Story | 20 May, 2020

IUCN welcomes the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and urges Member States to now also show high ambition

IUCN welcomes the new EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2030. In view of the world post COVID-19, it is essential that EU Member States embrace this Strategy and adopt all necessary measures to ensure the targets are achieved. We also need to define further specific actions in consultation with stakeholders, to guarantee the central role for nature, that will lead to an effective and sustainable recovery and a resilient future society.

 

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Photo: Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

In addition to the environmental emergency, we are now facing one of the biggest health crises of the last century: the COVID-19 outbreak. In this context, the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2030 must be a cornerstone of the European road to recovery, as it is a fundamental tool to restore a healthy and mutually beneficial human-nature relationship. This strategy is a first step for a strong EU leadership during the negotiations next year at the Convention on Biological Diversity: it is the chance for Europe to establish itself as an ambitious leader in the global arena, during the current preparations for a future Global Biodiversity Framework. In this sense, it is also vital that Member States show ambition at the national level. For this purpose, the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Marseille in January 2021 offers a great platform.

IUCN calls for the definition of further concrete actions that will define how the strategy will be implemented in the EU and in the Member States. This would also provide the opportunity for the important consultation with stakeholders. Through the allocation of the needed resources - especially through a renewed environmentally-friendly CAP - and the prioritisation of biodiversity on the political agenda, Europe will be able put nature at the heart of the recovery and leading by example at the global level. IUCN is looking forward the support of the European Parliament and the European Council for the Strategy and its implementation.

Today we also celebrate World Bee Day. According to the European Red List of Bees of IUCN these species are under high pressure in all of Europe. Bees are just one of several pollinators, providing a fundamental process for the survival of our ecosystem. Their decline is not only a loss for nature, it threatens the very ecosystems we depend on, including our food production. Therefore, the publication today of the Farm to Fork Strategy is a positive sign: we need to find ways to think jointly about nature conservation and sustainable agriculture.

“These two strategies should be strongly interconnected: this represents a great opportunity to join all efforts and ensure a transition to a sustainable European land use in future. For a successful implementation of the targets related to agriculture, it is vital that the CAP and the EU Biodiversity Strategy are coherently aligned” said Luc Bas, Director of the IUCN European Regional Office.

Read more in our position paper linked to this page.

 

Contact person:

Alberto Arroyo Schnell, Senior European Policy Manager

alberto.arroyo@iucn.org