MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on conducting a detailed study of the threats to biodiversity in the EU posed by the EU itself

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to Rule 133 of its Rules of Procedure,

A.  whereas, according to the researchers Daniel Moran and Keiichiro Kanemoto, around one third of endangered species worldwide were under threat from the impact of international trade in 2012, and whereas, by comparing data on the global trade in raw materials with data on vulnerable species, they were able to create a global map of the hotspots where those species are endangered;

B.  whereas Moran and Kanemoto point out that the consumption of goods and services in the EU is leading to the loss of biodiversity in South-east Asia (as a result of fishing, pollution and aquaculture), the islands of Réunion, Mauritius and the Seychelles and many areas of Africa, Turkey and central Asia[1];

C.  whereas Moran and Kanemoto point out that the consumption of goods and services in the USA is having a huge impact on biodiversity in Spain and Portugal – countries which are not usually classed as hotspots – and is endangering a number of fish and bird species;

D.  whereas identifying hotspots where biodiversity is at risk is essential if conservation priorities are to be set;

1.  Calls on the Commission to analyse how trade routes and threats to biodiversity both inside and outside the EU are interrelated.