Preserving and restoring biodiversity

Nature is declining rapidly, at an unprecedented rate. One million species are at risk of extinction, and the degradation of ecosystems severely affects all life on Earth, including humans.

In addition to previously adopted European legislation and biodiversity strategy, the EU came up with even more ambitious targets in the Biodiversity strategy for 2030, paired with increased funding opportunities in biodiversity research and conservation efforts. This is an opportunity for policy makers, scientists, citizens and landowners to act in the areas of nature protection and restoration.

This policy brief provides an outlook on EU initiatives that local and regional authorities can refer to for improving their management of protection and restoration of biodiversity, ecosystem services and natural areas, in compliance with the EU Directives.

It also presents a selection of Interreg Europe good practices and EU-funded projects of particular interest and a high degree of replicability and adaptability to different territorial contexts