CAP payments to new fields cleared of peatlands should be banned

CAP payments to new fields cleared of peatlands should be banned

Dear Commissioner

Suomen luonnonsuojeluliitto (The Finnish Association for Nature Conservation) is the oldest and biggest environmental NGO in Finland. We are happy that big CAP decisions are now ready and national strategy work can go on in Member States.

However, we are worried about one special problem, which is still open in tecnical discussions: The possibility of clearing especially peatlands and other carbon rich soils into new fields or meadows. This leads to loss of biodiversity, increase in greenhouse gas emissions and nutrients leaching to waters.

For example, Finland has tried to exclude this kind of new fields from CAP payments. This position has been supported by many other Member States and the Council, too.

As far as we know, the Commission has been against this exclusion, mainly because of the equality of farmers.

However, we hope that the Commission can give a possibility for Member States to ban CAP payments from new fields, especially from peatlands or forests, because of significant negative environmental impacts.

Yours sincerely

On behalf of SUOMEN LUONNONSUOJELULIITTO RY

Tapani Veistola
Acting Executive Director