Nature restoration is covered under pillar 2 of the EU-BDS 2030. Priorities include bringing nature back to agricultural land, restoring soil ecosystems, increasing forested land, restoring marine and freshwater ecosystems, and greening urban and peri-urban areas. Its ambitious EU Nature Restoration Plan for 2030 (EU-NRP) included a proposal for legally binding restoration targets. This led to the adoption of the Proposal for a Nature Restoration Law (NRL) in 2022, designed to put all natural and semi-natural ecosystems on the path to recovery by 2030. Its targets include those based on existing legislation (for wetlands, forests​, grasslands, river and lakes, heath & scrub​, rocky habitats and dunes) and restoring marine habitats such as seagrass beds and sediment bottoms as well as the habitats of iconic marine species such as dolphins and porpoises, sharks and seabirds. The NRL will be supported by the New EU Forest Strategy for 2030, the Farm to Fork Strategy, and several actions under the common fisheries policy and other sectors.

Key commitments under the Nature Restoration Law:

• For terrestrial, coastal and freshwater as well as marine ecosystems: restoring at least 30% of the area of each habitat type not in good condition by 2030, at least 60 % by 2040, and at least 90 % by 2050. This includes habitats of all threatened species listed in the Habitats Directive, as well as others
• For habitat types not covered by the Habitats Directive, the NRL lays down the following specific measures:
  • For urban ecosystems: no net loss of urban green space and urban tree canopy cover by 2030, a minimum of 3% increase by 2040 and of 5% by 2050 in all cities and in towns and suburbs, as well as minimal 10% tree canopy cover by 2050, all relative to 2021 levels
  • For rivers and floodplains: removing river barriers to enable at least 25,000 km of free-flowing rivers by 2030
  • For pollinator populations: reversing their decline by 2030 and achieving thereafter an increasing trend, measured every three years after 2030 until satisfactory levels are achieved
  • For agricultural ecosystems: implementing restoration measures for enhancing biodiversity, including (a) achieving increasing trends of each of the following indicators: (i) grassland butterfly index, (ii) organic carbon stock in cropland mineral soils, and (iii) share of agricultural land with high-diversity landscape features;  (b) restoration targets for common farmland bird populations, and (c) restoration targets for rewetting drained peatlands
  • For forest ecosystems: implementing restoration measures for enhancing biodiversity and achieving increasing trends of each of the following indicators: (i) standing deadwood, (ii) lying deadwood, (iii) share of forests with uneven-aged structure, (iv) forest connectivity, (v) common forest bird index, and (vi) organic carbon stock

In addition to these NRL commitments, pillar 2 of the EU-BDS 2030 includes restoration commitments such as planting three billion new trees in full respect of ecological principles, remedying contaminated soil sites, restoring red-listed species threatened by invasive alien species, reducing fertiliser use, banning chemical pesticides in sensitive areas, achieving good environmental status for sensitive marine species and habitats, and reducing or eliminating the by-catch of species to allow recovery.

Nature-based solutions (NBS) play a key role in biodiversity restoration while providing multiple benefits for climate change mitigation and adaptation, and creating new employment opportunities in rural areas. They form a core ingredient of the EU-BDS 2030, the new EU Climate Adaptation Strategy, the European Climate Law, as well as other EU policies. More background on EU investment in NBS is available here.