EU Forest Watch
EU Forest Watch
Issue 43 May 2000
Published by Fern
Commission calls for aid shake up
In an attempt to change the way the EC spends its aid
- worth 8.6 billion euros in 1999 - the Commission has criticised current management
systems and proposed far-reaching reforms in a new report1.
Published on 18
May, the report finds fault with
the Council’s leadership, but also admits that the Commission’s own management
performance has “deteriorated over time to the point of undermining the credibility
of its external policies and the international image of the European Union.”
The report claims
that a shortfall in human resources (representing the equivalent of 1,300 posts)
is damaging the EC’s ability to act effectively, and is also inefficient - costing
170 million euro a year in external Technical Assistance Offices. The current
state of project cycle management is also criticised as being too fragmented.
The report proposes
several major structural changes to help make the Community’s development co-operation
more effective, including:
l
Provision of sufficient human resources to allow aid projects to be managed
effectively.
l
A new body called Euro-Aid responsible for implementation to be created from
the Common Service for External Relations (SCR).
l
Improved dialogue with recipient countries to ensure project effectiveness.
l
A more strategic approach to aid programmes with political guidelines provided
by Member States for the Commission.
One omission in the proposals is reform of the Community’s budget lines
under the environment, social and NGO headings. Even though a draft action plan
sketches out a timetable for reform before the end of 2003, all references to
these budget lines are marked: ‘to be decided’. Until this issue is resolved
the future of aid for forest projects is unknown.
1 Communication on the Reform of the Management of
External Assistance
Development policy
The Development Council meeting on 18 May 2000 took forward the debate
on aid policy, and led to some interesting ‘action points’ for the Commission
and Member States.
With the Commission’s
vision document on the future of the aid programme1,
described as ‘a starting point in an ongoing process’, the Council is now seeking
a joint policy statement with the Commission and the Parliament by November.
A coalition of NGOs expressed concern2 over
the document’s lack of reference to the
importance of a healthy environment to aid projects, and its assumption
that integration within the market economy could solve poverty problems.
The Council asserted
its view that poverty and the environment are closely linked and that awareness
of this should be reflected in the new development policy. The Council is now
expecting the Commission and Member States to collaborate closely
over environment mainstreaming and environmental programmes. To achieve
this end, a comprehensive strategy including a timetable and performance indicators,
should be presented at the Development Council in May 2001. This will form the
basis of the Council's integration strategy for the Gothenburg Summit in June
2001.
The Council further
announced that no agreement was reached with the Parliament on proposals for
the future of the Environment and Forest Budget Lines. The Conciliation Committee
has been convened.
1 The Communication on European Community Development
Policy
2 Comments available at Fern’s website
Sami people tired of waiting for Swedish support
On 14 May, Sweden’s indigenous, reindeer-herding people,
known as the Sami, occupied Srömparterren, in the heart of Stockholm, as part
of a week long, colourful and peaceful protest against the Swedish government.
The aim of the
protest was to draw attention to Sweden’s lack of support for Sami rights and
to demand the Swedish Government’s ratification of ILO convention 169, which
would guarantee traditional winter-grazing rights for the Sami.
Swedish embassies
around Europe became the focus of the protests as NGOs, including Fern, in several
Member States presented petitions in support of Sami demands, and called on
the Swedish Government to end its double standard toward indigenous peoples.
Plug pulled on carbon sinks
A new joint statement signed by 17 NGOs,
urged government representatives to exclude the use of forests as carbon
sinks from the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).
The statement1
suggested that pro-carbon-sink governments were trying to exploit loopholes
in the Kyoto Protocol to avoid domestic energy reduction measures. The NGOs
also rejected the assumption that forests have the potential to be long-term
carbon sinks. Instead, the NGOs argued that the dynamic and unpredictable ecologies
of forests make them unreliable carbon sinks that could even become net sources
of CO2 emissions as the climate changes.
The CDM principle
of promoting sustainable development would also be compromised by the inclusion
of forests as carbon sinks. Large-scale plantations could generate the negative
environmental and social impacts currently associated with industrial plantations,
with little or no financial benefit to local peoples.
In his response2,
Mr. Sandalow stated his concern at the potential impacts of large-scale carbon-sink
forest plantations and his reluctance to support such projects. This should
encourage NGOs to push the debate against forests as carbon sinks forward before
a decision is made at COP6 in November.
Forests and trade
A second joint NGO statement3
- this one on forests and trade - presented at TAED, urged officials to make
six key policy changes to protect forests and forest peoples.
The changes included:
l
An end to tariff liberalisation in the
forest products sector that produce negative environmental and social impacts.
l
The broadening of Sustainability Impact Assessments (SIAs) to include social
impacts and public consultation, and the findings of SIAs to be reflected in
trade policies.
l
Exclude measures that protect forests and reduce timber consumption, such as
recycled wood products, forest certification and eco-labelling schemes, from
non-tariff measures.
l
Protection for forests and forest peoples in the agriculture negotiations at
the WTO.
The statement was later presented to Mr.
Lamy, the EU Commissioner for Trade who responded that the EU will push
for the elimination of environmentally harmfull non-tariff measures and
confirmed
certification is not a non-tariff measure.
1 Available from Fern
2 Available from European Environment Bureau
3 Available
from Fern
Shared
concerns of US and EU NGOs
Under the banner
of the Trans-Atlantic Environment Dialogue (TAED), US and EU NGOs met European Commission technical experts, Commissioners
Lamy and Wallstrom and the US assistant secretary of state for Oceans,
Environment and Science, David Sandalow. The Biodiversity Working Group, co-ordinated
by Fern, produced promising results on the major issues of trade and climate
change.
On 14 May, Sweden’s indigenous, reindeer-herding people,
known as the Sami, occupied Srömparterren, in the heart of Stockholm, as part
of a week long, colourful and peaceful protest against the Swedish government.
The aim of the
protest was to draw attention to Sweden’s lack of support for Sami rights and
to demand the Swedish Government’s ratification of ILO convention 169, which
would guarantee traditional winter-grazing rights for the Sami.
Swedish embassies
around Europe became the focus of the protests as NGOs, including Fern, in several
Member States presented petitions in support of Sami demands, and called on
the Swedish Government to end its double standard toward indigenous peoples.
Plug pulled on carbon sinks
A new joint statement signed by 17 NGOs,
urged government representatives to exclude the use of forests as carbon
sinks from the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).
The statement1
suggested that pro-carbon-sink governments were trying to exploit loopholes
in the Kyoto Protocol to avoid domestic energy reduction measures. The NGOs
also rejected the assumption that forests have the potential to be long-term
carbon sinks. Instead, the NGOs argued that the dynamic and unpredictable ecologies
of forests make them unreliable carbon sinks that could even become net sources
of CO2 emissions as the climate changes.
The CDM principle
of promoting sustainable development would also be compromised by the inclusion
of forests as carbon sinks. Large-scale plantations could generate the negative
environmental and social impacts currently associated with industrial plantations,
with little or no financial benefit to local peoples.
In his response2,
Mr. Sandalow stated his concern at the potential impacts of large-scale carbon-sink
forest plantations and his reluctance to support such projects. This should
encourage NGOs to push the debate against forests as carbon sinks forward before
a decision is made at COP6 in November.
Forests and trade
A second joint NGO statement3
- this one on forests and trade - presented at TAED, urged officials to make
six key policy changes to protect forests and forest peoples.
The changes included:
l
An end to tariff liberalisation in the
forest products sector that produce negative environmental and social impacts.
l
The broadening of Sustainability Impact Assessments (SIAs) to include social
impacts and public consultation, and the findings of SIAs to be reflected in
trade policies.
l
Exclude measures that protect forests and reduce timber consumption, such as
recycled wood products, forest certification and eco-labelling schemes, from
non-tariff measures.
l
Protection for forests and forest peoples in the agriculture negotiations at
the WTO.
The statement was later presented to Mr.
Lamy, the EU Commissioner for Trade who responded that the EU will push
for the elimination of environmentally harmfull non-tariff measures and
confirmed
certification is not a non-tariff measure.
1 Available from Fern
2 Available from European Environment Bureau
3 Available
from Fern
Pipeline and indigenous peoples
Two Cameroonian campaigners visited Brussels in May to establish a dialogue with European institutions on the proposed Chad-Cameroon oil pipeline and its impact on the indigenous Bagyeli pygmies of southern Cameroon.
Jacques Ngun, a Bagyeli representative, and Didier Amoungou, from the Cameroonian environment and development NGO “Planet Survey” , also visited the World Bank and European and US governments. They presented a case study to the Bank outlining their concerns with the pipeline project. One of their main objections is that approving the project in its present state of preparation would contravene the World Bank’s Operational Directive 4.20 on Indigenous Peoples. This would make the Bank liable to an immediate inspection panel claim. The World Bank decided nonetheless to approve the project on June 6.
Forest Agenda
• 5-16 June: 12th session of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice, Bonn
• 13 June: Informal meeting on trade and environment between the Commission and Member States, Brussels
EU
Forest Watch
informs NGOs, MEPs and European Commission officials about the forest debate
in Brussels. It is published by
Fern, an NGO created by the World Rainforest Movement.
Fern advocates changes in EU activities in order to achieve:
•
conservation and sustainable management
of forests,
•
respect for
the rights of forest peoples,
•
greater transparency in EU aid to tropical forest countries.
For more information visit our website
http://www.gn.apc.org/fern
Contacts
Chantal
Marijnissen & Sofia Ryder,
Fern,
20 Av des Celtes
1040
Brussels
Tel:
32 2 742 24 36/733 36 53
Fax:
32 2 736 80 54
fern@arcadis.be
Saskia
Ozinga & Jutta Kill
Fosseway
Business Park, 1C
Stratford
Road
Moreton-in-Marsh
UK - GL 56 9NQ
Tel:
44 1608 652 895
Fax:
44 1608 652 878
saskia@gn.apc.org