Brussels, June 23 (BNA): The European Commission on Wednesday proposed legally binding targets to halve the use of chemical pesticides and restore nature across the European Union, in a bid to better protect health and restore degraded wildlife.
The proposal to restore habitats would require EU countries to take steps to restore nature to at least 20% of EU territory by 2030 and all degraded ecosystems by mid-century, EU environmental policy chief Virginius Sinkevicius told Reuters.
Under the proposals, the use of chemical pesticides should also be cut by 50% by the end of this decade. It will be completely prohibited in sensitive places such as public parks and protected areas.
A senior EU Commission official acknowledged studies showing significant reductions in pesticide use could lead to lower yields and higher food prices, but stressed that new technologies now available could effectively replace chemical pesticides without reducing agricultural production.
The rules on pesticides, if agreed by EU governments, would replace the existing lax law that the Commission said has been applied inconsistently across the EU.
Under the new system, governments will have to report regularly on progress towards the goals.
“Nothing can replace the ecosystem services provided by our oceans, our soils or our forests,” Sinkevicius said in an interview about the nature restoration proposal, which would be the first law of its kind in the European Union.
The proposed law sets binding targets for increasing bird numbers on farmland, reversing the decline of pollinators, and restoring 25,000 km (15,500 mi) of rivers to flow along their natural courses by 2030. Countries will have to develop national plans to contribute to the EU’s comprehensive targets.
Intensive agriculture, forestry and urbanization are fueling the degradation of natural habitats. Most of Europe’s protected habitats and species have a negative protection status, and a third of bee and butterfly species are declining in numbers.
The nature proposal, which has been postponed twice, will need the approval of the European Parliament and EU countries – some of which have sought to delay or roll back sustainable farming measures.
He warned that failure to halt the decline of nature would eventually weaken the agricultural capacity of Europe.
“If we lose soil fertility, and soil erosion and degradation continues, it will have a huge impact on our agricultural production,” he said. Soil erosion is already costing Europe about 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) annually in lost agricultural production.
Economic activities such as farming on lands where restoration measures are applied, will not be prohibited under EU law.