A3-0245/93

Resolution on the process of desertification in the European Community and measures to control it

The European Parliament,

-having regard to the motion for a resolution by Mrs Díez de Rivera Icaza on control of the process of desertification in the Community (B3-0760/89),

-having regard to its resolution of 14 May 1987 on the Fourth EC Action Programme on the Environment (1987-1992),

-having regard to its opinion of 26 May 1989 on improving the efficiency of agricultural structures, as regards the afforestation of agricultural land,

-having regard to its opinion of 26 May 1989 on a scheme to develop and optimally utilize woodlands in rural areas in the Community,

-having regard to its opinion of 10 July 1992 on the protection of the Community's forests against atmospheric pollution,

-having regard to its opinion of 10 July 1992 on protection of the Community's forests against fire,

-having regard to its opinion of 26 May 1989 on establishing a European Forestry Information and Communication System,

-having regard to its opinion of 14 March 1990 on the establishment of the European Environment Agency and the European Environment Monitoring and Information Network,

-having regard to its opinion of 14 February 1990 on the programme for coordinating information on the environment (CORINE) and its results,

-having regard to its opinion of 13 September 1991 on establishing a Financial Instrument for the Environment (LIFE) replacing and incorporating the MEDSPA, ACNAT and NORSPA programmes,

-having regard to its opinion of 19 November 1990 on the protection of natural habitats and wild fauna and flora,

-having regard to its resolution of 17 November 1992 on a Community Programme of Policy and Action in relation to the Environment and Sustainable Development,

-having regard to the report of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection and the opinion of the Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development (A3-0245/93),

A.whereas the soil provides the physical basis for land ecosystems and its conservation is therefore of crucial importance to flora, fauna and human beings which depend on it directly or indirectly,

B.whereas the continuing process of deterioration of the soil in arid and semi-arid areas, owing to the joint impact of various physical factors (climate, relief, type of soil, etc.) and adverse human activities, has helped to exacerbate this process of soil erosion which will slowly and inexorably lead to desertification,

C.whereas application of the rainfall threshold index of 600 millimetres per annum, below which desertification can commence, suggests that most of southern Europe could be affected,

D.whereas a large part of the land surface in the Mediterranean regions of Europe - especially large areas of South-East Spain (in the provinces of Almería, Granada and Murcia), the Levante, the Ebro valley, Castilla la Mancha etc., the south of the Italian peninsula, Sardinia, Sicily, the Alentejo and the Algarve in Portugal, Corsica and much of Greece - is characterized by a climate of extremes, in which long periods of drought alternate with heavy seasonal rainfall thereby accelerating the process of desertification,

E.whereas in this area, intensive and unsuitable human occupation over thousands of years entailing ploughing, burning, deforestation, unregulated grazing, erosion, salinization, etc. has contributed to speeding up the soil erosion process and created conditions favourable to future, irreversible desertification processes,

F.whereas, over the last three centuries and more intensively in recent decades, the pressure of human beings on the environment has increased owing to greater energy use and technological development, leading to such phenomena as concentration of population, intensification of agriculture, abusive use of herbicides and insecticides, employment of heavy machinery and deep ploughing, thus accelerating erosion throughout the Community, especially in southern Europe,

G.whereas the vulnerability of the Mediterranean countries to desertification will increase with the climate changes arising from the rise in carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere,

H.whereas the increasing rate of soil erosion, which can cause the loss of 100-200 tonnes per hectare per annum in vulnerable areas, is a threat to agriculture insofar as it reduces the extent and productivity per inhabitant of the cultivated surface, increases liability to flooding and depletes reservoir and infiltration capacity and leads to a further reduction in water resources,

I.whereas increasing deforestation resulting from the devastating forest fires which occur every year is another key factor in the worsening of erosion and desertification,

J.whereas rainfall distribution in southern Europe - both seasonal and interannual - is highly irregular, with precipitation levels of 200 millimetres in 24 hours, on occasion reaching an intensity of 100 millimetres per hour,

K.having regard to the disturbing shortage of water for domestic and agricultural purposes in some areas of the Mediterranean and the alarming deterioration of water quality, together with hyperconsumption and uncontrolled, large-scale exploitation of underground waters, which has resulted in increased salt levels in watercourses and cultivable land, as well as the desertification of forest areas, which has led to an increase in forest fires,

L.alarmed at the fact that, owing to the above circumstances, tens of thousands of persons are being faced with the destruction of their livelihoods and forced into migration, while over a thousand plant species and more than two hundred vertebrate species are threatened with extinction,

M.whereas the compilation and updating of land registries at national level and the compilation and revision of national land use plans are basic preconditions for controlling man's activities and maximizing the effectiveness of the different projects and are also a basic means of tackling the phenomenon of desertification,

N.whereas the Treaty on European Union signed in Maastricht on 7 February 1992 establishes as one of its main objectives the promotion of sustainable growth respecting the environment and incorporates the requirement of environmental protection into the definition and implementation of the Community's other policies,

O.whereas the UN Conference on Environment and Development held in Brazil in June 1992 provided in Chapter XII of Agenda XXI for an international convention to be drawn up to combat desertification and drought; whereas the Community is under a moral obligation to play a pioneering role in the implementation of its conclusions and results,

1.Calls on the Commission and Council to adopt the criteria and objectives concerning anti-desertification measures defined by the UN Conference on Environment and Development and, consequently, to pursue, on the basis of suitable funding, the following objectives:

(a)preparation of a programme for data collection, information and observation on a systematic basis in respect of the regions of the Community which are vulnerable to desertification and drought, accompanied by intensified research into the economic and social aspects of the ecosystems in question;

(b)preparation of a Community policy for soil protection and preservation to combat soil degradation and erosion, promote soil conservation measures, plant new forests and regenerate existing ones;

(c)encouragement of specific programmes of anti-desertification measures, to be coordinated with economic plans and national ecological planning;

(d)promotion of training, information and participation of farmers, the public and social agents and of environmental education, with particular emphasis on anti-desertification action;

2.Urges the Commission and the Council, when drawing up policies on agriculture, forestry measures, transport, infrastructure, industry, energy, regional planning, etc., to take account of the serious problem of erosion and ensure that these policies are compatible with sustainable soil management;

3.Calls on the Commission to define a genuine strategy to combat desertification in coordination with the Member States affected, to be based on the following principles and actions:

(a)adequate knowledge of the magnitude and mechanisms of the phenomenon: mapping using various different scales, with a view to delimiting the areas most liable to and affected by water and wind erosion (to include maps of water resources); creation, for representative ecosystems within the areas most affected, of pilot networks of areas for surveillance of soil and water pollution and evaluation of desertification processes;

(b)development of control techniques:

promotion of control techniques, including implantation of new species to 'colonize' the most difficult areas, replanting with native tree species, reintroduction of slow-growing trees, mixed replanting and the preparation and experimental introduction of agricultural and stockbreeding models suited to arid and semi-arid environments;

(c)creation of an action plan for the affected areas:

a Community action plan aimed at coordinating the national plans and channelling funds to the most severely affected areas, defining them geographically and drawing up projects in terms of water catchment areas and with the appropriate practical measures; such projects should include physical planning proposals in connection with diverse and rational soil uses in the water catchment area affected;

(d)supervision of national water plans:

information on the water resources of each water catchment area, assessment of the environmental impact of possible diversions and drastic limitations on the use and consumption of water resources, by carefully regulating the use of underground waters;

(e)integration of control actions into the social and economic context:

promotion of the above measures in the economic and social context, encouraging user participation via information programmes and economic incentives;

4.Considers that there is an urgent need to set up a public relations campaign to ensure that both the general public and government authorities realize the gravity of the problems to which increasing desertification may give rise in some Community regions, and the need to give real priority to programmes and measures designed for its rectification;

5.Calls on the Governments to ensure proper planning for the use of underground waters;

6.Calls therefore, in accordance with the principle of prevention, for environmental impact assessments to take into account the quality of soil so that land of lesser quality is used for the building of new urban or industrial developments or infrastructure;

7.Calls on the Commission to undertake an exhaustive assessment of the measures included in the Fourth Action Programme concerning anti-desertification action, and of the Community's financial participation, on the basis of Regulations (EEC) 1609/89, 1610/89, 3528/86, 1613/89, 3529/86 and 1614/89, in the replanting, development and optimal use of forests in rural areas and in the protection of forests against pollution and fire;

8.Calls on the Commission to carry out an up-to-date assessment of the complementary actions which, with Community support, make it possible to understand and control desertification, including the results of the CORINE programme aimed at identifying areas at risk, the research work of the EPOCH programme and specific projects such as EFDA;

9.Calls on the Commission to ensure that the Structural Funds in the context of Objectives 1 and 5b are used correctly in line with environmental protection requirements by ensuring the protection of the soil and natural resources and, more specifically, combating erosion and desertification;

10.Urges the Commission to ensure that implementation of the Fifth Action Programme attaches priority to the regeneration of plant cover and the preservation, supervision and restoration of soil in the areas of the Community most affected by desertification, as called for in its above-mentioned resolution of 17 November 1992 on this programme;

11.Calls for the package of anti-desertification measures to be adequately funded via increased resources for the LIFE programme (incorporating the programme for the protection of the environment in the Mediterranean - MEDSPA) and supplementary funding to aid reconversion of land to extensive, multiple and non-concentrated uses;

12.Requests the Commission to ensure that the communication it is planning to submit to the Council in the near future on a new strategy for the forestry sector includes the role of forestry policy as a strategy for fighting and controlling the processes of erosion and desertification, and to propose, if necessary, new practical measures and the coordination and improved articulation of those which already exist; efforts should also be made to encourage the use of traditional native species which ensure a better balance between agriculture, stock farming and forestry, rather than resinous and fast-growing species which are susceptible to forest fires and accelerate the process of desertification;

13.Calls on the Commission and Council to set up a European Forestry Fund, to permit the effective protection of wooded areas and their regeneration and extension with a view to environmental conservation and balance in ecosystems;

14.Believes that, in the marginal areas worst affected by the problems of erosion and desertification, it might be appropriate for national and Community legislation to encourage the provision of special loans, either to private individuals or to representative local bodies which undertake to participate in reafforestation and forestry management and exploitation projects;

15.Calls on the Commission to institute the greatest possible coordination with the Member States, the government-run specialist control bodies, in particular those attached to water catchment areas, and the regions or communities most affected by desertification, and to ensure that, once set up, the European Environment Agency undertakes, together with the national, regional or district bodies concerned, coordination of scientific research and technical control in respect of desertification;

16.Points out that it would be desirable for the Member States to support the implementation of pilot projects to combat desertification in certain areas, since in addition to their practical benefits they are likely to be of special interest in view of the example they set, which will encourage experiments of this kind to be extended to other areas;

17.Voices its concern that reform of the CAP is leading to the gradual abandonment of marginal farmland, without any accompanying soil conservation measures, in areas where the absence of economic alternatives and measures to support subsidiary activities in the countryside, together with the age structure of the farming population, are leading to the disappearance of human activity and to emigration; requests the Member States accordingly to provide incentives for the implementation of measures to supplement CAP reform, for the conservation of agricultural soil, promotion of reafforestation and farming methods that are environmentally compatible, as well as the promotion of integrated rural development programmes;

18.Calls on the Commission to adopt, as part of the common agricultural policy, prevention and regeneration measures to alleviate the problem of desertification on the arid soils of the Mediterranean regions by setting up specific funding measures to encourage products based on the traditional agricultural and ecological systems of the Mediterranean, since these would allow a healthy balance to be maintained between agriculture, stockfarming and forestry as well as preserving the related farming methods (soil terracing, seasonal pasturing, etc.) which protect soils from erosion;

19.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the governments of the Member States.