Restoring Biodiversity: Can societies and ecosystems live in a healthy relationship?

Our society depends on nature’s products for food, materials and medicines, and on nature’s life-sustaining services for air and water quality regulation, soil formation, pollination, climate change mitigation and adaptation, health and well-being – and much more.

Currently Europe’s nature is in decline, with more than 80% of protected habitats in poor condition. Our challenging, but essential task is to preserve, restore and manage ecosystems in a sustainable way and benefit from their services, while avoiding conflicts and trade-offs and fostering social and economic opportunities. This imperative is at the core of the Commission’s ground-breaking proposal for a Nature Restoration Law, as well as ongoing work to propose legislation on forest monitoring and soil health.

This session will highlight ways in which healthy ecosystems underpin societal resilience, on the example of two key areas: adaptation to climate change and food security. We will reflect on common interests and win-win solutions for nature and people, and the potential of the proposed EU Nature Restoration Law to encourage such approaches. The session will also explore competing social, environmental and economic objectives, short- and long-term perspectives, and feasible approaches to evaluate values and minimise trade-offs between them.