Report 2012

BirdLife Recommendations
  • The EU Budget should redirect funds towards rewarding the delivery of public goods. EU funds can be used to support local products and handicrafts that are linked to German cultural heritage and natural landscape.
  • EU investment should be  adequately channeled towards energy efficiency and improved water management.
  • Sustainable tourism, that respects the natural environment promotes traditional activities, including traditional products, increases productivity and all together preserve the environment and landscape.
  • Germany should ensure that EU funding is spent in a quality way that leads to a sustainable economy that benefits German society.
EU POLICY
  1. Increase the total budget of the EU’s environmental fund “LIFE” from 0,23% to 1% of the total EU Budget (circa 1.5 billion EUR per year);
  2. Balance the two pillars of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and ensure 50% of its total budget delivers towards the Rural Development Programme;
  3. Ensure the EU Budget delivers 20% of climate action, especially through climate mitigation under cohesion policy;
  4. Establish a tracking system that documents specific positive and negative effects of EU funds for climate and biodiversity.

 

NATIONAL PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING
  1. Establish clear earmarking of EU funds for the financing of the Natura 2000 network, based on national or regional priority action frameworks;
  2. Ensure sufficient funding is available for well targeted and well designed agri-environment schemes and other environmental measures under rural development;
  3. Finance Green Infrastructure and projects on energy efficiency under regional development;
  4. Involve all relevant actors, including environmental NGOs, during national planning and implementation of European funds (including partnership contracts).