Civil Society Coalition Joint Letter on EU Deforestation Bill
Read the joint letter here [pdf]:
Why the EU Deforestation Regulation must include Other Wooded Lands
On Monday, November 7, Mighty Earth and our allies at Amigos de Terra, Canopée, Deutsche Umwelthilfe, Earthsight, Rainforest Foundation Norway, and Verdens Skove sent this letter to members of the European Commission, Parliament and Council. The three EU institutions are locked in negotiations over the forthcoming EU Deforestation Regulation, with the future of the world’s forests hanging in the balance.
The Regulation intends to block any agricultural products linked to deforestation from being placed on EU markets. While hugely welcome, the existing proposal by the Commission would only prevent the sale of goods linked to the destruction of close-canopy forests. However, the European Parliament has recommended that this be extended to also include lower-density woodlands and wooded grassland ecosystems, termed “Other Wooded Lands” by the United Nations.
These ecosystems – which cover huge parts of Latin America, West Africa, and East Africa – are being rapidly converted into intensively farmed agricultural lands, threatening wildlife, displacing local and Indigenous communities, and releasing more carbon into the world’s already overheated atmosphere.
The letter explains how important it is that the Council and Commission agree to follow the Parliament’s recommendation on this. Because wooded grassland landscapes such as the Brazilian Cerrado are usually neighbour areas of denser forest, the EU risks simply displacing commodity production from forested areas such as the Amazon into these precious mixed vegetation landscapes.
It is, therefore, vital that both forest and other wooded land ecosystems are protected by the forthcoming law.
Read the joint letter here: [pdf]
Why the EU Deforestation Regulation must include Other Wooded Lands
