The mid-term review (2015) of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 concluded the EU was not on track to deliver for all but one of its six biodiversity targets. Target 5, combating invasive alien species, had both actions implemented, but only limited progress made on the target. Efforts were thereafter stepped up guided by the EU Roadmap for enhanced implementation (2016). However, despite increased efforts, the Evaluation (2022) of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 concluded that targets were not achieved. The EU fell short of achieving its headline target to halt and reverse biodiversity loss in the EU by 2020, and did not fully achieve any of the other targets. Many pressures on ecosystems are stable or increasing, exacerbated by the growing impacts of climate change and invasive alien species. At the same time, progress made in certain areas shows that a persistent implementation effort can be effective. These include pollution reduction, air and water quality, increased share of organic farming, forest expansion, positive trends in some species assessments, and a number of marine fish stocks reaching sustainable levels. The evaluation was based on five criteria: effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, coherence and EU added value. Overall, the Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 did not succeed in establishing a robust governance framework that could ensure urgent implementation efforts at scale, sufficient financing commitment as well as ownership and responsibility by all actors for delivering the biodiversity targets. In the agricultural sector in particular, the formulation of targets and actions made it difficult to measure progress.

The new EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2030 (EU-BDS 2030) responds to these weaknesses, drawing upon key lessons emerging from evaluations and impact assessments of the previous strategy, as well as implementation experience and exchanges with stakeholders. The new strategy provides a comprehensive EU framework with concrete, time-bound and measurable targets and a strong focus on win-win solutions for biodiversity, health, climate and development, as well as a range of policy instruments to ensure their delivery, with clearly assigned responsibility for implementation.

The first two pillars of the new strategy (EU-BDS 2030) are devoted respectively to protecting and restoring nature, as well as reducing direct pressures such as pollution and invasive species, along with several other policies. Its EU Nature Restoration Plan for 2030 includes proposing legally binding nature restoration targets, which engendered the flagship proposal (2022) for a nature restoration law. Its 3rd pillar aims to enable the transformative change necessary for addressing underlying indirect drivers of biodiversity loss. Its 4th pillar, which focuses on global biodiversity, also addresses multiple drivers. In addition, a number of other EU policies target specific drivers of biodiversity loss.

The following pages describe EU policies addressing each of the 4 categories of biodiversity conservation measures. However, it should be noted that there are significant overlaps between protection, restoration and the reduction of direct and indirect pressures on biodiversity. Click on page titles to access the following pages:

EU policies addressing biodiversity protection

EU policies addressing biodiversity restoration

EU policies addressing direct drivers of biodiversity loss

EU policies addressing indirect drivers of biodiversity loss