FISE is an entry point for sharing information with the forest community on Europe’s forest environment, its state and development. FISE brings together data, information and knowledge gathered or derived through key forest-related policy drivers.
Biodiversity — Ecosystems
Subtopics
Destruction and loss of biodiversity is as catastrophic as climate change
Biodiversity collectively describes millions of unique living organisms that inhabit Earth, and the interactions among them. They represent a vital element of our lives but are under continuous threat. The conservation status of more than 60% of species and habitats protected under the EU Habitats Directive is unfavourable. This has fundamental consequences for our society, economy and human health.
European protected sites
The map shows an overview of protected sites in Europe. The EU’s Natura 2000 network and the Bern Convention’s Emerald Network are ecological networks of protected areas, set up to ensure the survival of Europe's most valuable species and habitats. Information about protected areas designated at national levels is reported by the 38 countries of Eionet.
- Nationally designated areas (CDDA) provided by European Environment Agency (EEA)
- Natura 2000 data - the European network of protected sites provided by Directorate-General for Environment (DG ENV)
Do you take good photos? Do you enjoy spending time in nature? If your answer is ‘yes’ to both, you might have what it takes to win one of the cash prizes in the European Environment Agency’s (EEA) new ‘Well with Nature’ photo competition. Send us your best shots by 1 October 2022.
What is the carbon storage and sequestration potential of Europe’s many land and marine habitats? A first scoping analysis, published today by the European Environment Agency (EEA), found that forests and wetlands can play an important role in storing carbon but doing so should take account of potential impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services.
Today, the European Commission together with the European Environment Agency (EEA), are publishing a data tool — MapMyTree — for all organisations to join the pledge of planting three billion additional trees by 2030, register and map their planted trees to count the EU target. As part of the European Green Deal, the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 commits to planting at least 3 billion additional trees in the EU by 2030, in full respect of ecological principles. This would increase the EU forest area and resilience, enhance biodiversity, and help with climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Europe's seas are precious. Our quality of life, livelihoods and economies depend on them being in good condition. Our seas are home to many species, habitats and ecosystems. They also provide our societies with vital ecosystem services, including food, energy, clean air and climate change mitigation. However, through the continued unsustainable use of Europe’s seas, we have altered their physio-chemical environment, and their habitats and ecosystems. The resilience of our seas is eroding, while their ecosystems, habitats and biodiversity, and the services they provide are under significant threat. This briefing summarises the current state of biodiversity in Europe’s seas.
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Do you take good photos? Do you enjoy spending time in nature? If your answer is ‘yes’ to both, you might have what it takes to win one of the cash prizes in the European Environment Agency’s (EEA) new ‘Well with Nature’ photo competition. Send us your best shots by 1 October 2022.
What role can Europe’s land and marine habitats play in carbon storage and sequestration?
News 27 Apr 2022What is the carbon storage and sequestration potential of Europe’s many land and marine habitats? A first scoping analysis, published today by the European Environment Agency (EEA), found that forests and wetlands can play an important role in storing carbon but doing so should take account of potential impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services.
Today, the European Commission together with the European Environment Agency (EEA), are publishing a data tool — MapMyTree — for all organisations to join the pledge of planting three billion additional trees by 2030, register and map their planted trees to count the EU target. As part of the European Green Deal, the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 commits to planting at least 3 billion additional trees in the EU by 2030, in full respect of ecological principles. This would increase the EU forest area and resilience, enhance biodiversity, and help with climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Pesticides can end up in rivers, lakes and groundwaters, with potential to harm aquatic ecosystems and water quality. The European Environment Agency’s (EEA) new indicator, which aims to track Europe’s progress in reducing pesticides in waters, shows that excessive levels of pesticides have been recorded in a considerable share of European freshwaters.
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Living in a state of multiple crises: health, nature, climate, economy, or simply systemic unsustainability?
Article 15 Jun 2021From policy corridors to academic platforms, the world has been talking about global crises: a health crisis, an economic and financial crisis, a climate crisis and a nature crisis. Ultimately, they are all symptoms of the same problem: our unsustainable production and consumption. The COVID-19 shock has only revealed the systemic frailty of our global economy and society with all their inequalities.
EEA-Eionet Strategy 2021-2030: delivering data and knowledge to achieve Europe’s climate and environment ambitions
Article 15 Dec 2020Our joint Strategy indicates our direction of travel. It introduces a new way of working together and creating knowledge — more agile, more responsive, more pro-active, more actionable — befitting the challenges we will face and the knowledge we will need in the decade to come.
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Why do we need decisive action now to protect nature? What is at stake and how can we tackle the biodiversity crisis?
Europe's seas are precious. Our quality of life, livelihoods and economies depend on them being in good condition. Our seas are home to many species, habitats and ecosystems. They also provide our societies with vital ecosystem services, including food, energy, clean air and climate change mitigation. However, through the continued unsustainable use of Europe’s seas, we have altered their physio-chemical environment, and their habitats and ecosystems. The resilience of our seas is eroding, while their ecosystems, habitats and biodiversity, and the services they provide are under significant threat. This briefing summarises the current state of biodiversity in Europe’s seas.
Nature-based solutions in Europe: Policy, knowledge and practice for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction
Publication 15 Apr 2021Working with nature can help prevent the worst impacts of climate change, and biodiversity and ecosystem loss. Nature-based solutions offer ways to do this. Science and policy have begun to recognise their potential. The knowledge base is expanding rapidly, with gaps identified and plans to fill them. However, challenges for implementation remain at the local level, as demonstrated by the case studies in this report.
Protecting ecosystems and biodiversity are key policy targets in the EU’s biodiversity strategy for 2030 and the European Green Deal. EU and national policymaking require approaches to be developed to measure the extent and condition of ecosystems to improve their management. This briefing presents the EEA’s work on ecosystem extent accounts and pilot ecosystem condition accounts in the EU INCA project. Examples illustrate the potential use of ecosystem accounting results to design measures to protect and restore European ecosystems, e.g. in implementing the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030.
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