the state of Roraima, and the precious time lost in this fight because of the inexplicable reluctance of the Brazilian environment agency (IBAMA) to accept the assistance of specialized United Nations teams,

F. noting that national governments in South-East Asia have in the past often failed to take sufficient measures to prevent the outbreak of these fires and in some cases have even promoted activities likely to bring about uncontrollable fires, such as the Mega-Rice project on the Indonesian islandof Kalimantan,

G. noting that the 1.5 million hectares of the Mega-Rice project in Indonesia, due to its natural characteristics, is unsuitable for such a large-scale rice cultivation scheme and that despite the adverse recommendations of an environmental impact assessment study, the Indonesian government went ahead with the implementation of the project without taking concrete action to prevent wholesale logging and environmental destruction by powerful and politically well-connected timber companies,

H. having regard to the ecological and economic importance and the importance for scientific developments of tropical forests for the whole region and as a factor in climate balance and in safeguarding biodiversity for the world,

I. having regard to the important role played by certain NGOs in achieving the preservation and sustainable management of tropical forests, in particular through the special relationships they have often been able to establish with the local population and their decentralized structures,

J. whereas the European Parliament made the protection of tropical forests one of its budgetary priorities and whereas in this context the implementation of budget line B7-6201 is not ideal,

1. Calls on the Brazilian authorities to do everything possible to speed up the arrival of help to this area and in particular to accept without delay the offer of the United Nations (UNEP/OCHA) to despatch a specialist fire- fighting team there;

2. Calls on the international community and in particular the EU to provide financial aid and technical skills forthwith so that the emergency teams are in a position to bring the fires under control, and to release humanitarian aid for the victims as a matter of urgency;

3. Stresses the importance for the Indian populations of having access to medical structures as they are exposed to illnesses such as malaria and respiratory diseases;

4. Urges the Indonesian Government to stop activities in connection with the Mega-Rice project on Kalimantan and calls on the Commission and the Council to give the necessary support to the Indonesian Government in developing alternative projects to the Mega-Rice project geared towards rehabilitating the damaged areas and implementing an integrated approach to the preservation of tropical peat-swamp forests in the region and the establishment of an 'ecological planning unit' in Central Kalimantan; calls on them to organize a conference on the Mega-Rice project;

5. Calls on the governments in those regions to enact effective laws to combat slash and burn methods of forest clearance, to introduce land reform designed to providelandless peasants with alternatives to encroaching upon the rainforest and to provide funds for research and action designed to ensure better protection of the rainforest;

6. Calls on the Commission and the Council to provide the national authorities concerned with the necessary support to develop sustainable alternatives to present activities which contribute largely to the destruction of the tropical rainforests;

7. Calls on the G8, meeting in Birmingham in May 1998, to put forward practical measures in order to act jointly and within the United Nations to:

- combat the illegal and abusive exploitation of the Amazonian forest more effectively,

- establish rapid reaction and aid structures which can bring together and coordinate the intervention of specialized units in the fight against natural disasters;

8. Points out the importance of criteria relating to sustainable forest management being taken into account within the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO);

9. Notes that, despite Cambodia's timber export ban, which is supported by both Thailand and Vietnam, the illegal export of timber still continues; calls therefore on the Commission and Member States to raise this issue at the ASEM Conference and insist that such illegal practices are brought to an end;

10. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to take the initiative within the IMF, the World Bank and the ITTO to negotiate with the government of Indonesia and Brazil in order to encourage sustainable forestry management and uphold respect for the environment and the rights of the indigenous population, in particular in government-funded and sponsored development projects;

11. Calls on the Commission in its technological research and development programme for developing countries to pay particular attention to questions associated with the sustainable working of tropical forests;

12. Considers that a system of civil liability with regard to damage to the environment would help to curb such irresponsible conduct and proposes that such a system should be examined in the framework of an international convention on forests, in accordance with the undertakings given at the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992;

13. Calls on the Commission to speed up its internal procedures as much as possible so that all the sums available under heading B7-6201 "Tropical forests" from previous financial years are settled as soon as possible in order to contribute effectively to the action of the partners involved in development projects in the area;

14. Deplores the fact that, at the Earth Summit held in New York in June 1997, the draft of an international convention for the protection of forests which was supported by the European Union was rejected by the assembly, and calls on the Commission to reintroduce its proposal;

15. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the G8 Member States, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the governments of the states concerned in Latin America and South-East Asia, the World Bank, the International Tropical Timber Organization and the ASEM.