No unanimity for the Nature Restoration Law

Efforts to date have not been sufficient to protect natural habitats in Europe. The long-awaited vote by the European Parliament on the law did not go smoothly: Hungary opposed the Nature Restoration Law, which means that the requirements for restoring nature are not yet legally binding.

Around 80 percent of protected natural habitats in Europe are degraded and in further danger. In order to stop this nature crisis, the European Parliament has presented the Nature Restoration Law, but has not yet adopted it. The proposed law obliges member states to restore destroyed natural areas. In this way, degraded moors, for example, will once again fulfill their function as carbon reservoirs and as habitats for rare species.

Intact ecosystems not only support biodiversity, but are also important for combating the climate crisis. Ecosystems play a key role in flood protection, food security and the management of natural resources. However, very few ecosystems in Europe are in a good or even acceptable condition. The Nature Restoration Law is intended to help preserve nature in the long term, reduce harmful impacts and make the use of natural resources more sustainable.

Everyone is talking about climate change. In addition to measures to reduce CO2 emissions in cities and industry, it is also about protecting nature and repairing or even creating new ecosystems. With the EU Nature Restoration Law, the European Union is attempting to create clear targets for a binding concept in Europe that achieves the restoration of ecosystems.

The law has the following three core elements:

• Concrete and time-bound as well as area-specific targets for the enhancement and recreation of the rarest and most special terrestrial and marine habitats
• Indicator-based targets for more sustainable land and forest management, greener cities, free-flowing rivers and the restoration of pollinator populations
• Creation of science-based recovery plans as a key tool for defining and reviewing the necessary measures

In February 2024, the European Parliament had already voted by a majority in favor of the compromise reached last year on the Nature Restoration Law. The European Council was due to enforce the law on March 22, 2024. However, a short-term blockade by Hungary delayed this, which is why the law is not yet effective.

Environmental organizations are furious that the long-awaited EU restoration law has not made it through the EU Council. They have long campaigned to protect and conserve biodiversity and ecosystems in Europe and around the world. The new law should make this legally binding, for example by setting measurable targets to support biodiversity. Local flora and fauna will be given a place in the jurisdiction of the EU Nature Restoration Law and thus hopefully more protection in the future.

The Nature Restoration Law is also very important in view of the climate crisis. This is because ecosystems such as moors, forests and floodplains store carbon and make a significant contribution to protecting people from the effects of climate change. Intact ecosystems have a balancing effect on the microclimate. They play an important role during heatwaves, droughts, heavy rainfall and floods. Ecosystems also improve human health and our well-being. And they can boost the local economy, for example by securing food supplies in the long term and strengthening sustainable practices.

The Nature Restoration Law stipulates that EU member states must restore at least 20% of nature on land and in the sea by 2030. In addition, member states should restore at least 30% of degraded habitats by 2030, 60% by 2040 and 90% by 2050. The EU sees this as an important contribution by all member states to achieving the EU’s climate, biodiversity and food security targets.

All habitats that are currently of poor quality are to be restored by 2050. In the next six years, member states should already improve around a third of their habitats. These include, for example, forests, grasslands, wetlands, rivers, lakes and coral reefs. The European Parliament recommends focusing initially on Natura 2000 sites. And once a habitat has been restored, it must also be maintained in good condition.

For agricultural land, the EU uses three indicators, two of which must be met for a habitat to be considered restored: The index of butterflies in grassland, the proportion of agricultural land with diverse landscapes, and the stock of organic carbon in the mineral soils of arable land. Measures must also be taken to increase the index of farmland birds. This is because birds are good indicators of the state of biodiversity in a habitat.

The blockade of the Nature Restoration Law is also a great pity in view of the EU elections planned for summer 2024, as it is now unclear whether and when the law will go ahead. It will probably come back on the table after the elections in June. As soon as it is approved by the Council with a majority, the ball will be in the Member States’ court: they will have to pass national restoration laws and explain exactly how they will implement the EU objectives.

Accordingly, implementation of the Nature Restoration Law will then also be discussed in Germany. Presumably, the federal states will implement the majority of the measures, for which there will be a national restoration law with clear guidelines. The German Natural Climate Protection Action Program already provides for similar measures and an acceleration offensive.

Read more: The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework of the United Nations is also relevant for the quality of habitats and biodiversity.