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The global bird protection organisation BirdLife International (BLI) today published an assessment of the progress towards  fulfilment of the biodiversity strategy objectives set by the European Union (EU). All the BLI European partners have participated in the assessment, among them the Estonian Ornithological Society (EOÜ); all have evaluated their own country’s contribution.

 

The objective of the strategy that was adopted two years ago is to halt the decline of biodiversity in the EU by the year 2020. In its assessment the BLI is forced to recognize that the EU member countries so far have prevented even the most modest proposals for environmental reform presented by the European Commission.

 

Estonia and  Europe have similar problems – one of the major actors that influence biodiversity at the moment is agriculture. The most serious challenges are the support of actual protection of created protection areas, an insufficient marine protection network, the state of the Baltic Sea and oil shale energy issues. On the positive side the successful establishment in Estonia of the Natura 2000 network on land and in coastal waters is notable. The increased rate of protection area management scheme development, progress in restoring and caring for semi-natural habitats and limitation of illegal activities in the fishing sector deserve recognition.

 

In the current discussions for the EU new fiscal period, decision-makers have to withstand powerful lobbyists in order to preserve the opportunity to achieve the indicated environmental targets by the year 2020. The prior target set up by the EU, to stop the loss of biodiversity by 2010, was admitted to have failed. Now is an opportunity to learn from former mistakes and the decisions in the EU member states and the EU Parliament in the nearest future will decide the future feasibility of an environmentally sound Europe.

 

BLI together with its European partners intend to evaluate the fulfilment of the EU Biodiversity Strategy on a regular basis. The full version of the first report with illustrative case studies, the reports of the individual countries and more is on the web site:

www.birdlife.org/eubiodiversityreport2012.

 

The objectives of the strategy and the evaluations of its fulfilment by the BLI and the EOÜ are set down in the attached document: http://www.eoy.ee/sites/default/files/Pressiteade_EL_elurikkuse_strat_2020.pdf (in Estonian)

 

BirdLife International is the world’s largest network of environmental organisations – more than a hundred countries on all continents are represented. BLI and its partners are more and more forced to deal with political and broader environmental issues outside bird protection because these issues directly and significantly influence the welfare of birds.

 

The Estonian Ornithological Society is a voluntary organisation founded in 1921 with the purpose of studying and protecting the Estonian bird fauna and promoting knowledge of it. It has nearly 500 members in Estonia and abroad. The EOÜ is an official partner of the BirdLife International since the year 2000.

 

 

This report was produced in close cooperation with the BirdLife Partners in Europe.