EU adopts a ground-breaking law for nature protection
The EU Nature Restoration Law will set legally-binding targets and obligations for all member states to restore natural ecosystems and protect biodiversity.
A European pine marten
In June, the EU adopted a new ground-breaking law that will help bring nature back in Europe and strengthen the protection of wildlife. This is great news for wild animals both in the European Union (EU) and beyond, and reinforces the EU’s capability to meet its international commitments on biodiversity conservation.
The EU Nature Restoration Law establishes legally binding requirements to restore at least 20% of the EU’s land and sea areas by 2030, and all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050.
It sets specific targets and obligations for EU Member States to restore a wide range of terrestrial, coastal and freshwater, marine, forest, agricultural and urban ecosystems that are in desperate need of restoration in the face of the current and unprecedented biodiversity crisis.
Born Free’s EU Policy Officer Elodie Cantaloube commented: “Over 80% of European habitats are deteriorated, all home to a diverse range of wild species and populations, including threatened and internationally protected species. Though not perfect, the new Regulation represents a good step in the right direction and sends a signal to the world that the EU is taking the protection of the environment and wildlife seriously.”
With this new ground-breaking law, the EU is not only establishing the necessary conditions to improve the conservation of nature on its territory and ensure a sustainable future for its wildlife and citizens; it also places the EU in a leading position to deliver on its multilateral environmental commitments, particularly under the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, and to promote and encourage the adoption of more ambitious efforts at a global level.
Like the EU, the UK has committed, through its endorsement of the Kunming-Montreal post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, to ensure that by 2030 at least 30 per cent of areas of degraded terrestrial, inland water, and marine and coastal ecosystems are under effective restoration. We hope that the EU Nature Restoration Law will help to incentivise the UK and other governments to adopt and implement the necessary measures to meet this crucial target for nature and people.
The Regulation will enter into force after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union, and will become directly applicable in all Member States.
More information about the new Regulation is available on the EU Council website: