Legally binding targets proposed to 'bring nature back' amid biodiversity crisis

The aim is to cover at least 20% of the EU's land and sea areas by 2030 with nature restoration measures. File Picture

Irish environmental organisations have challenged the Government to follow through on recent promises to tackle the biodiversity crisis after the European Commission proposed comprehensive legally binding targets to restore nature.

The Commission said its proposal aims to "restore damaged ecosystems, bring nature back across Europe and reduce the use and risk of chemical pesticides by 50% by 2030".

It said the "first-ever legislation that explicitly targets the restoration of Europe's nature" would seek to repair the 80% of European habitats in poor condition", as well as aiming to "bring back nature to all ecosystems, from forest and agricultural land to marine, freshwater and urban ecosystems".

A Nature Restoration Law is proposed by the EU's governing arm that would set legally binding targets for nature restoration in different ecosystems and will apply to every member state.

The aim is to cover at least 20% of the EU's land and sea areas by 2030 with nature restoration measures, and eventually extend these to all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050, the Commission said.

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The announcement comes just days after Taoiseach Micheál Martin pledged to tackle the crisis in Ireland at the National Biodiversity Conference, saying politicians had not historically listened to the experts on how serious it had become.

Mr Martin said it was a “great mistake of our species to think that we are separate from nature”, adding that the two challenges of climate change and the biodiversity crisis were intrinsically linked.

"I do sense a deepening acceptance, a growing realisation, that our fortunes as a species and as a society, are inseparable from the fortunes of the natural world,” he said.

The Environmental Pillar, made up of a number of non-governmental organisations in Ireland, said the Commission's proposal is recognition that member states have not implemented comprehensive plans and that it would address gaping holes in stitching it together.

Fintan Kelly of the Environmental Pillar said the targets proposed should already have been in place, and that it was very welcome that the Commission has set legal obligations to tackle biodiversity's waning status.

"We should have had a similar approach to biodiversity that we have for climate change because they are part of the same ecological crisis. We have targets for emissions, we now need similar for biodiversity. 

The @EU_Commission has proposed a new law on nature restoration - and it could not come at a more pressing time for the climate and biodiversity crises we face 🌏🐝

Read our full press release on the announcement below: pic.twitter.com/1qUCTzFLnr

— Environmental Pillar (@Env_Pillar) June 22, 2022

"The Taoiseach said he recognised the business case for biodiversity is compelling, that restoring nature outweighs the cost 10-fold, and that the cost of inaction is even higher. If that's the Taoiseach's and the Government's position, there is a compelling case for a nature restoration law."

However, Ireland has a "terrible record for sitting on its hands", Mr Kelly warned. The need for real political leadership to follow through is vital, he added.

BirdWatch Ireland described the Commission proposal as a "huge milestone", saying no other law in the world has set legally binding nature restoration targets at this level before.

Head of advocacy at BirdWatch Ireland, Oonagh Duggan, said: "We’re not just talking about the survival of nature, we’re talking about the survival of humankind. From farming to fishing, our ability to continue feeding ourselves hangs on repairing the damage done to ecosystems while we still can."

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