FACE welcomes the new draft Nature Restoration Law, published by the European Commission on 22 June. This will be a significant step towards restoring nature across Europe. It is important that this is the first legislative act clearly aimed at the restoration of European nature, to restore 80% of European habitats that are in poor condition, and to return natural environments to all ecosystems, including forests, agricultural lands, and freshwater ecosystems.
The proposal, in the form of a draft regulation, defines several key concepts and sets legally binding nature restoration targets. This means that each Member State will have to develop its own nature restoration plans and carry out the work necessary to determine the restoration measures required to meet the targets and obligations set out in the law. This legislation will build on existing experience in the field of nature restoration and should be based on the good work done by European hunters, as set out in the FACE Biodiversity Manifesto. It is important that Member States actively involve stakeholders when developing restoration plans to ensure that the plans are properly adapted to national circumstances.
FACE believes that the legislation should provide significant benefits for small game in agricultural ecosystems. For example, targets have been set for an overall increase in biodiversity and a positive trend for grassland butterflies, farmland birds, and high-diversity landscape features on agricultural land. Regarding waterfowl, the targets for the restoration of wetlands, including peatlands and rivers, will also yield significant results.
Likewise, for both game and non-game species, restoration measures must be provided for the habitats of listed terrestrial, coastal, and freshwater species, which are necessary to improve the quality and quantity of these habitats, including their restoration, and to improve connectivity until sufficient quality and quantity of these habitats are reached.
National nature restoration plans must cover the period up to 2050 and be reviewed at least every 10 years. The European Commission will assess the draft national restoration plans within six months of receiving them. The proposal also sets out monitoring and reporting obligations for Member States. (...)