A new WWF report reveals that the EU will fail to achieve its goal of effectively combating biodiversity loss and climate change when it doesn’t immediately include non-forest ecosystems in the European Commission’s bill.
3keel’s survey “Beyond forests: reducing EU impact on all nature systems” provides clear evidence of the effects of EU consumption on nine ecoregions on the planet. The European Commission presented a proposal last November that limited the scope of the new law only to forests, but could be extended to other natural ecosystems from the first revision. The Association stresses that the bill does not include non-forest ecosystems. This could lead to the transfer of the destruction and pressure caused by livestock production from forests to savannahs grasslands and peatlands.
Grasslands, savannas and tropical forests can hold twice as much carbon as grasslands. In addition, 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from the destruction and loss of peatlands. The report shows that a significant portion of goods imported into Europe come from regions rich with biodiversity and important carbon sinks. More than half of Brazil’s Cerrado, the most biodiverse Savannah in the world has been cleared primarily to make space for production. There are two main types of meat: soy and pork. In 2019, meat imports from Cerrado into the EU amounted to 26% and almost a quarter of the meat exports from the area. About 14% (or 14%) of Argentina’s Chaco was converted to agriculture in 2000s for soybean production. In 2019, around 24% of all soybeans exports from the region were imported by the EU.
94% of Sumatra’s peatlands have been converted to or degraded to make palm oil, natural Rubber, and tree plantations for cellulose. Sumatra is responsible for approximately 19% of EU imports natural rubber and 14% for palm oil. The central basin of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which is a region of forests, wetlands, and palm oil, contains the largest peatbog complex in the world, with 30.6 billion tonnes of carbon underground. 20% of all wood exported from the DRC reaches the EU, which is a significant driver for the wood industry in this area.
The complete English version of the report is enclosed.