Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2002)404 - Monitoring of forests and environmental interactions in the EC (Forest Focus) - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2002)404 - Monitoring of forests and environmental interactions in the EC (Forest Focus). |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2002)404  |
| date | 15-07-2002 |
The purpose of the present proposal for a European Parliament and Council regulation is the establishment of a new Community scheme on monitoring of forests and environmental interactions to protect the Community's forests. The scheme will be built on the achievements of two Council regulations for monitoring the impacts of atmospheric pollution i and of fires i on forest ecosystems. The present proposal provides a multi-annual framework covering initially a 6 year period from 2003 to 2008. It aims at adapting the scope of the above mentioned regulations to provide a flexible monitoring scheme to assess forest ecosystem conditions in a broader context. It also simplifies existing activities by regrouping elements of both regulations under a single framework regulation covering the protection and monitoring of forests.
Contents
- BACKGROUND
- Protecting forests against atmospheric pollution
- Protecting forests against forest fires
- References to Environmental Policies and Integrating New Environmental Issues
- Evaluation of the proposed Community scheme
- OUTLINE OF THE PROPOSED FRAMEWORK MONITORING REGULATION
- Implementation of the scheme
- Objectives, Content and Definitions (Article 1 - 3)
- Monitoring and tools to improve and develop the scheme (Article 4-7)
- National Programmes, Co-ordination and Co-operation (Article 8-11)
- Period of Execution and Financial Aspects (Article 12-13)
- Execution, Reporting by Member States, Standing Forestry Committee (Article 14 - 17)
- Reporting by the Commission, Review, Candidate Countries (Article 18-21)
Legislative Background
A Community scheme to protect forests against atmospheric pollution was established by Council regulation (EEC) N° 3528/86 in order to provide increased protection for forests in the Community and thereby contribute in particular to safeguarding the productive potential of agriculture.
The action aims at setting up a long-term forest monitoring system. The Community action was implemented in close co-operation with the International Co-operative Programme on the Evaluation and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Forests (ICP Forests) under the UN-ECE Convention on Long-range Trans-boundary Air Pollution (Geneva, 1979) i, to which the European Community is a signatory party. The regulation foresees a 50% Community co-financing of measures carried out by Member States in the context of national programmes.
Council regulation (EEC) No 2158/92 set up an action framework mainly for the prevention of forest fires. Various measures were co-financed under this regulation, such as the creation or improvement of existing prevention systems and, in particular, the establishment of protection infrastructure (forest paths, tracks, hydrants, fire breaks, etc.), as well as the creation or improvement of systems to monitor forests or identify the causes of forest fires and determine the means for combating them. The forest fire information system is one of the elements of this regulation, which will be also covered by the proposed framework regulation.
Council Regulation (EC) No 307/97 of 17 February 1997 i amending Regulation (EEC) No 3528/86 referred to Article 43 of the Treaty as the legal basis. On 30 April 1997 the European Parliament submitted an application on this subject to the Court of Justice. On 25 February 1999 the Court delivered a judgement in Joined Cases C-164/97 and C-165/97 [5], in which it noted that the Council should have taken Article 130 of the Treaty (now Article 175 of the EC Treaty) as the sole legal basis. Consequently, Regulation (EC) No 307/97 was annulled. However, the Court suspended the effects of the annulment until the Council adopts a new regulation on the same subject within a reasonable period. This new regulation (EC) 1484/2001 i entered into force on 21 July 2001. Council Regulation (EEC) No 3528/86 has recently been amended by Regulation (EC) No 804/2002 i.
[5] [1999] ECR I - 1139.
In co-operation with ICP Forests, Community action has been developed over the years in line with objectives formulated in Ministerial Conferences on the Protection of Forests in Europe (Strasbourg i, Helsinki i and Lisbon i) and the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) (Rio de Janeiro 1992). The Community action has been implemented by Commission regulations 526/87 i, 1696/87 i, 1091/94 i and 2278/99 i and has fulfilled the objectives set by the Council.
In 1994, the Commission adopted regulation (EC) 804/94 i on implementing the Community forest-fire information system. This regulation introduced systematic collection of a set of data on each fire occurring, for all areas at risk of fire in the Member States participating in the system. The forest-fire information system now covers six Member States of the Union with fire-risk areas: Germany, Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and Greece. The system is an operational tool for monitoring and assessing the measures taken by the Member States and the Commission for fire prevention.
This enhanced monitoring regulation is related to the overall package of environmental action areas and will follow a scientific based approach. The various monitoring elements proposed are all related to key priorities in the 6th Environmental Action Programme i and the Sustainable Development Strategy i, i.e. pollution, climate change, biodiversity, natural resources and soils.
Environmental legislation and policies at Union level, such as the Clean Air for Europe Programme i, the 2000/60/EC Water Framework Directive i, the 79/409/EEC Directive on the conservation of wild birds i and the 92/43/EEC Directive on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild flora and fauna i, as well as the recent EU Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection i, need better information to identify the nature of risks and uncertainties, so as to provide a basis for solutions and further policy decisions. A Community scheme on monitoring of forests and environmental interactions will contribute to meeting these needs.
The proposed monitoring activity could assist substantially the monitoring requirements deriving from European Climate Change Programme i, the EU Biodiversity Strategy i and corresponding Biodiversity Action Plans, the Soil Strategy and the forthcoming scheduled work on the Soil Monitoring Directive and could contribute to Global Monitoring of Environment and Security (GMES) activities.
The European Union and its Member States are committed to promote sustainable development in all policies and actions. The EU and its Member States are also committed to the sustainable management and protection of forests in all relevant international and pan-European processes related to forests such as in particular the Forest Principles agreed at the 1992 UN Conference for Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro and the subsequent work deriving from its follow-up i, the ongoing process of the Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe and the resolutions i adopted so far in this context, as well as the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution and the protocols under this Convention.
The proposal has not been based on an ex-ante evaluation, as the proposed scheme builds on the monitoring activity of the Council Regulations (EEC) No 3528/86 and (EEC) No 2158/92. The Commission has recently prepared a report on the application of the monitoring activity 1987-2001, which will be sent to the European Parliament and the Council.
However, the proposal has taken into consideration the results of an independent review of the monitoring activity. Centralised co-ordination by a Scientific Co-ordination Body, continuous monitoring of activities carried out by the scheme and a new organisational structure, shall help to further improve the efficiency of the scheme. The requirement in the National Programmes of the Member States to elaborate ex-ante, midterm and ex-post evaluations will enhance the transparency of the scheme's activities and its overall cost efficiency. The Commission will similarly carry out a midterm review of the scheme followed by an evaluation report at the end of the execution period of the scheme.
Legal Basis
According to the decision of the European Court (25 February 1999) concerning the legal basis for Council regulation (EEC) N° 3528/86 as well as for Council regulation (EEC) 2158/92 and with respect to the objectives of the future EU action Article 175 of the Treaty is the only legal basis. The Community policy on the environment shall contribute, under Article 174, paragraph 1, to preserve, to protect and to improve the quality of the environment and encourage prudent and rational use of natural resources, taking into account the diversity of situations in different regions of the Community.
The framework regulation will be implemented by Commission regulations, which will prescribe general aspects of the monitoring activities, procedures to be followed for reporting and for the national programmes. The Commission regulations will also deal with the establishment of manuals that describe the monitoring methods.
The main objective of the proposed action is to provide a framework for a Community scheme to contribute towards the protection of forest ecosystems in the Community by monitoring the conditions of these ecosystems. The objective cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States acting separately. It can be better achieved by a Community action in order to ensure harmonised data collection and the provision of policy relevant information at Community level, which shall help the evaluation of ongoing Community measures to promote the conservation and sustainable management of forest ecosystems.
The following aspects have been taken into account:
* Nearly 44% of the total land area of the EU is covered with forests and other wooded areas. Forest ecosystems fulfil various functions with economic, social and ecological significance. Furthermore forest ecosystems are also habitat for various species of plants and animals.
* Forest ecosystems are exposed to serious threats from air pollution, fires, climatic change, and attacks from parasites and diseases. Most of these threats can have cross-border effects and can seriously upset and even destroy forest ecosystems.
* The protection of forest ecosystems is therefore a major concern. The European Union and its Member States are committed to the protection of forests and to the sustainable management of forests in all relevant pan-European and international processes related to forests. The forest strategy and the sixth environmental action programme address forest related issues of concern and identify monitoring needs.
* Forest ecosystem conditions, changes of these conditions, forests ecosystems reaction to environmental stress and the effects of policies can only be traced by means of monitoring.
* Changes in forest ecosystem condition as well as the reasons for these changes may be recognised at an early stage thereby allowing the adoption of timely and appropriate measures in due time.
* A long-term monitoring programme, which is flexible in its implementation, is needed to achieve these objectives.
The future EU scheme shall be based on four pillars:
* establishment of a monitoring programme on air pollution effects on forests,
* establishment of forest fire monitoring,
* continuous evaluation of the efficiency of monitoring activities in the assessment of forest ecosystem conditions and the further development of monitoring activity,
* establishment of new monitoring activities on forest biodiversity, soils, climate change and carbon sequestration after the development of appropriate monitoring methods and provided that the necessary additional financial resources will be made available by the budgetary authority.
The monitoring of air pollution effect on forests will be carried out on a systematic network of observation points, which covers the whole Community, and a network of intensive monitoring plots. The systematic network provides representative information on forest conditions and changes. Intensive monitoring in selected plots allows for in-depth monitoring activities in order to observe ecosystem processes. Thus the intensive monitoring plots and the monitoring on the systematic network of points complement each other.
Fires seriously affect forests in many parts of the Community. The forest fire monitoring will be established with a view to monitoring the extent and causes of forest fires. It will allow assessing the impacts of fires on forest ecosystem conditions and will provide an operational tool for monitoring and assessing the measures taken by the Member States and the Commission. The provisions of the Programme activities will support and complement activities related to forest fires undertaken under the provisions of civil protection i, the Council Regulation (EEC) N° 1257/99 on support for rural development i and the European Forest Information and Communication System (EFICS) i.
The Commission shall conduct studies, experiments and demonstration projects, which shall in particular help to develop the scheme and to further improve its efficiency. In order to make full use of the results derived from these actions, Member States will be asked to conduct studies, experiments and demonstration projects in the new monitoring areas. The determination of appropriate parameters, the elaboration of methods for data collection and a test phase to check the feasibility and practicability of the methods are therefore prerequisites for the gradual incorporation of new monitoring elements.
The monitoring activities to be carried out by the Member States, in particular the collection of data as well as studies, experiments and demonstration projects shall be implemented under multi-annual national programmes (3 years period).
To achieve these objectives the Commission shall establish a Scientific Co-ordination Body, which may be within the Joint Research Centre. It shall in particular organise the collection and assessment of data and shall develop a Community data platform.
The Commission may need additional assistance from contracted decentralised thematic centres and may in addition consult and contract experts and research institutes for carrying out specific works.
The European Environmental Agency shall assist the Commission in its reporting activity. In this context co-operation with pan-European and international bodies, in particular with ICP Forests in the common field of monitoring air pollution, is needed to ensure a coherent approach to monitoring.
The scheme shall run for 6 years, from 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2008. The proposed framework regulation will provide co-financing up to 50% of the eligible costs for monitoring activity and database platforms, as well as for studies, experiments and demonstration projects to be carried out by Member States in the context of their national programmes. The Commission will finance its own activities, such as co-ordination and evaluation work, as well as studies, projects and experiments. A contribution shall be made to the European Environmental Agency. Furthermore, a contribution may be provided to ICP Forests to establish a scientific interface with the Scientific Co-ordination Body of the Community, thus allowing the ICP Forests to ensure the exchange of knowledge, information and data and to allow for a coherent approach in common fields of forest monitoring.
In order to conduct monitoring of air pollution effects on forests and on forest fires, to develop new monitoring activities and to improve the scheme 52 Million EUR shall be provided for the period 2003-2006. For the years 2007 and 2008, the annual amount of 13 million EURO may be increased in order to fund new activities, provided such an increase is approved by the budgetary authority.
The Member States shall each designate one National Focal Centre to ensure efficient and clear communication structures.
The data gathered under the scheme shall be submitted by the National Focal Centres to the Commission. The environmental data gathered under the scheme shall be made available to the public and especially to experts and research institutes.
A multi-annual approach with a reporting period of three years is foreseen for the reporting of the results gained from the monitoring of forest ecosystems conditions. However, for forest fires these will be for annual reporting. The Commission will conduct a review of the scheme after three years and report on its implementation.
The Standing Forestry Committee shall assist the Commission in co-ordinating, monitoring and developing the scheme for harmonised and comprehensive monitoring of forest ecosystem conditions and related environmental impacts. It will be consulted in accordance with the procedures of Council Decision 1999/468/EC i of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission.
The Commission shall conduct a review of the scheme after its first 3 year period and shall report during its fourth year based on this review, on this basis on the implementation of the scheme. Also before the running period referred to in the regulation expires, the Commission will report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the implementation of the regulation. The scheme shall be open to the candidate countries.