“Natural restoration can save lives, but the European Commission forgets to fund its own strategy” – Radar

At the beginning of a crucial decade in which we can avert the climate and biodiversity crisis and the associated disasters, the European Commission is taking the lead with its Green Deal to lead Europe and the world to a sustainable society and economy within the borders of our planet.

Europe is on the way to a sustainable future

The Biodiversity Strategy for the next ten years and the Biodiversity Strategy, launched by the European Commission in May, have the potential to be a real turning point. These strategies underline, among other things, the importance of sustainable agriculture for nature conservation and vice versa. However, in the EU budget proposal presented by the Commission last week, it does not set a penny for its own biodiversity strategy. The point of nature therefore calls on our ministers to emphasise the importance of butter in Europe for fish.

Biodiversity considerations should also be included in the strategy for economic growth.

As the Commission puts it, a healthy and resilient society depends on giving sufficient space to nature. It wants to adopt a one-health approach that recognises the strong link between human health, animal health and a healthy, resilient nature.

More protected area

The EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 sets ambitious targets that respond to the seriousness of the problem. The number of protected areas – the most effective conservation measure to date – aims to increase them to 30% of Europe’s land and sea surface. Sustainable use is sometimes still possible in these areas, but the Commission now wants to protect at least one third of them (10% of the area) even more strictly. In addition, the Commission wants to set binding recovery targets for ecosystems that prioritise habitats that achieve CO2 storage, such as forests, bogs, swallows and shards, and habitats that help prevent water scarcity in droughts and buffer floods (wetlands).

Investing in nature’s recovery creates jobs and short-term economic opportunities

However, the Commission also stresses the need for links between nature reserves to allow species to migrate, especially in times of climate change. As the Commission itself points out, this requires a ‘substantial change’. Policy objectives should not be negated by objectives from other sectors. This has often been the case in the past, and therefore biodiversity considerations should also be included in the strategy for economic growth.

EU budget is to the delight of

Last week, barely a few weeks after the launch of the Biodiversity Strategy, there was an immediate decline in the presentation of the new EU budget proposal and the recovery fund to emerge from the Corona crisis.

The European Commission still stresses that the Green Deal and the philosophy of transforming it into a green sustainable economy must be at the heart of reconstruction. This is also in line with the demand of the majority of European Member States. However, there is no sign in the budget of the EUR 20 billion per year that the Commission itself has deemed necessary for its biodiversity strategy. The recovery fund also refers to coherence with the Green Deal and even the Biodiversity Strategy, but no clear conditions are laid down for the use of the funds by the Member States. Despite the ambitions in the Biodiversity Strategy for binding targets for the restoration of nature, no resources for the large-scale restoration of nature are channelled.

Natural restoration projects in Flanders cost peanuts compared to other policy areas, but they pay off for society

Restoring bogs, wetlands, grassland, forests and marine ecosystems is crucial to halting biodiversity loss and making our ecosystems more resilient in the face of climate change. It is also the only proven and nature-friendly way to store large amounts of carbon to combat climate change. Such a restoration of nature can save lives and save a lot of money by counteracting floods and keeping water during droughts. Investing in nature’s recovery creates jobs and economic opportunities in the short term, while reducing costs in the medium and long term.

Opportunity for Member States to show support

In order to avoid environmental and climate disasters, it is now up to the Member States, our ministers, to express their support for the Green Deal and the Biodiversity Strategy. Nature Point calls on Agriculture Minister Hilde Crevits and Environment Minister Zuhal Demir to call on the European Commission to put butter into the fish: to put the necessary 20 billion a year into the budget and to include funds for the large-scale restoration of nature in the recovery funds.

If we invest and act now, we still have the opportunity to

We also call on our ministers to use part of the rehabilitation funds for the major projects to restore nature in Flanders. These costs are compared with other policy areas, but they pay off for society. The Sigma plants, which have already been severely delayed by budget cuts, protect against flooding and create wetlands that promote both the restoration of nature and carbon storage. In addition, the other major nature conservation projects, such as the Natura2000 programme and the Flemish Programme of Action on Ecological Depilation, could also be used to resolutely end the project, as well as the recently announced forest plan.

If we invest and act now, we still have the opportunity to turn the tide. Both to stop the worst forms of climate change and to stop the loss of biodiversity.

At the beginning of a crucial decade in which we can avert the climate and biodiversity crisis and the associated disasters, the European Commission is taking the lead with its Green Deal to lead Europe and the world to a sustainable society and economy within the borders of our planet. The Biodiversity Strategy for the next ten years and the Biodiversity Strategy, launched by the European Commission in May, have the potential to be a real turning point. These strategies underline, among other things, the importance of sustainable agriculture for nature conservation and vice versa. However, in the EU budget proposal presented by the Commission last week, it does not set a penny for its own biodiversity strategy. The point of nature therefore calls on our ministers to emphasise the importance of butter in Europe for fish. As the Commission puts it, a healthy and resilient society depends on giving sufficient space to nature. It wants to adopt a one-health approach that recognises the strong link between human health, animal health and a healthy, resilient nature. The EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 sets ambitious targets that respond to the seriousness of the problem. The number of protected areas – the most effective conservation measure to date – aims to increase them to 30% of Europe’s land and sea surface. Sustainable use is sometimes still possible in these areas, but the Commission now wants to protect at least one third of them (10% of the area) even more strictly. In addition, the Commission wants to set binding recovery targets for ecosystems that prioritise habitats that achieve CO2 storage, such as forests, bogs, swallows and shards, and habitats that help prevent water scarcity in droughts and buffer floods (wetlands). However, the Commission also stresses the need for links between nature reserves to allow species to migrate, especially in times of climate change. As the Commission itself points out, this requires a ‘substantial change’. Policy objectives should not be negated by objectives from other sectors. This has often been the case in the past, and therefore biodiversity considerations should also be included in the strategy for economic growth. Last week, barely a few weeks after the launch of the Biodiversity Strategy, there was an immediate decline in the presentation of the new EU budget proposal and the recovery fund to emerge from the Corona crisis. The European Commission still stresses that the Green Deal and the philosophy of transforming it into a green sustainable economy must be at the heart of reconstruction. This corresponds to athe demand of the majority of European Member States. However, there is no sign in the budget of the EUR 20 billion per year that the Commission itself has deemed necessary for its biodiversity strategy. The recovery fund also refers to coherence with the Green Deal and even the Biodiversity Strategy, but no clear conditions are laid down for the use of the funds by the Member States. Despite the ambitions in the biodiversity strategy for binding nature conservation recovery targets. Restoring bogs, wetlands, grassland, forests and marine ecosystems is crucial to halting biodiversity loss and making our ecosystems more resilient in the face of climate change. It is also the only proven and nature-friendly way to store large amounts of carbon to combat climate change. Such a restoration of nature can save lives and save a lot of money by counteracting floods and keeping water during droughts. Investing in nature’s recovery creates jobs and economic opportunities in the short term, while reducing costs in the medium and long term. In order to avoid environmental and climate disasters, it is now up to the Member States, our ministers, to express their support for the Green Deal and the Biodiversity Strategy. Nature Point calls on Agriculture Minister Hilde Crevits and Environment Minister Zuhal Demir to call on the European Commission to put butter into the fish: to put the necessary 20 billion a year into the budget and to include funds for the large-scale restoration of nature in the recovery funds. We also call on our ministers to use part of the rehabilitation funds for the major projects to restore nature in Flanders. These costs are compared with other policy areas, but they pay off for society. The Sigma plants, which have already been severely delayed by budget cuts, protect against flooding and create wetlands that promote both the restoration of nature and carbon storage. In addition, the other major nature conservation projects, such as the Natura2000 programme and the Flemish Programme of Action on Ecological Depilation, could also be used to resolutely end the project, as well as the recently announced forest plan. If we invest and act now, we still have the opportunity to turn the tide. Both to stop the worst forms of climate change and to stop the loss of biodiversity.