Welcome to the era of the new EU regulation to protect biodiversity! The Nature Restoration Law, a key element of the Green Deal, will come into force on Sunday, August 18th. It’s been a controversial reform, unlocked after months of political deadlock, with seven out of the 27 EU members still opposing the final vote (including Italy).
Despite being watered down in its final version, the regulation is still being contested by agricultural organizations. However, it represents a highly innovative reform as it not only involves the protection of natural areas but also aims to ‘restore’ those already degraded through a three-stage roadmap: 30% of each ecosystem must undergo restoration measures by 2030, 60% by 2040, and 90% by 2050. This regulation will also align the EU with the international commitments of Kunming-Montreal.
The European Commission’s proposal from two years ago suggested allocating 10% of agricultural land to biodiversity interventions such as cultivating hedges, trees, ditches, walls, or small ponds. While this guideline was not included in the final approved text, concessions to farmers’ protests even relaxed the requirement of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to allocate 4% of land to non-productive features, making it voluntary. Restoration of wetlands for farmers and private landowners has also become voluntary in the Nature Restoration Law (states will have to make it financially attractive).
The obligations, for states and not individual farmers, focus on the overall improvement of biodiversity, measured by factors like the presence of grassland butterflies, the stock of organic carbon in cultivated soils, or the proportion of agricultural land with ‘high diversity’ landscape characteristics. Crisis suspensions are also provided for.
The core commitments of individual countries will revolve around national restoration plans that must now be submitted to the European Commission within two years. Initially as a draft, these plans must be finalized and published within six months of any feedback from the EU executive.
These plans will outline the measures to be taken in line with the key milestones of 2030, 2040, and 2050 to meet the requirements and achieve the goals of the law adapted to the national context, including timelines, indications of financial resources, and expected benefits, particularly for climate change adaptation and mitigation. The European Environment Agency will then produce regular technical reports on progress towards the objectives.
By 2030, states must implement restoration measures in at least 20% of EU land areas and 20% of its marine areas. By 2050, such measures should be in place for all ecosystems requiring restoration. The aim is to restore at least 25,000 km of free-flowing rivers by 2030, reverse the decline of pollinator insect populations, enhance their diversity, improve biodiversity in agricultural and forest ecosystems, and contribute to planting at least three billion additional trees across the EU by 2030.
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