JOIN THE CAMPAIGN

Bring back nature

Healthy ecosystems

Our ecosystems are in poor health. Climate change is but one reason, other drivers are harmful practices in our agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors.

We need to change these practices to protect and restore nature.

EU action to bring back nature

We are losing nature faster than ever. Scientists believe that we are living through the sixth mass extinction, and first mass extinction since humans occupied the Earth.

But we depend on nature. The planet can survive mass extinction, we cannot.

Luckily, nature has an incredible capacity to bounce back. We know how to protect and restore nature. We also know how to reconcile nature protection and our needs as humans. We need to act strongly, and now!

Help us to bring back nature

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OUR KEY DEMANDS

    • Protect at least 30 percent of the EU’s land and sea area, and set aside at least 10 percent as strictly protected areas.
    • Restore 30 percent of drained wetlands, regardless of whether they have been drained for agricultural production, forests or peat extraction.
    • Promote ecological forestry practices. Such approaches are already practised on an estimated 22 to 30 percent of the EU’s forested area.
    • Stop destructive fishing practices in EU-protected areas. The EU can no longer tolerate practices like bottom trawling, scraping all sea life from the bottom of the seabed, in its marine protected areas.

OUR CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES

Filter
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European Bison, Wisent, Bison bonasus. Bieszczady, Carpathians, Poland / © iStock Photo
European Bison, Wisent, Bison bonasus. Bieszczady, Carpathians, Poland / © iStock Photo
Opinion |

Bring back nature: why we need a strong EU nature restoration law

Anna Deparnay-Grunenberg Jutta Paulus
Opinion by Anna Deparnay-Grunenberg & Jutta Paulus
The abundance and diversity of wildlife in the EU is shrinking at an alarming rate. An EU nature restoration law can help restore nature.
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©kelly-sikkema
Farmland/LULUCF
Press release |

European Parliament adopts binding targets to increase carbon sinks

As lead negotiators on LULUCF, the Greens/EFA managed to get Member States to agree to report on how they take into account the principle to “do no significant harm” when adopting reforms to reverse the current shrinkage of our natural land sinks.
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© Scanpix Sweden
Big fishing boat
Press release |

Greens/EFA welcome plan to end bottom trawling

The European Commission presented an action plan to end bottom trawling. In the "Action Plan for the Conservation of Fisheries Resources and Marine Ecosystems", the EU Commission calls for an end to the use of bottom trawling gear in marine protected areas from 2030. The Greens/EFA call on the EU Commission to present a proposal for EU-wi…
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Seascape with corals / Unsplash
Seascape with corals / Unsplash
Press release |

Historic results for biodiversity in COP15

After four years of discussion, more than 190 states finally adopted, Monday, December 19 in Canada, a historic agreement to tackle the gigantic challenge of the collapse of nature.
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A common squirrel monkey in the Amazon forest in Colombia / Diego Guzman on Unspalsh
A common squirrel monkey in the Amazon forest in Colombia / Diego Guzman on Unspalsh
Opinion |

Net zero pledges and carbon removals - greenwashing the climate disaster

We need real solutions to the climate and biodiversity crisis. Net zero pledges and carbon removals divert attention from real action.
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Tenerife blue chaffinch Fringilla teydea / Paul Asman and Jill Lenoble / Flickr CC BY 2.0
Tenerife blue chaffinch Fringilla teydea / Paul Asman and Jill Lenoble / Flickr CC BY 2.0
Policy Paper |

Greens/EFA demands for COP15 of the Convention for Biological Diversity (CBD)

The COP15 in Montreal from 7 to 19 December must deliver a New Deal For Nature. Read our demands for the UN's Convention for Biological Diversity here.
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European Pine Marten / Unsplash
European Pine Marten / Unsplash
Opinion |

COP15 - A Paris Moment for Biodiversity?

Ville Niinistö Jutta Paulus Caroline Roose
Opinion by Ville Niinistö & Jutta Paulus & Caroline Roose
COP15: Why the UN's biodiversity conference is a once-in-a-decade opportunity to advance the protection and restoration of nature worldwide.
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Event |

20 years after the Prestige accident: analysis of maritime safety in Europe

This event will look at the environmental and economic impact & social reaction to the “Prestige” oil spill accident on the Galician coast, other cases of marine pollution in Europe and propose a European analysis.
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@Knut Sturm
Forest near Lübeck/Germany
Event |

Ecological forestry in Europe

Most European forests are in bad shape, making them easy prey for pests, diseases and fires. To restore the health of our timber producing forests, we need to manage them in a way that works with nature, not against it. Join us to hear practitioners’ experiences and discuss what it will take to mainstream ecological forestry in Europe.
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©annie-spratt
trees©annie-spratt
Study |

Ecological Forestry In Europe

This report advances principles for such an ecosystem-based forest management. It outlines how these principles can be put into practice, including examples of forests that have transformed to this model. Finally, the report discusses how EU policies can support the transition.