EU biodiversity strategy for 2030

SUMMARY OF:

Communication — EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 on bringing nature back into our lives

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE STRATEGY?

It aims to put Europe’s biodiversity* on the path to recovery by 2030 for the benefit of nature, people and the climate.
To achieve this, the strategy sets out a comprehensive framework of commitments and actions to tackle the main causes of biodiversity loss:
- land- and sea-use changes;
- the overexploitation of biological resources;
- climate change;
- pollution; and
- invasive alien species.
The strategy also provides a blueprint for the EU’s position on the global post-2020 biodiversity framework, to be adopted at the UN Summit on Biodiversity in 2021.
The EU 2030 biodiversity strategy was adopted in tandem with the EU farm-to-fork strategy. They are designed to be mutually reinforcing, bringing together nature, farmers, businesses and consumers.
It is a central part of the European Green Deal and it will steer efforts towards sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.
It will further support climate mitigation and adaptation efforts through nature-based solutions that sequester and store carbon in healthy ecosystems and help nature and society adapt to the inevitable impacts of climate change.

KEY POINTS

To put biodiversity on the path to recovery, the strategy sets out a number of targets and commitments to achieve by 2030 at the latest, in the following four main areas.

1.
A coherent network of protected areas
The network:
- legally protects at least 30% of the EU’s land area and 30% of its sea area, and integrates ecological corridors as part of a Trans-European Nature Network;
- strictly protects at least 30% of the EU’s protected areas, including all primary* and old-growth forests*;
- effectively manages all protected areas, defining clear conservation objectives and measures and monitoring them appropriately;
With the EU countries, the European Commission will set out and agree criteria and guidance for additional protected and strictly protected areas by the end of 2021.
EU countries will have until the end of 2023 to demonstrate significant progress in legally designating new protected areas and in integrating ecological corridors.
The Commission will assess by 2024 whether the EU is on track to meet its 2030 targets or whether stronger actions are needed, including EU legislation.
2.
An EU nature restoration plan
The plan includes the following commitments for 2030:
- propose legally binding EU nature-restoration targets in 2021, subject to an impact assessment;
- restore significant areas of degraded and carbon-rich ecosystems;
- ensure that habitats and species show no deterioration, and that at least 30% of those in unfavourable conservation status reach favourable status, or at least show a positive trend;
- reverse the decline in pollinators;
- reduce the risk and use of chemical pesticides by 50% and reduce the use of more hazardous pesticides by 50%;
- manage at least 25% of agricultural land under organic farming and significantly increase the uptake of agro-ecological practices;
- remediate significant areas of contaminated soil sites;
- plant 3 billion trees for biodiversity, according to ecological principles;
- restore at least 25,000 km of free-flowing rivers;
- reduce by 50% the number of ‘red list’ species threatened by invasive alien species;
- reduce losses of nutrients from fertilisers by 50%, resulting in a reduction in the use of fertilisers of at least 20%;
- support cities with more than 20,000 inhabitants to put in place ambitious urban greening plans by the end of 2021;
- eliminate or minimise the negative effects of fishing and extraction activities on sensitive species and habitats;
- eliminate or reduce by-catch* of marine species to a level that allows their recovery and conservation.
3.
Enabling transformative change
To ensure the implementation of the commitments and encourage transformative change, the Commission and the EU countries will do the following.
- Set out a new EU biodiversity governance framework with implementation obligations and milestones to ensure accountability and co-responsibility by all actors in meeting the biodiversity commitments. The framework will also strengthen stakeholder engagement and transparent and participatory governance. It will include a monitoring and review mechanism with a clear set of agreed indicators to enable regular progress assessment and set out corrective action if necessary. The Commission will assess the approach in 2023, and consider whether a legally binding governance set-up is needed.
- Step up the implementation and enforcement of EU environmental legislation.
- Build on a whole-of-society approach to biodiversity protection, engaging business, mobilising private and public funding at national and EU level, guiding investments towards a green recovery and the deployment of nature-based solutions, and strengthening knowledge, education and skills for biodiversity protection and restoration.
4.
An ambitious global biodiversity agenda
The EU will contribute to this agenda by committing to:
- work with like-minded partners in a high-level coalition for biodiversity and lead by example for an ambitious global post-2020 biodiversity framework;
- use external action to promote biodiversity protection and restoration, in particular in relation to international oceans governance, trade, international cooperation, neighbourhood policy and resource mobilisation.
By 2024, the Commission will review the progress and assess whether further action is needed to meet the strategy’s objectives.

BACKGROUND

EU biodiversity strategy 2030 (European Commission).

KEY TERMS

Biodiversity: the variety of life on Earth including genes, species and ecosystems.

Primary forest: a forest that has never been logged and has developed following natural disturbances and under natural processes, regardless of its age.

Old-growth forest: a section of forest that has developed structures and species normally associated with old primary forest of that type.

By-catch: unwanted fish and marine species caught unintentionally.

MAIN DOCUMENT

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions — EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 — Bringing nature back into our lives (COM(2020) 380 final, 20.5.2020)