Indigenous leaders and human rights activists, who arrived in Brussels from Liberia, Indonesia and Colombia, handed over the petition to the European Commission on 29.6.2018, which collected more than 159.000 signatures in less than two months. Keyword, deforestation. Europe respects its commitments against deforestation.
Deforestation and climate change
Tropical forests disappear at the rate of 29 million hectares per year. In 2017, an area as large as Italy was destroyed. One football field per second. (1)
The impact on societies and their economies traditional, as well as on the environment, is deadly. Because the livelihoods of around 1,6 billion people burn. And forests - in addition to being an essential source of food - are also home to 80% of global biodiversity. With a unique role in the global carbon cycle.
Deforestation issues more every year greenhouse gases of the entire European Union. Emissions destined to last for at least 7-8 decades, following the ecocides. (2) Its motives are different, but shared by the extension of monocultures for the production of commodities food.
'We now have even more evidence that climate change is caused not just by burning coal and oil for transport and energy, but by the industrial food system itself and the corporate quest for profits that drives its expansion. Indeed, climate change and land grabs are inextricably linked. ' (3)
Two thirds of tropical deforestation are caused by the irresponsible management of forests for speculative agricultural purposes, linked to the growing demand for soy and palm oil. (4) And it is precisely the monotony of demand - always inspired by the maximization of profits, at any cost - that fuels deforestation.
Europe cannot continue to connect. At least half of the areas illegally cleared are used precisely to satisfy the European market, while the banks of the old continent maintain the leadership in financing the expansion of theagribusiness in the countries of the former tropical colonies.
The fires of the forests, still underway in the service of the expansion of oil palm monoculture, has hit Indonesia hard. Causing emissions between 207 and 650 tons of carbon per hectare. (5) Causing, in 2015 alone, emissions between 1.600 and 1.800 billion tons of CO2. Unparalleled air pollution, from the first industrial revolution to today, with very serious impacts on human health. (6)
Fighting climate change
To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the governments of the planet have recognized that stopping deforestation is the simplest and cheapest tool. And it is precisely therefore that a fundamental chapter of the Paris Agreement on climate change concerns suitable actions to mitigate deforestation.
"Meeting the internationally agreed objective of keeping global temperature rise below 2 ° C compared to pre-industrial levels will require a cut in global emissions of at least 50% below 1990 levels by 2050. This reduction will be impossible to achieve without substantial action to combat deforestation' (European Commission, 'Combatting tropical deforestation: the REDD + initiative ') (7)
The goal of the Paris Agreement postulates an end to deforestation and a drastic reduction in the consumption of fossil fuels. But that's not enough. Degraded forest ecosystems must be restored by working together with local communities!
Keyword, agroforestry. There is enormous potential in populated agricultural landscapes, which can be used to increase carbon storage. (8) And give back to communities - in the tropics often victims of land grabbing - their ancestral lands and their main source of livelihood.
'The forest is the source of our lives. This is why deforestation removes and limits our ability to live with dignity. Logging and plantation companies in Indonesia continue to demolish, evict, and destroy our forests and agro-forests. Communities have lost and are still losing their livelihoods. They now have difficulties in finding decent sources of food. Their indigenous knowledge is threatened and they are suffering malnutrition and health problems. Even well-planned development assistance programs cannot replace the benefits of the forests being lost. Action has to be taken to stop rights violations and forest clearance'(Franky Samperante, Pusaka NGO, Indonesia). (9)
The petition
On 4 May 2018, over 20 NGOs all over the world have decided to intervene proactively. Collecting more than 159.000 signatures in less than two months.
Purpose of the petition is to urge the European Union to honor its international commitments to stop deforestation. Promoting the formation of a European Action Plan to protect forests and respect the rights of local communities.
Since 2008, the European Union has been committed to halt the destruction of forests by 2030 at the latest (assuming that in that period some green areas will have survived the ravages that are happening) and to halve the gross tropical deforestation by 2020. (10) Sustainable development goals (Sustainable Development Goals) more appropriate - halting deforestation and loss of biodiversity, as well as restoring degraded forests by 2020 - have meanwhile been defined at United Nations level.
Less than eighteen months from 2020, moreover, the industries based in Europe have not made any concrete step forward. As deforestation progresses. Shame!
It is time for Europe to honor its commitments.
Giulia Torre and Dario Dongo
Footnotes
(2) Grassi G, House J, Dentener F, Federici S, den Elzen M, Penman J. (2017) The key role of forests in meeting climate targets requires science for credible mitigation. Nature Climate Change, 7: 220-226
(3) Grain, report 'The global farmland grab in 2016: how big, how bad? ", 14.6.16
(4) Cf. Supply Change, relationship 'Corporations, Commodities, and Commitments that Count ', March 2015, on https://forest-trends.org//wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Supply-Change_Report.pdf.
(5) http://ec.europa.eu/environment/forests/pdf/palm_oil_study_kh0218208enn_new.pdf
(6) The severe haze of 2015, which lasted a full three months, caused an estimated 100.300 premature deaths from respiratory diseases in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. V. Greenpeace, report 'The moment of truth', 19.3.18, on https://storage.googleapis.com/p4-production-content/international/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/db5ec2fd-gp_mot_v4.6_pages.pdf
(7) https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/forests/deforestation_en
(8) See FERN, report "Return of the trees', December 2017, on https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/20_fern_RFN_returntrees.pdf
(9) https://fern.org/sites/default/files/news-pdf/PetitionDeliveryPR_FINAL_0.pdf
(10) This objective, to be evaluated with respect to deforestation in 2008, was defined in the 'Communication on the problems of deforestation and forest degradation to be addressed in order to combat climate change and the loss of biodiversity', documents COM (2008) 645
Graduated in law, master in European Food Law, she deals with agro-food, veterinary and agricultural legislation. She is a PhD in agrisystem.
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
