A coalition of groups [1], including Friends of the Earth Europe, ActionAid, Birdlife, Oxfam and the European Environment Bureau have united to send this call to the European Commission to include work on land as a resource in its work programme for 2016.
A European Commission paper on this topic was initially planned for 2015, but was absent from the Commission’s work plan earlier this year.
Research shows that Europe’s consumption of land, particularly outside of the EU, has severe environmental, social and economic impacts including loss of forests and biodiversity, soil degradation, land grabbing, community displacements, destruction of peasant family farmers’ livelihoods. Many EU policies are fuelling further land consumption, such as those that promote biofuels.
The coalition’s call for action on land as a resource comes at a time when the Commission’s action on resource use policy is at odds with its commitment to creating a sustainable economy. Friends of the Earth Europe and others are pushing for the EU to adopt land footprint, along with carbon footprint, water footprint and material use indicators.
By measuring and managing Europe’s resource use we will be able to become more resource efficient, reduce waste, bring down the cost of materials, and create jobs in resource efficient industries.
[1] Act Alliance, ActionAid, Agricultural and Rural Convention 2020, Biofuelwatch, Birdlife, CEEweb for Biodiversity, Compassion in World Farming, Eco Ruralis, Eco Standard, European Coordination Via Campesina, European Environmental Bureau, Fern, Friends of the Earth Europe, Groupe de Bruges, IFOAM EU, Oxfam, Slow Food, Terre de liens
