EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030

Implementation of the EU Biodiversity Strategy

The Biodiversity Strategy 2030 is one of the milestones set within the European Green Deal that aims to address climate and environmental challenges at internal and international level by 2050.

The EU Member States are the catalysts for the implementation of the EU Biodiversity Strategy. Being a non-binding agreement, the Biodiversity Strategy provides a reference point for the different Member States to commit to biodiversity conservation and sustainable use. It is also an international commitment the European Union and its Member States have made through the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The support that Member States provide to the implementation of the EU Biodiversity Strategy varies from case to case and rely on national strategies and actions taken to safeguard and restore biodiversity in Europe.

Pledges on Conservation Status and Protected Areas Targets

After the publication of the Biodiversity Strategy 2030, the European Commission called Member States to submit a detailed plan on the actions they will put in place to protect and restore species and habitats in order to contribute to the fulfilment of its targets.

These plans, known as Pledges, are divided into two components based on the main targets of the Biodiversity Strategy:

• Pledges for Protected Areas: Protecting at least 30% of the EU’s land area and 30% of its seas for nature by 2030. At least one third of this (10% of land and 10% of sea) should be strictly protected.
• Pledges for Conservation Status: Ensure that, by 2030, there is no further deterioration in conservation trends and status of habitats and species protected by the EU Nature Directives. In addition, Member States must ensure that at least 30% of species and habitats, not currently in a favourable status, reach that category or show a strong positive trend by 2030.

The reception of pledges is managed by the European Environmental Agency and is a step in the implementation of the Strategy. The pledges reporting is a voluntary exercise that Member States are invited to do, since the commitments in the Biodiversity Strategy are not compulsory. After its submission, the pledges follow a revision and assessment process in order to evaluate the impact that Member States´ actions will have at EU level and therefore acquire an overall understanding on the progress of the Strategy targets achievement.

Further information on the Pledges reporting for protected areas and 30% conservation status improvement targets can be found at the European Environmental Agency Website.

Natura 2000 Biogeographical Process

The EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2030 calls for significant improvements in the conservation status of species and habitats protected under the EU Birds and Habitats Directives.

In 2012, the European Commission launched the Natura 2000 biogeographical process to help meet this target. This multi-stakeholder cooperation process includes seminars, workshops and cooperation activities aimed at enhancing the effective implementation, management, monitoring, financing and reporting of the Natura 2000 network at a biogeographic level. The process assists Member States and key stakeholders to manage Natura 2000 as a coherent ecological network.

Please find more information on the Natura 2000 Biogeographical Process website.

EUROPARC’s Position on the EU Targets for Protected Areas

The EU Biodiversity Strategy sets ambitious goals to stop biodiversity loss and bring nature back into our lives. Find here a Position Paper on the EU targets for Protected Areas, developed with 17 other members of the European Habitat Forum (EHF) in September 2020.

EUROPARC Federation welcomes this step towards recognition of the value of Protected Areas as a key delivery mechanism for the Strategy. EUROPARC will continue to strengthen our network to share best-practices to ensure the effectiveness of the EU Biodiversity Strategy.

The recommendations given in this report are still valid as we approach the midterm of the EU Biodiversity Strategy implementation.

EUROPARC and other members of the European Habitat Forum urge that:

• Management effectiveness of Protected Areas needs to be improved.
• The actual protection of existing and new Protected Areas needs to be prioritized.
• At least 30% of EU’s land AND see area needs to be legally protected.
• Ecological corridors need to be integrated to ensure a true Trans-European Network
• At least a third of EU’s Protected Areas need to be strictly protected
• The efforts need to be shared across Member States

The position paper illustrates what must be done to reach the Protected Area targets at both national and biographical level.

Read the position paper here.

In a position paper from June 2024, the European Habitats Forum again calls for action to protect Europe’s nature:

“We call on EU decision makers to respond to the urgency of the intertwined crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution by implementing a reinforced European Green Deal, in order to achieve a nature positive Europe by 2030. For this to happen, EU decision makers must:

1. Step up implementation and enforcement of existing EU Nature laws and maintain existing safeguards.
2. Establish binding and effectively managed Protected Areas.
3. Make large-scale nature restoration a reality across Europe.
4. Close the funding gap for nature.
5. Adopt a new legal framework on climate resilience, setting legal requirements for ecosystem-based adaptation, with strong ambition on freshwater ecosystems.
6. Ensure coherence in EU policy frameworks.”

Please find the position paper here.