Doc. 8326
10 February 1999

Protection of the palaeontological and mineralogical heritage

Motion for a recommendation

presented by Mr O'Hara and others

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

1.       Fossils, minerals and rocks are the archives of the history of Life and the Earth. They are evidence of the passage of geological time, revealing the changes which have shaped the earth's surface over millions of years.

2.       They make it possible to understand the current configuration of the globe and the diversity of fauna and flora. To some extent, their study provides pointers to the future development of Life and the Earth.

3.       Europe, the cradle of the Earth sciences, has an exceptional wealth of fossil and mineral-bearing deposits, many of them world famous.

4.       The palaeontological and mineralogical heritage is vulnerable. For decades it has been the victim of trafficking in fossils and minerals and of organised pillaging of fossil and mineral-bearing deposits.

5.       Like archaeological artefacts and sites, fossils and minerals are a non-renewable heritage that belongs to humanity.

6.       By including the palaeontological and mineralogical heritage in the scope of the Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy, the Council of Europe would broaden its vision of the environment to embrace a new dimension, the evolution of the biosphere and the duration of geological time units, since Life and the Earth not only have a history but are constantly evolving.

7.       The Assembly accordingly recommends that the Committee of Ministers include the palaeontological and mineralogical heritage in the Council of Europe's activities in the field of environmental protection as a contribution to the implementation of the Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy.

Signed : ¹

O'Hara, United Kingdom, SOC

Briane, France, EPP/CD

Chapman, United Kingdom, EDG

Cox, United Kingdom, SOC

Frey, Switzerland, LDR

Granlund, Sweden, SOC

Ivanov, Bulgaria, EPP/CD

Kieres, Poland, EPP/CD

Kukk, Estonia, EPP/CD

Mikaelsson, Sweden,UEL

Morozov, Russia, EPP/CD

Oleinik, Russia, UEL

Prokes, Slovakia, NR

Prosser, United Kingdom, SOC

Rakhansky, Ukraine, UEL

Schütz, Germany, SOC

Terpstra, Netherlands, LDR

Zierer, Germany, EPP/CD

¹        SOC: Socialist Group

      EPP/CD: Group of the European People’s Party

      EDG: European Democratic Group

      LDR : Liberal, Democratic and Reformers’ Group

      UEL: Group of the Unified European Left

      NR: not registered in a group