Tuesday (1 September) marks the deadline for EU countries to submit their draft national restoration plans under the EU Nature Restoration Law, a key part of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. So far, only six countries have done so, according to an internal European Commission database.
The law aims to build resilience to future threats like forest fires, food insecurity or disease outbreaks, but also to restore degraded ecosystems. But beyond environmental objectives, nature restoration is also an economic challenge.
Costs of inaction are visible by the year, and this time around, it has been through successive heatwaves, droughts and forest fires impossible to ignore.
“Europe doesn’t need more box-ticking,” said the #RestoreNature coalition in a statement.
France and Spain have had their biggest losses yet. As of 1 September, 643,085 hectares have burnt since the start of the year.
