EU Environmental Council adopts nature restoration law in historic win for continent’s environment

  • June 19, 2024
  • Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
  • Category: DPN Topics
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EU Environmental Council adopts nature restoration law in historic win for continent’s environment

Sub: Environment

Sec: Int Conventions

Context:

  • The EU Environmental Council adopted the Nature Restoration Law (NRL) on June 17, 2024, marking a significant environmental milestone for Europe.

Details:

  • The law was endorsed by 20 member states, representing 66.07% of the EU population.
  • The regulation will be published in the EU’s Official Journal, becoming directly applicable across all member states, with a review set for 2033 to assess its impacts on agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and broader socio-economic effects.
  • The #RestoreNature coalition (BirdLife Europe, ClientEarth, EEB, WWF EU) praised the law, calling for immediate implementation by member states.

Nature Restoration Law (NRL): Purpose and Goals

  • Proposed by the European Commission on June 22, 2022, under the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 and the European Green Deal.
  • Over 80% of European habitats are currently in poor condition, prompting the need for this regulation to not just preserve but actively restore nature.
  • The NRL aims to restore nature, addressing the decline in biodiversity and ecosystem health.
  • By 2030, member states must implement measures to restore at least 20% of the EU’s land and sea areas.
  • All European ecosystems in need of restoration must be restored by 2050.

Covered Ecosystems:

  • The NRL targets a wide range of ecosystems, including terrestrial, coastal, freshwater, forests, agricultural, urban, wetlands, grasslands, rivers, lakes, marine ecosystems, seagrass, sponge, and coral beds.

Specific Measures and Targets:

  • Measures to reverse the decline of pollinators by 2030.
  • Increase in grassland butterflies, organic carbon in cropland mineral soils, and agricultural land with high-diversity features.
  • Increase in forest bird populations and no net loss of urban green spaces and tree canopy cover by 2030.
  • Restoration of drained peatlands and planting of at least three billion additional trees by 2030.
  • Removal of human-made barriers to achieve at least 25,000 km of free-flowing rivers by 2030.

Source: DTE

Environment EU Environmental Council adopts nature restoration law in historic win for continent’s environment