The move comes after the EU Commission has finally published the Staff Working Document, including the next steps of the Fitness Check of the Birds and Habitats Directives.
Speaking in Brussels, Copa & Cogeca Secretary-General Pekka Pesonen said “Natura 2000 legislation is very important to us as farmers since protection of the countryside is a crucial part of sustainable agriculture. Farmers and forest holders play a vital role in maintaining habitats and biodiversity. But we must strike the right balance between environmental, economic and social objectives. Environmental protection must not become an obstacle to economic development in rural areas across the EU. The focus needs to be put on protecting species and habitats through a sustainable productive use of land”.
“Until now, economic concerns are not taken into account sufficiently, which makes implementation of the directives per se not sustainable. There is also a clear lack of stakeholder involvement. Farmers and forest holders, as the stakeholders affected by the Nature Directives, must be involved as early as possible in the implementation process of the Natura 2000 network. We also want to see more flexibility in the implementation of Natura 2000”, he said. He pointed out that he was becoming increasingly concerned by the big number of attacks on livestock farms by large carnivores like wolves and it is crucial to take this into account when looking at the evolution of the EU Habitats Directive. “Better incentives must be set up for farmers to commit themselves to voluntary schemes and a review or an amendment of the Annexes of the EU Nature Directives need to be looked at”, he concluded.
