European Union: European Union Nature protection and biodiversity

2010 was the International Year for Biodiversity, the year of the tenth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the year of new biodiversity targets at European and global level. A new vision and target for the post 2010 period was adopted by the EU:

Two new tools for combating biodiversity loss have been developed by the European Commission and EEA: the BISE and the ‘biodiversity baseline’. BISE, the Biodiversity Information System for Europe, is a web portal centralising information about European biodiversity in a single location. The ‘biodiversity baseline’ is developed as a snapshot of the current state of biodiversity to establish the evidence base necessary for stepping up the EU action to address the European and global biodiversity crisis now. 

Biodiversity embraces the variety of genes, species and ecosystems that constitute life on Earth. We are currently witnessing a steady loss of biodiversity, with profound consequences for the natural world and for human well-being. The main causes are changes in natural habitats. These are due to intensive agricultural production systems, construction, quarrying, overexploitation of forests, oceans, rivers, lakes and soils, alien species invasions, pollution and — increasingly — global climate change.

Biodiversity policies

EU policies

 EU nature conservation policy is based on two main pieces of legislation:

• the Birds Directive and
• the Habitats Directive

Both directives provide the basis for the Natura 2000 network, a network of nature reserves which extends across the Union to safeguard species and habitats of special European interest. EU nature conservation policy benefits from a specific financial instrument, the LIFE-Nature fund.

In its 2001 Strategy for Sustainable Development, the EU set itself the target to halt the loss of biodiversity and restore habitats and natural systems by 2010. The European Commission's 2006 Biodiversity Communication has provided the main policy framework up to 2010.

Other policies relevant to biodiversity at EU level include:

• The EU Sixth Environmental Action Programme 'Our future, our choice', adopted in 2002, in which conservation of biodiversity is one of the four main issues to be tackled.
• The 2004 'Message from Malahide', presenting 18 priority objectives for halting the loss of biodiversity, many of which relate to sectoral integration of biodiversity issues.

2010 has seen the adoption of a new vision for biodiversity and a target for 2020. Specific targets and subtargets are now being developed under coordination of DG Environment of the European Commission.

Pan-European and global biodiversity policies

In 1992, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) marked the international community's commitment to addressing biodiversity loss. In response, the Pan‑European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy was endorsed by the countries covered by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.