Negotiators from the European Parliament and European Council on 9th November reached a provisional political agreement on the EU nature restoration law.
Key points
- They agreed on an EU target to restore at least 20% of land and 20% of sea areas by 2030 and all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050.
- To reach these targets, EU countries must restore at least 30% of habitat types covered by the new law that are in poor condition to a good condition by 2030, increasing to 60% by 2040, and 90% by 2050.
- EU countries should give priority to areas located in Natura 2000 sites until 2030.
- The co-legislators also agreed that once an area has achieved a good condition, EU countries shall aim to ensure it does not significantly deteriorate.
- EU countries must put in place restoration measures for organic soils in agricultural use constituting drained peatlands on at least 30% of such areas by 2030.
- EU countries must also reverse the decline of pollinator populations at the latest by 2030 and achieve thereafter an increasing trend measured at least every six years.
Natura 2000
- Natura 2000 is a network of protected areas covering Europe’s most valuable and threatened species and habitats.
- It is the largest coordinated network of protected areas in the world, extending across all 27 EU Member States, both on land and at sea.
- The sites within Natura 2000 are designated under the Birds and the Habitats Directives.
