5 3 Nature Restoration and Synergies with EU environmental policies.pdf

Ref. Ares(2023)389474 - 18/01/2023
Ref. Ares(2023)782205 - 02/02/2023

HOW WILL NATURE RESTORATION
HELP FULFIL EU ENVIRONMENTAL
POLICY OBJECTIVES?
Publication date:
December 2022
Authors:
Gabrielle Aubert (IEEP), Rebecca Noebel (Ecologic Institute)
Nature  restoration  can  deliver  significant  progress  on  key  EU  environmental
policies – for biodiversity but also for climate mitigation and adaptation, water
quality, air quality, and marine environmental status. It is important that nature
restoration is integrated into other plans and has an equal policy weight to other
objectives.
Implementing restoration measures will accelerate the pace of implementation of EU laws and policies for air,
climate, water, and marine. In their National Restoration Plans (NRPs), member states will need to identify
synergies with the objectives and planning tools of EU environmental policy:
BIRDS AND HABITATS DIRECTIVES
The NRL sets binding deadlines and targets
for  achieving  good  condition  of  Annex  I
habitats of the HD as well as of the habitats
of species listed in Annexes II, IV and V of the
HD and of wild birds (BD).
•  The NRL requires the recreation of lost
Annex I habitat area and creates more
explicit  restoration  obligations  for
habitats  outside  the  Natura  2000
network.
•  Member  states  will  need  to  identify
restoration  measures  and  quantify
areas for terrestrial and marine habitat
areas not in good condition.
Habay, Belgique, Photo by Coralie Meurice
•  National restoration plans will need to consider and support
Natura  2000  plans  and  conservation  measures  and  the  actions  listed  in  the  Prioritized  Action
Framework for funding Natura 2000 & green infrastructure.

How will nature restoration help fulfil EU environmental policy objectives?
EU CLIMATE LAW AND LULUCF REGULATION
It will be impossible for the EU to meet its climate neutrality goal set in the EU Climate Law by 2050
and the LULUCF land sink target in the LULUCF Regulation without a significant scaling up of nature
restoration.  The  NRL  puts  a  strong  emphasis  on  restoring  ecosystems  with  a  high  potential  for  climate
mitigation and will significantly scale up nature-based carbon removals.
•  The EU GHG inventory of LULUCF sector emissions under the UNFCC shows a net GHG sink of 249 million
tCO2eq in 2019. Integrated scenarios estimate that the sink could be increased to anywhere between
400  million  tCO2eq  and  600  million  tCO2eq  by  2050  [1].  Nature  restoration  is  so  far  the  most
promising solution to live up to this potential.
•  Restoring  peatland  is  recognised  as  a  key  GHG  mitigation  measure  [2].  Peatlands  cover  3%  of  the
agricultural area in the EU yet emit 25% of the annual agricultural emissions [3]. Rewetting peatland stops
emissions  from  degraded  peat,  avoiding  the  loss  of  their  huge  carbon  stocks  and,  under  some
circumstances, converts them into carbon sinks.
•  National restoration plans will need to consider and work with the National Energy and Climate Plan
and the national long-term strategy on climate.

CLIMATE ADAPTATION STRATEGY
The restoration measures adopted under the NRL will contribute to the EU’s adaptation to climate change by
reducing  the  vulnerability  of  ecosystems  to  the  impacts  of  climate related  hazards  (such  as  floods,
droughts,  and  forest  fires).  Restoration  also  enhances  their  natural  capacity  to  resist  these  hazards  and
reduces impacts on carbon stocks, by preventing the release of large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere.
•  Across Europe, enhancing floodwater retention in river catchments can decrease flood exposure
by up to 70%. Under the Dutch ‘Room for river’ programme, restoring the floodplains along
various rivers provides enhanced flood protection for 4 million people [4].
•  National restoration plans will need to consider and work with the national climate adaptation
strategy and disaster prevention plan.

Morzine, France, Photo by Guy Bowden
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How will nature restoration help fulfil EU environmental policy objectives?
WATER FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE (WFD)
The restoration of freshwater Annex I habitats will contribute to reaching the WFD’s objective to have all water
bodies in good status or potential.
•  Article 7 NRL will require Member States to  provide  an inventory  of  barriers  and  identify
those  to  be  removed,  along  with  a  plan  for  their  removal.  Barriers  are  one  of  the  main
reasons for rivers failing to reach good ecological status [5].
•  National restoration plans will need to consider and work with the Programmes of Measures
of the River Basin Management Plans for 2027.

MARINE STRATEGY FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE
(MSFD)
The marine restoration targets under Article 5 will contribute to the
MSFD objective to achieve good environmental status in the marine
environment  by  reducing  negative  impacts  of  fishing  activities  on
marine  ecosystems,  restoring  fish  spawning  and  nursery  areas,
restoring seagrass meadows, and more. The NRL targets reinforce the
MSFD  framework  and  put  a  stronger  focus  on  the  maintenance  of
ecological functions.
•  The NRL goes beyond the scope of the MSFD by targeting
specific  habitats  for  restoration,  particularly  those  that
support a wide variety of species. It will also allow for more
granular  monitoring  of  data  on  marine  species,  which
can then be used to set specific restoration measures.
Chalkidiki, Greece, Photo by Benjamin L.
•  National restoration plans will need to consider and work
Jones
with  the  national  Marine  Strategy  for  achieving  good  environmental  status  and  any
conservation measures under the Common Fisheries Policy.

NATIONAL EMISSIONS CEILINGS DIRECTIVE (NECD)
The urban targets under Article 6 will contribute to the NECD’s objective to reduce air pollutants to 2029 by
increasing green spaces and trees in cities, with many benefits for human health.
•  Air pollution is the main environmental risk factor for health in Europe – the EEA estimates that
long-term exposure to fine particles was responsible for 379 000 premature deaths in the EU in
2018  [7].  Green  infrastructure  can  effectively  reduce  exposure  to  air  pollution.  For  example,
simple hedges mixed with trees can reduce exposure to particulate matter by 50% [8].
•  National  restoration  plans  will  need  to  consider  and  work  with  the  National  Air  Pollution
Control Programme.

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How will nature restoration help fulfil EU environmental policy objectives?
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF
PREPARING NATIONAL RESTORATION
PLANS?
Under  the  proposed  Nature  Restoration  Law  (NRL),  Member  States  will  be  expected  to  submit  Nature
Restoration Plans (NRPs) to the Commission within two years of the Regulation’s entry into force. The NRPs
will show how Member States are planning to deliver on the targets, and how they will monitor and report
on their progress. The preparation and adoption of NRPs can have the following targeted benefits:
•  Restoration  efforts  at  the  national  level,  which  are  currently  highly  fragmented,  will  be
synergised.  NRPs  will  be  key  planning  instruments  to  prioritise  and  implement  large-scale
restoration action.
•  NRPs  will  also  be  key  instruments  to  channel  financial  resources  to  fund  restoration
measures. They should provide a financial plan giving an overview of available EU, national and
private funding and how to access it. It should be a systematic plan of public and private funding
for restoration measures.
•  NRPs will allow for new and increased cooperation, both horizontal and vertical.
o  Horizontally, transboundary member states should foster synergies between their plans.
o  Vertically, the plan should coordinate actions at the national, regional, and local levels by
engaging relevant stakeholders in the planning process.
•  The NRPs will provide additional monitoring systems and assessments of progress towards
targets.  Additional  targets  and  baselines  will  be  set  for  ecosystems  for  which  data  and
monitoring mechanisms are not yet fully developed. An EU-wide methodology will be developed
for assessing the conditions of ecosystems beyond the Annex I habitats of the Habitats Directive.
•  The administrative burden generated by the preparation and adoption of the NRPs could be
minimised by using mechanisms for monitoring and reporting under existing frameworks, such
as for the Nature Directives, LULUCF Regulation, WFD and MSFD. In the plans, member states
should present linkages to other EU regulations and environmental objectives, demonstrating
synergies and potential joint perspectives for national and regional implementation.
•  Member States will need to develop their plan using participatory  approaches –identifying
additional important actors and stakeholders that need or want to be engaged in the process
•  The development of NRPs might uncover existing structural, organisational, and financial
gaps and challenges that need to be considered in the implementation of the law.

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References
1.  Böttcher, H., J. Reise, and K. Hennenberg, Exploratory Analysis of an EU Sink and Restoration Target. 2021, Oeko-Institut e.V.:
Germany.
2.  Hiraishi, T., et al., 2013 Supplement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories: Wetlands. 2014, IPCC:
Switzerland.
3.  Greifswald  Mire  Centre,  Peatlands  in  the  EU.  Common  agricultural  policy  (CAP)  after  2020.  2020,  Greifswald  Mire  Centre:
Germany.
4.  EEA, Nature-based solutions in Europe: Policy, knowledge and practice for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction.
2021, European Environment Agency: Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
5.  EEA, Tracking barriers and their impacts on European river ecosystems. 2021.
6.  European Commission, Pathway to a Healthy Planet for All EU Action Plan: 'Towards Zero Pollution for Air, Water and Soil'. 2021,
European Commission: Brussels.
7.  EEA, Air quality in Europe — 2020 report. 2020, European Environment Agency.
8.  Kumar,  P.,  K.V.  Abhijith,  and  Y.  Barwise,  Implementing  Green  Infrastructure  for  Air  Pollution  Abatement:  General
Recommendations for Management and Plant Species Selection. 2019.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however
those  of  the  author(s)  only  and  do  not  necessarily  reflect  those  of  the
European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor CINEA can be held
responsible for them.
These  policy  briefs  were  written  by  IEEP  and

Ecologic Institute in the Think Sustainable Europe

Network  in  response  to  the  proposed  EU  nature
restoration law.