Birdwatching

Birds International wrote to the EU Commission for Agriculture Fischer Boel to express its consern over the destruction of permanent grasslands in the EU.
Permanent grasslands represent invaluable habitats for biodiversity and important carbon stocks. Asking the Commissioner to clarify the extent of the problem and to provide information on the measures taken by the European Commission to address it.

Permanent grasslands, especially extensive seminatural grasslands, some of Europe's most valuable biodiversity habitats and are protected under the EU Nature Directives.
Most of them are threatened by either intensification of agricultural activities or by abandonment.

While this trend has existed for decades, partly as a consequence of the common Agricultural Policy, new pressures have arisen in the last couple of years. Widespread evidence from across the EU is suggesting that high cereal prices and public incentives for biofuels lead to more permanent grasslands being ploughed up by farmers who extend cereals and other crops production.

We Believe the Eu Commission should be taking swift and decisive action to enforce existing rules and propose new ones if the current legislation is demonstrated, to be failing.

A second reason for concern, beside the impact on biodiversity, is that many grasslands represent an important carbon stock. Ploughing up permanent grasslands leads to a swift and potentially enormous release of corbon from the soil.
This can significantly contribute to climate CHANGE......