EU Commission highlights actions to halt biodiversity loss

The EU Commission has presented a strategy to halt the decline of biodiversity in the EU. The strategy adopted on May 3rd features six priority targets and accompanying actions including: implementation of existing nature protection legislation and network of natural reserves, improving and restoring ecosystems and ecosystem services, ensuring the sustainability of agriculture and forestry activities, safeguarding and protecting EU fish stocks, controlling invasive species and stepping up the EU’s contribution to concerted global action to avert biodiversity loss.

The strategy is in line with two major commitments made by EU leaders in March 2010 – halting the loss of biodiversity in the EU by 2020, and protecting, valuing and restoring EU biodiversity and ecosystem services by 2050.

Pressure to introduce GM crops in the EU threatens this new commitment. GM cultivation on a global scale has greatly reduced biodiversity due to land change usage and the higher levels of pesticides associated with GM cultivation.

In an interview in a Romanian paper today EU Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Cioloş says he strongly favours traditional agriculture that produces quality food, diverse diets and natural biodiversity, requirements which genetically-modified crops cannot satisfy and which should not be threatened by gm crop production.

“There is a lot of demand on European natural resources and they must be protected in order to sustain us” said Dr. Sinead Neiland Chairperson of IOFGA, “insect pollination has an estimated economic value of €15billion in the EU. Organic agriculture protects and encourages biodiversity which means that organic food is truly sustainable”.

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For more information contact:

Grace Maher Development Officer IOA tel 087 6125989