Episode 1: The proposed EU Restoration Law:  A Game Changer in the Landscape?

In June 2022, the European Commission published its proposal for a Nature Restoration Law. It is the first continent-wide, comprehensive law of its kind.The proposal combines an overarching restoration objective for the long-term recovery of  nature in the EU’s land and sea areas with binding restoration targets for specific habitats and species. These measures should cover at least 20% of the EU’s land and sea areas by 2030, and ultimately all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050.

Restoring wetlands, rivers, forests, grasslands, marine ecosystems, and the species they host will help:

• increase biodiversity
• secure and value the services nature does for free, such as cleaning our water and air, pollinating crops, and protecting us from floods
• limit global warming
• build up Europe’s resilience and strategic autonomy, reducing the impacts of  disasters and

The law is currently with the European Parliament. Once adopted, it has the potential to be a model legislation for restoration around the world.

The webinar will present the key features of the law and discuss its game-changing potential from multiple angles.

Session plan: 

• Moderator to introduce speakers
• Bettina, from EC, to present background of the law, key features and the process from now onwards – about 12 minutes
• Nick Brown, Oxford University  – Some comments on the key features / targets – 6-8 minutes
• Mirey Atallah, UNEP, – Comments on legislating restoration within the context of the Decade for Ecosystem Restoration, 6-8 minutes
• Karen Sudmeier, UNCCD – Comments in the context of the new push for nature based solutions for climate change and disaster risk reduction, 6-8 minutes
• Q & A
• Conclusions

Potential partners: 

European commission and decade for ecosystem restoration