Context: 

The European Parliament adopted the first European Union (EU) law to restore degraded ecosystems.

European Parliament Adopts Nature Restoration Law: Key Highlights

• The legislation was introduced first  by the European Commission in June 2022. 
• The European Parliament had voted to pass the law with 336 votes in favor.
• The law now has to be adopted by the European Council, before being published in the EU Official Journal and entering into force 20 days later.

Provisions of the Nature Restoration Law

• Overall target: 

  • A target has now been set for the EU countries to restore at least 20 percent of its land and sea areas by 2030 and all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050.

• Specific Targets: 

  • Peatlands: To restore at least 30 percent of drained peatland by 2030, 40 per cent by 2040 and 50 per cent by 2050.
    • Other ecosystems: The law specifically includes forests, grasslands, and wetlands, as well as rivers, lakes, and coral beds.
    • Member states must restore at least 30% of habitats from a poor to a good condition by 2030. Henceforth the  target would increase to 60% by 2040, and 90% by 2050.

  • Targets for Agricultural Ecosystems: 

• • • A progress is needed  in two of the three indicators for improvement in biodiversity in agricultural ecosystems,
      • The grassland butterfly index
      • The share of agricultural land with high-diversity landscape features
      • The stock of organic carbon in cropland mineral soil
      • The common farmland bird index
      • Exception: Relief can be granted if there is severe reduction in  the land needed for sufficient food production for EU consumption.
    • Rivers: EU nations must restore at least 25,000 km of rivers into free-flowing rivers
    • Urban  ecosystems: No net loss of green urban space by 2030, and an increase in the total area covered by green urban space by 2040 and 2050
    • Pollinating  insects:  To reverse the decline of pollinator populations by 2030, and achieve an increasing trend for pollinator populations, with a methodology for regular monitoring of pollinators. One in three bee and butterfly species are in decline in Europe

News Source: DTE

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