Today, wildlife-rich habitats and key species group numbers are in decline, prompting governments to produce legislation to protect them and reverse downward trends. In order to do so, the EU has proposed targets for biodiversity and nature conservation, as well as the UK, and its four constituent nations. However, the extent and scope of these protections need to be properly assessed to ensure that targets are to be met in the future.
Eero Yrjö-Koskinen, currently Director of the Finnish Institute in Hungary (FinnAgora), has been appointed IEEP's new Executive Director. He will join the Institute on 2 November succeeding Ben Allen who has been acting as Executive Director ad interim, since the departure of Céline Charveriat.
To date, the EU has agreed a set of non-binding biodiversity objectives and actions in its Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. Central to this is a new nature restoration Regulation (Restoration Law) proposed by the European Commission with legally binding restoration targets for ecosystems habitats and species.
The long-awaited proposal for an EU nature restoration regulation was finally presented on 22 June by the European Commission, highlighting an ambitious legislative framework to restore degraded ecosystems in the EU.
After several delays, the highly anticipated proposal for an EU law on nature restoration is now out. The adoption of this proposal would mark a historic turning point for EU nature conservation. As it enters the EU legislative process, this is a critical moment to ensure its ambition remains high and that its key components are not watered down.
Two years after publication of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2030, we take stock of the implementation of its targets and commitments, and of the progress that has been made since.
IEEP hosted an online discussion forum for civil society to explore topics related to environmental justice and digitalisation. This is a summary of the discussion.
This event is organised for experts from civil society, academia, and government with knowledge of digitalisation, sustainability, and/or environmental justice. The results will be used to inform an analysis paper for the German Environment Agency.
Ben Allen will take over the leadership of IEEP for the upcoming months, working closely with the IEEP Board to continue IEEP’s mission whilst preparing the organisation for the future.
This online discussion forum, managed by IEEP with the support of the Institute of Research for Ecological Economy, will gather digital and environmental Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to address the most burning issues related to digitalisation, sustainability and environmental justice. The online forum will run until 28 January 2022.
The 26th edition of the United Nations Climate Change Conference ended in Glasgow on 13 November. In the fallout of the negotiations, Michael Nicholson, Head of UK Environmental Policy at IEEP, gathered experts from two member organisations of IEEP’s Think Sustainable Europe network to try and give an overview of what COP26 meant for global action against climate change.
Halfway through her mandate, President Ursula Von der Leyen today addressed the European Parliament during her second State of the European Union address.
To reverse the decline of pollinators, stakeholders across the EU need to take up pollinator-friendly practices. In support of the EU Pollinators initiative, IEEP has surveyed what is being done for pollinators in all Member States and has produced guidance to promote best practice for agricultural managing authorities, farmers, farm advisors, and citizens.
The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Directive (SUD) are two key EU policies that present opportunities to tackle the pressures intensive agricultural practices and pesticides place on pollinators. In support of the EU Pollinators initiative, IEEP has authored two reports evaluating to what extent these policies currently deliver for pollinator conservation.
To celebrate World Environment Day 2021, we took the opportunity to interview a biodiversity policy expert from one of our Think Sustainable Europe Platform members, The Green Tank from Greece. Ιoli Christopoulou is a partner and policy director at the Green Tank specialising in biodiversity policy and spoke to us about the progress Greece has made in reaching its biodiversity targets and the challenges and opportunities that remain in the upcoming years.
The OECM framework provides ample opportunity to promote biodiversity conservation in the EU, can complement existing protected areas across landscapes and seascapes and contribute to achieving ambitious conservation targets. Nevertheless, the concept is still new, especially in the EU, and their role needs to be carefully evaluated.
Transitioning to pollinator-friendly farming practices is key to the recovery of pollinators. IEEP has been contributing to EU action for pollinators through a project supporting the implementation of the EU Pollinators Initiative. This included work identifying key measures and recommendations to improve farmland pollinator conservation.
This event marks the launch of a pioneering, action-oriented guidance demonstrating how area-based conservation can help to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across the world.
IEEP, ISGlobal and Mental Health Europe are co-hosting an interactive online dialogue to discuss the nexus between the state of the environment and people’s mental health and how European policies and the COVID-19 recovery plans can mainstream them for people-centred and nature-based future.
Healthy multifunctional soils are key to put the European Green Deal and the Farm to Fork strategy into action. In light of the consultation on the new Soil Strategy, IEEP puts forward three main recommendations to ensure soils are adequately considered and protected in future EU initiatives.
