Motion for a resolution | Doc. 15072 | 04 February 2020

Re-establishing sustainable living conditions for autochthonous communities in balance with their natural environments in member States

Signatories: Mr Barna Pál ZSIGMOND, Hungary, EPP/CD ; Mr Tibor BANA, Hungary, NR ; Ms Mónika BARTOS, Hungary, EPP/CD ; Mr Koloman BRENNER, Hungary, NR ; Mr Roland Rino BÜCHEL, Switzerland, ALDE ; Mr Zsolt CSENGER-ZALÁN, Hungary, EPP/CD ; Mr Cristian-Sorin DUMITRESCU, Romania, SOC ; Ms Béatrice FRESKO-ROLFO, Monaco, ALDE ; Ms Eglantina GJERMENI, Albania, SOC ; Ms Zita GURMAI, Hungary, SOC ; Mr Yuriy KAMELCHUK, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Mr Claude KERN, France, ALDE ; Ms Elvira KOVÁCS, Serbia, EPP/CD ; Ms Yevheniia KRAVCHUK, Ukraine, ALDE ; Mr Lőrinc NACSA, Hungary, EPP/CD ; Mr Zsolt NÉMETH, Hungary, EPP/CD ; Ms Carina OHLSSON, Sweden, SOC ; Mr Joseph O'REILLY, Ireland, EPP/CD ; Ms Biljana PANTIĆ PILJA, Serbia, EPP/CD ; Mr George PAPANDREOU, Greece, SOC ; Ms Irina RODNINA, Russian Federation, NR ; Ms Irina RUKAVISHNIKOVA, Russian Federation, NR ; Ms Serap YAŞAR, Turkey, NR ; Mr Emanuelis ZINGERIS, Lithuania, EPP/CD

This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only those who have signed it.

Despite some measures in countries to counterbalance the impact of heavy exploitation of natural resources on Northern communities, such as with the Sámi, overexploitation of these resources have had dramatic consequences for the livelihood, prosperity and health of these autochthonous communities.

Reports have linked the over-usage of pesticides and herbicides in some regions of Central Europe to the partial or even total disappearance of local species of insects, bees, birds and amphibians essential to a balanced environment, to the point where even the sound of local and migrating songbirds can no longer be heard in some areas.

However, some regions of Central Europe have seen an increase in population of larger predators such as wolves and bears through protective measures. For their part, autochthonous communities relying on farming, forestry and other resource-oriented activities in this and other parts of Europe find their living space vastly reduced to below subsistence levels. Their precarious situation also results in undermining rural tourism through population loss, particularly of young people, who leave because they are confronted to the perceived impossibility of maintaining the resource-oriented activities sustaining their once vibrant communities and cultures. This, in turn, further contributes to the erosion and eventual destruction of the natural environment which had been central aspects of their areas for long periods of history.

In order to prevent this continued erosion and destruction of this traditional European environment closely connected to cultures and communities intimately related in a symbiotic relationship, the Parliamentary Assembly should prepare a comprehensive report. The report should focus on the sustainability of human living conditions in harmony with nature, and also on the preservation of the culture of the autochthonous communities.