Articles

Europe's protected areas play a key role in protecting biodiversity. But they are also a critical component of the continent’s economy, contributing over EUR 15 billion a year in jobs, food, and other services for the people of Europe. 2012 marks both the 20th anniversary of the most important international multilateral agreement on Biodiversity, the UN's Convention on Biological Diversity and of the most important EU piece of legislation on nature and biodiversity, the EU's Habitats Directive. As today, 22 May, is international biodiversity day, it provides an ideal opportunity to examine the state of protected areas today and the many benefits they provide.

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Over the last decades, continuous urban expansion at rates much higher than population growth has resulted in a massive urban footprint on Europe – fragmenting rural space, blocking ecosystem services and increasing the demand for transport and energy.

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Soil is the earth's living skin and provides us with essential services for life in our planet: production of food; infiltration and cleansing of water and protection against flooding; habitat for plants; areas for recreation and mental health; micro climate regulation, etc. It is such a crucial resource that it can't be ignored. However, particularly in urban areas, soil is being sealed off with increasing housing and infrastructure.

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The shortcomings of GDP as a measure of economic and social wellbeing have been recognised for decades. Now the economic and environmental crises have created the political momentum for a radical revision of national accounting methods.

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