Nature priorities for the new EU Mandate

Posted on July, 12 2024

This position paper details proposals from the European Habitats Forum for the European Commission and Parliament to prioritise nature and achieve a nature-positive Europe by 2030.
Protecting and restoring nature is not just about saving wildlife. Nature contributes to our overall
health and wellbeing. More than half of the global economy depends on nature and all the services it
provides. Healthy ecosystems are also a fundamental tool in tackling the twin climate and biodiversity
crises, they make Europe more resilient to extreme weather events and are crucial for ensuring food
security.

In this position paper, the European Habitats Forum calls 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
Virgin forest Poland
Over 80% of Europe’s habitats are in poor condition and only 23% of species monitored under the EU Nature Directives, the Birds and Habitats Directives, are in good health.
© Adam Lawnik/WWF