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Scientists Call for the Restoration of 20% Of EU’s Land and Seas by 2030, and All Areas in Need of Restoration by 2050
Declaration of Support
May 2023
The natural world is our life support system, and more than half of the global GDP depends on it. But we have destroyed much of Europe’s – and our planet’s – biodiversity through industrial and economic activity. If we don’t restore much of our degraded lands and seas, we will lose the benefits that ecosystems provide for free, with spiraling negative impacts to humanity. This is why the world’s nations (including the EU) agreed in 2022 to restore at least 30% of degraded habitats by 2030 under the Global Biodiversity Framework of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. In 2022, the European Commission proposed the first ever legislation to repair the European habitats that are in poor condition, and to bring back nature to all ecosystems, from forest and agricultural land to marine, freshwater and urban ecosystems. The aim is to cover at least 20% of the EU's land and seas by 2030 with nature restoration measures, and all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050. The law will scale up existing measures such as rewilding, returning trees, greening cities and infrastructure, and removing pollution to allow nature to recover. If the EU is to restore the health, productivity and resilience of its lands and seas, and have nature continue supporting European food security, employment, climate change mitigation, and the economy, it must approve and implement its Nature Restoration Law.
Available Now
By Enric Sala
Foreword by HRH The Prince of Wales
Introduction by Edward O. Wilson
In this inspiring manifesto, an internationally renowned ecologist makes a clear case for why protecting nature is our best health insurance, and why it makes economic sense.
Enric Sala wants to change the world—and in this compelling book, he shows us how. Once we appreciate how nature works, he asserts, we will understand why conservation is economically wise and essential to our survival.
Here Sala, director of National Geographic's Pristine Seas project (which has succeeded in protecting more than 5 million square kilometers of ocean), tells the story of his scientific awakening and his transition from academia to activism—as he puts it, he was tired of writing the obituary of the ocean.
His revelations are surprising, sometimes counterintuitive: More sharks signal a healthier ocean; crop diversity, not intensive monoculture farming, is the key to feeding the planet.
Using fascinating examples from his expeditions and those of other scientists, Sala shows the economic wisdom of making room for nature, even as the population becomes more urbanized. In a sober epilogue, he shows how saving nature can save us all, by reversing conditions that led to the coronavirus pandemic and preventing other global catastrophes.
With a foreword from Prince Charles and an introduction from E. O. Wilson, this powerful book will change the way you think about our world—and our future.