Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

RemovedEXPLANATORY STATEMENT

RemovedI. Background

RemovedHealthy ecosystems provide us with numerous ecosystem services essential to our long-term survival, well-being, prosperity and security. They provide us with clean food, water and air, act as carbon sinks contributing to the regulation of our planet’s temperature and combat climate change, protect us against the increasing risks of natural disasters and prevent the emergence and spread of zoonotic diseases. They are also a vital element of our cultural heritage, treasured for their recreational, educational and aesthetic values.

RemovedThe EU and the world as a whole are facing environmental challenges of unprecedented urgency and magnitude. Numerous studies such as the IPBES report, IPCC reports, the Global Biodiversity Outlook or the report on the state of the environment in Europe show that, despite efforts, biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation continue at an alarming rate in the EU and around the world.

RemovedAs set out in the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the EU has legal frameworks, strategies and action plans to protect nature and restore habitats and species, but under existing frameworks, protection has been incomplete, restoration has been on a small-scale and the implementation of the legislation has been insufficient.

RemovedII. Position of the rapporteur

RemovedThe rapporteur welcomes the proposal for a regulation on nature restoration and its design, containing an overarching restoration objective as well as specific objectives by ecosystems, habitats and species, such as specific targets for forests, agricultural ecosystems, urban ecosystems, peatlands, pollinators, free-flowing rivers, as well as for terrestrial, coastal and freshwater ecosystems and marine ecosystems, as requested by this Parliament.

RemovedWhile fully supporting the proposal, the rapporteur considers that biodiversity loss has such disastrous consequences for our society, economy and human health and well-being, that the proposal should be strengthened while maintaining a realistic approach. To ensure a successful implementation, the rapporteur considers it essential to strengthen the provisions regarding transparency and information, the participation of the public and the sectors concerned, the exchange of best practice and financing.

RemovedObjectives

RemovedWith regard to the objectives, the rapporteur considers it appropriate to support the position previously adopted by this Parliament in relation to the general restoration objective, to ensure that at least 30 % of the EU’s land and seas are restored by 2030. In addition, the rapporteur proposes to increase some of the specific objectives, such as the restoration of terrestrial, coastal and freshwater ecosystems in Article 4, the restoration of marine ecosystems in Article 5, the objectives of restoring urban ecosystems and the objective of rewetting drained peatlands under agricultural use. In the case of terrestrial, coastal and freshwater ecosystems and of marine ecosystems the target of 90 % of the Commission proposal is the minimum required to achieve good status for these ecosystems, according to the guidelines on reporting under Article 17 of the Habitats Directive. This does not mean that the EU should not aim for 100 % by 2050, given the urgency of the situation and the need for action.

RemovedAs regards urban ecosystems, according to data from the EEA, most European cities already have more than 10 % urban tree cover, so the rapporteur sees it feasible to increase this target and the Member States’ objectives of increasing the total national area of urban green spaces.

RemovedAs regards the peatlands targets, the rapporteur welcomes the inclusion of a specific peatland target as requested by this Parliament, and supports the objectives for the restoration of organic soil for agricultural use that constitute drained peatlands. Given that the impact assessment accompanying the proposal stipulates that there is insufficient data to set a target for forestry uses, and since returning only 3 % of EU agricultural peatlands to their wet state would reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture by up to 25 %, the rapporteur prefers to focus on the restoration of agricultural peatlands and not extend the target to drained peatlands under forestry use. The rapporteur considers that the restoration of peatlands under other uses should be addressed when the Commission assesses the implementation of this regulation and has more data on it. However, as the most effective solution for peatlands restoration and climate mitigation and adaptation is peatlands rewetting, the rapporteur proposes to increase the objectives of rewetting of peatlands under agricultural use. In the EU, drained and degraded peatlands account for approximately 5 % of the EU’s total greenhouse gas emissions, so their restoration is key on our path to climate neutrality.

RemovedIn relation to the provisions that allow derogating from the restoration objectives of Articles 4 and 5, certain adjustments are proposed by the rapporteur to make them more precise and avoid their inappropriate use. In particular, in the case of Natura 2000 areas, derogations should be limited to what is already set out in Article 6(4) of the Habitats Directive, which remains applicable. Otherwise, a “de facto” amendment of the Habitats Directive would be made via this regulation. The rapporteur also limits the possible use of this derogation to a maximum of 5 % of the areas covered by the objectives of Articles 4(1), 4(2), 4(3) and 5(1), 5(2), 5(3), to prevent Member States from continually using projects of overriding public interest as a reason for not complying with the provisions of this regulation.

RemovedFurthermore, the rapporteur proposes new indicators to measure the biodiversity of agricultural and forest ecosystems. In the case of agricultural ecosystems, the rapporteur includes the objective already contained in the Biodiversity Strategy of reaching 10 % of high diversity landscape elements by 2030 and adds the percentage of species and habitats listed in the Annexes to Directive 92/43/EEC related to agricultural ecosystems. In the case of forest ecosystems, the rapporteur proposes to add the indicator of native tree species composition, and adjusts some indicators in Annex VI to address the problem of forest fires and phytosanitary risks.

RemovedAs regards free-flowing rivers, the rapporteur considers not only lateral and longitudinal but also vertical and temporal barriers, to include all dimensions of connectivity in the inventories and to give Member States greater flexibility in their choice of barriers that should be dismantled. The rapporteur also addresses not only obsolete barriers but also those whose removal has a high ecological impact, including the impact on connectivity between marine and freshwater ecosystems and migration corridors.

RemovedPlanting 3 billion trees

RemovedThe EU’s 2030 Biodiversity and Forest Strategies set out the objective of planting at least 3 billion additional trees in the EU by 2030, while fully respecting ecological principles. The rapporteur has decided to include this objective in his amendments given the enormous importance of it for the restoration of terrestrial, urban or forest ecosystems in Articles 4, 6 and 10.

RemovedPrinciple of non-deterioration

RemovedThe rapporteur strengthens the principle of non-deterioration by creating a specific article on the continuity of the effects of restoration measures through the designation of protected areas, the implementation of other effective area-based conservation measures, or the promotion of private land conservation measures. It will be up to Member States to decide whether and how to extend their network of protected areas. Notwithstanding the foregoing, when restoration measures applies to primary and old growth forests, the rapporteur proposes that Member States strictly protect them.

RemovedFinancing

RemovedThe availability of public and private financial resources is key to the proper implementation of this regulation. Public funding for restoration should be secured at European, national and regional levels. At European level, there is funding available for the restoration of our biodiversity and ecosystems, but it is not sufficient and is currently dispersed in various instruments and funds, which may render it less effective. Therefore, the rapporteur proposes an article addressing the future need for a dedicated permanent financial instrument for restoration, which would entail coherent financial planning of all EU legal instruments and strategies that improve biodiversity over the next decade and beyond.

RemovedSpeeding up deadlines

RemovedGiven the urgent need for restoration measures to have an impact in this decade, the rapporteur proposes to shorten the deadlines for the submission of national nature restoration plans, for their revision, for the submission of the first reports and for the Commission’s assessment of the implementation of this regulation. The rapporteur believes that we are at a critical time if we want to be able to reverse the loss of biodiversity and therefore proposes to speed up the whole process set out in this regulation.

RemovedDelegated acts

RemovedThe rapporteur considers that certain topics in the Commission proposal that are to be specified in secondary legislation should clearly be subject to delegated acts, instead of implementing acts as proposed by the Commission, given the considerable margin of discretion left. This concerns, for example, the establishment of a method for monitoring pollinator populations or the framework for setting satisfactory levels.

RemovedPublic participation, access to public information and public awareness

RemovedSupport of the public and stakeholders for the foreseen restoration measures is crucial to ensure the successful implementation of this regulation. The rapporteur therefore proposes to create a specific article on public participation, access to public information and public awareness, to ensure there is an open, inclusive and cross-cutting approach in the preparation, review and implementation of national restoration plans. The rapporteur also considers it essential that young people are made aware of the importance of biodiversity and nature restoration and are engaged through programmes and concrete projects and through education and general information.

RemovedFinally, in order to continue the restoration actions of this regulation, the rapporteur lays the foundations for the Commission to present new restoration targets from 2030 onwards, such as for small water units or ecosystems not covered by Articles 4 and 5 as well as intermediate targets by 2040.