In early September, the European Commission launched a global coalition "United for #Biodiversity". It’s a global campaign to support biodiversity on the planet. The purpose of this communication campaign is to draw attention to the need to protect nature and mobilize all possible efforts for this purpose.

The European Commission has called national parks, aquariums, botanic gardens, zoos, science and natural history museums, research centers to join forces and raise their voice about the threats to nature.

“All species, from bacteria to mammals, from plants to insects, are pieces of the big puzzle of life. They are all connected and depend on each other. Yet one species, our species, is now responsible for the climate crisis and the nature crisis, causing massive biodiversity loss. By destroying Earth ecosystems, we humans are jeopardizing our food, our health, our economy and our own future», — Virginijus Sinkevicius, EU Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries said. He also added that botanic gardens, zoos, nature parks, museums, research centers and aquariums show people what needs to be protected and restored on the planet. “We urgently need to take action, at all levels, from local to global, otherwise, our only chance of seeing nature is in these institutions. That would be a failure of humankind. It is time for us to reconnect with nature” — Virginijus Sinkevicius added.

The European Commission adopted a new EU Strategy  and the related Biodiversity Action Plan until 2030 — a long-term roadmap for nature protection and restoration of degraded ecosystems.

The biodiversity strategy aims to increase society's resilience to future threats, such as the effects of climate change, forest fires, food security or disease outbreaks. The document also emphasizes that the COVID-19 pandemic has made the need to protect and restore nature even more urgent.
“A pandemic is an awareness of the links between our own health and the health of ecosystems. The risk of occurrence and spread of infectious diseases increases in proportion to the destruction of nature. Protecting and restoring biodiversity and ecosystems is a key factor in increasing our resilience and preventing the emergence and spread of future diseases”, — the strategy says.

What is the new 2030 Biodiversity Strategy?

The strategy contains specific commitments and actions to be implemented in the EU by 2030, including:
-    creation of a larger network of protected areas. At least 30% of the land and 30% of the sea, according to the requirements of the document, must have environmental status.
-    At least a third of the protected areas — 10% of the land and 10% of the marine waters — must be under strict protection. Particular attention should be paid to virgin and ancient forests, peatlands, meadows, wetlands.
-    Creating ecological corridors to prevent genetic isolation, ensure species migration and maintain ecosystem health.
-    Ensuring effective management of all protected areas, clear goals and measures for their preservation and proper monitoring.

Key commitments until 2030:

1. At least 30% of the land and 30% of the EU's marine waters are legally protected and connected by ecological corridors as part of the Trans-European Eco-Network.
2. At least one third of the EU's protected areas, including all virgin forests remaining in the EU, and old-growth forests are strictly protected.
3. Effective management of all protected areas is ensured, clear goals and measures for conservation are defined and proper monitoring is carried out.

“The Biodiversity Strategy is essential for boosting our resilience, preventing the emergence and spread of future diseases such as zoonoses. Because by destroying nature at an unprecedented rate, and now with around 1 million species at risk of extinction within only decades, we literally threaten our own life, our health and our well-being”, — Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice President of the European Commission said.

EU nature restoration plan

The Strategy proposes a far-reaching EU Nature Restoration Plan that includes:
-    The EU's legislative goals for nature restoration must be formulated by 2021. By 2030, restore the areas of degraded ecosystems;
-    to achieve a positive trend in the conservation of the environment and species;
-    the number of pollinators should increase;
-    reduce the use of chemical pesticides by 50%;
-    achieve a high degree of landscape diversity in at least 10% of agricultural land;
-    at least 25% of agricultural land must be converted to organic farming;
-    plant three billion new trees in EU countries;
-    restore at least 25,000 km of rivers to be free-flowing and others.

To achieve these goals, the European Commission is working to establish a monitoring structure and mechanisms to monitor progress and adjust this process. Also, much attention to achieving these goals will be focused on research, innovation and knowledge sharing. The Commission, in close cooperation with the European Environment Agency, has already opened a Bioriodiversity Knowledge Center.

Overcoming biodiversity loss and restoring ecosystems requires significant investment both at the national level of the EU countries and at the European level. The European Union plans to make the most of all the necessary programs and tools to attract this funding. In the next long-term EU budget, 25% will be set for climate protection goals, and much of that will go to biodiversity.