{"id":144794,"date":"2023-11-10T11:45:25","date_gmt":"2023-11-10T10:45:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cde.ual.es\/?p=144794"},"modified":"2023-11-10T12:12:55","modified_gmt":"2023-11-10T11:12:55","slug":"council-and-parliament-agree-new-rules-to-restore-and-preserve-nature-in-the-eu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cde.ual.es\/en\/council-and-parliament-agree-new-rules-to-restore-and-preserve-nature-in-the-eu\/","title":{"rendered":"Council and Parliament agree new rules to restore and preserve nature in the EU"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Council presidency and European Parliament representatives reached a provisional political agreement on a regulation on nature restoration. The proposal aims to put measures in place to restore at least 20% of the EU\u2019s land and sea areas by 2030, and all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050.<\/strong>
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It sets specific, legally binding targets and obligations for nature restoration in each of the listed ecosystems \u2014 from agricultural land and forests to marine, freshwater and urban ecosystems.<\/p>\n

The regulation is an integral part of the Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and will help the EU reach its international commitments, in particular the UN Kunming-Montreal global biodiversity framework agreed at the 2022 UN biodiversity conference (COP15).<\/p>\n

The provisional agreement will have to be endorsed and formally adopted by the co-legislators before entering into force.<\/p>\n

Scope and targets of the regulation<\/span><\/h6>\n

The new rules will help to\u00a0restore degraded ecosystems<\/strong>\u00a0across member states\u2019 land and sea habitats, achieve the EU\u2019s overarching objectives on climate mitigation and adaptation, and enhance\u00a0food security<\/strong>. The regulation requires member states to establish and implement measures to restore at least\u00a020% of the EU\u2019s land<\/strong>\u00a0and<\/strong>\u00a0sea<\/strong>\u00a0areas<\/strong>\u00a0by\u00a02030<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The regulation covers a range of terrestrial, coastal and freshwater ecosystems, including wetlands, grasslands, forests, rivers and lakes, as well as marine ecosystems, including seagrass and sponge and coral beds (listed in Annexes I and II). It requires member states to put measures in place,\u00a0by 2030,\u00a0<\/strong>to restore\u00a0at least 30%<\/strong>\u00a0of the habitats types listed in both Annexes that are in poor condition. Until 2030, the co-legislators agreed that member states need to prioritise Natura 2000 sites when implementing the restoration measures set out in the regulation.<\/p>\n

Member states must also establish measures to restore at least\u00a060% of habitats in poor condition by 2040<\/strong>\u00a0and at least\u00a090% by 2050<\/strong>. An additional flexibility was added for very common and widespread habitats.<\/p>\n

Non-deterioration requirement<\/span><\/h6>\n

The text includes a requirement to prevent significant deterioration of areas subject to restoration that have reached good condition and of areas where the terrestrial and marine habitats listed in Annexes I and II occur. The co-legislators agreed to make this requirement\u00a0effort-based.\u00a0<\/strong>The requirement will be measured at habitat type level.<\/p>\n

Restoring pollinators<\/span><\/h6>\n

In recent decades, the abundance and diversity of wild insect pollinators in Europe have declined dramatically. To address this, the regulation introduces specific requirements for member states to set out measures to\u00a0reverse the decline of pollinator populations<\/strong>\u00a0by 2030 at the latest. Based on delegated acts adopted by the Commission to establish a science-based method for monitoring pollinator diversity and populations, member states will have to monitor progress in this respect, at least, every six years after 2030.<\/p>\n

Ecosystem-specific obligations\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h6>\n

The regulation sets out specific requirements for different types of ecosystems.<\/p>\n

Agriculture ecosystems<\/strong><\/p>\n

The text requires member states to put measures in place aiming to achieve increasing trends in at least two of the following three\u00a0indicators<\/strong>:<\/p>\n