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Designated terrestrial protected areas in Europe
By the end of 2023, protected areas covered 26.4% of European Union land, with 18.6% of EU land designated as Natura 2000 sites and 7.8% under other complementary national designations. The EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 sets out a target of protecting at least 30% of EU land by 2030, while ensuring that all protected areas are managed effectively. The area reported as protected has steadily increased since 2011, by 1.8 percentage points, yet the pace of designation needs to more than double for the EU to meet the 30% target.
Protecting and restoring Europe’s wild pollinators and their habitats
This briefing provides an overview of wild pollinators, the main drivers of their decline and solutions to protect and restore them. It highlights the importance of establishing an EU-wide standardised monitoring framework of pollinators. The briefing is published in the context of the Nature Restoration Regulation, the EU Pollinators Initiative and the European Commission’s Vision for Agriculture and Food.
EEA Briefing 1/2006 - Assessing environmental integration in EU agriculture
EEA Report 2/2006 - Integration of environment into EU agriculture policy - the IRENA indicator-based assessment report
This report aims to provide a fair reflection of the progress, the achievements and obstacles in the integration of environmental concerns into EU agriculture policy, based on indicators developed in the IRENA operation (see Section 1.3). It also tackles limitations to successful policy implementation at Member State level, and challenges ahead.
Progress towards halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010
This report assesses farmland, forests, freshwater ecosystems, marine and coastal systems, wetlands of international importance and mountain ecosystems in order to provide evidence of progress — or lack of progress — towards the 2010 target of halting the loss of biodiversity.
10 messages for 2010 — protected areas
This report explores the historical trends, most recent progress and projected future progress on climate change mitigation through reduced GHG emissions, renewable energy gains and improved energy efficiency. It builds upon data reported by the EU-27 Member States, five EEA member countries and nine Contracting Parties of the Energy Community. This message is the 2nd in a series of '10 messages for 2010'. Each message provides a short assessment focusing on a specific ecosystem or issue related to biodiversity in Europe. The remaining messages will be published at various intervals throughout 2010. More detailed information on the published and upcoming messages.
10 messages for 2010 — marine ecosystems
Marine ecosystems provide key services both globally and locally, which are essential for maintaining life on our planet. However, marine biodiversity faces an unprecedented range of pressures. In recent years climate change has caused changes in species distribution and presents new challenges for marine biodiversity as oceans become more acidic.
1.3 Protected areas
This briefing highlights the growth of protected areas on land and sea, including Natura 2000 sites under the EU’s Birds and Habitats directives, national laws and the Bern Convention. These areas are vital for protecting species, ecosystems and the environment, simultaneously providing significant economic and societal benefits. They create jobs, enhance public health and hold cultural importance. Their growing role underscores their value, with future efforts aiming to continue their expansion and manage them effectively.
Natura 2000 sites designated under the EU Habitats and Birds Directives
Natura 2000 is the largest coordinated network of protected areas in the world. Established in 1992 to safeguard Europe’s most valuable and threatened species and habitats, its area has steadily increased. In 2023, there were 27,165 Natura 2000 sites, covering 18.6% of the European Union land area and 10.5% of its marine territory. Effective management of these sites is key to achieving Natura 2000 conservation aims. EU Member States still need to make significant efforts to establish and effectively implement conservation measures and management plans.
Public awareness of biodiversity in Europe
Between 2015 and 2018, recognition and understanding of the term ‘biodiversity’ increased in the EU, with 71% of those interviewed in 2018 having heard the word and 41% knowing what it means. At least 8 out of 10 consider biodiversity loss a serious problem and agree that halting it is important. The biggest perceived threats are air, soil and water pollution, human-induced disasters and climate change. Although less than a third of respondents have heard of the Natura 2000 network, most agree that protected areas are important and are not willing to trade them for economic development.
Marine protected areas in Europe's seas
The European Union has made progress in designating new marine protected areas, both as part of the Natura 2000 network and through complementary national designations. As a result, marine protected area coverage more than tripled, to 13.7%, between 2012 and 2023. However, further significant efforts are required to achieve the EU Biodiversity strategy target of protecting at least 30% of EU seas by 2030, while also ensuring that all protected areas are effectively managed. At present it appears unlikely that the target will be met.
Europe's ecological backbone: recognising the true value of our mountains
Europe's mountain areas have social, economic and environmental capital of significance for the entire continent. This importance has been recognised since the late 19th century through national legislation; since the 1970s through regional structures for cooperation; and since the 1990s through regional legal instruments for the Alps and Carpathians. The European Union (EU) first recognised the specific characteristics of mountain areas in 1975 through the designation of Less Favoured Areas (LFAs). During the last decade, EU cohesion policy and the Treaty of Lisbon have both focused specifically on mountains.
It's beautiful!
A story in the "Our Natural Europe" series
The European Grassland Butterfly Indicator: 1990 -2011
This report presents the European Grassland Butterfly Indicator, based on national Butterfly Monitoring Schemes (BMS) in 19 countries across Europe, most of them in the European Union.