In June 2022 the European Commission proposed a major Nature Restoration Law for the European Union. It has still to be debated and agreed across the Member States and the European Parliament, but it represents a very important initiative. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in December 2022 concluded negotiations at COP15 of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Biodiversity internationally is in crisis, with a million species at risk of extinction.
As I reported on the agreement of that Framework https://www.cop26andbeyond.com/blog/kunming-montreal-global-biodiversity-framework
it represents huge progress in building an international consensus about what needed to be done to promote nature recovery, but everything now depends upon effective national implementation. The EU’s proposed law can be adapted to that purpose, and should put the Union in a position of leadership on the issue.
The European Commission’s proposal is the first comprehensive law of its kind to apply across the whole continent. It reflects concern that 80% of Europe’s habitats are in poor condition, and it seeks to introduce binding targets for habitat restoration, aiming to
“increase biodiversity
secure the things nature does for free, like cleaning our water and air, pollinating crops, and protecting us from floods
limit global warming to 1.5°C
build up Europe’s resilience and strategic autonomy, preventing natural disasters and reducing risks to food security”
The proposal combines an overarching restoration objective for the long-term recovery of nature in the EU’s land and sea areas with binding restoration targets for specific habitats and species. These measures should cover at least 20% of the EU’s land and sea areas by 2030, and ultimately all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050.
The proposal contains the following specific targets:
“targets based on existing legislation (for wetlands, forests, grasslands, river and lakes, heath & scrub, rocky habitats and dunes)
pollinating insects – reversing the decline of pollinator populations by 2030, and achieving an increasing trend for pollinator populations, with a methodology for regular monitoring of pollinators
forest ecosystems – achieving an increasing trend for standing and lying deadwood, uneven aged forests, forest connectivity, abundance of common forest birds and stock of organic carbon
urban ecosystems – no net loss of green urban space by 2030, and an increase in the total area covered by green urban space by 2040 and 2050
agricultural ecosystems – increasing grassland butterflies and farmland birds, the stock of organic carbon in cropland mineral soils, and the share of agricultural land with high-diversity landscape features; restoring drained peatlands under agricultural use
marine ecosystems – restoring marine habitats such as seagrass beds or sediment bottoms that deliver significant benefits, including for climate change mitigation, and restoring the habitats of iconic marine species such as dolphins and porpoises, sharks and seabirds.
river connectivity – identifying and removing barriers that prevent the connectivity of surface waters, so that at least 25 000 km of rivers are restored to a free-flowing state by 2030”.
EU countries would be expected to submit National Restoration Plans to the Commission within two years of the Regulation coming into force, showing how they would deliver on the targets. They would also be required to monitor and report on their progress. The European Environment Agency would draw up regular technical reports on progress towards the targets. The Commission, in turn, would report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the implementation of the Nature Restoration Law.
By somewhat painful contrast, when it came to setting environmental targets under the Environment Act 2021, the UK government set no overall target to improve water quality, and no target to improve the condition of protected nature areas. I commented in a post that - ‘Half baked environmental targets reflect UK government’s lack of ambition’ –
https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-wilson-0154243b/recent-activity/shares/
It is very clear that a different order of ambition and commitment will be needed to get anywhere near delivering the clear obligations of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework that the UK government has signed up to and endorsed. Rather than wait for the present government to see the light and to offer adequate legislation to deliver on those obligations, I have suggested that NGOs should be drafting the implementing legislation for them and for other Parliamentarians.