The EC designs an "ambitious, but balanced" biodiversity strategy
The Biodiversity Strategy presented this Wednesday by the European Commission (EC) proposes an "ambitious, but balanced, roadmap that takes into account all interests with the common objective of reinforcing the fight against the loss of biodiversity."
This has been assured to Efe by the General Director of the Environment of the EC, Daniel Calleja, who has emphasized the importance of the "opportunity element", as its adoption coincides with a social, economic and health crisis that "will highlight the need for more nature. "
The new Biodiversity Strategy aims to combat unsustainable use of land and marine resources, overexploitation of natural resources, pollution and the proliferation of invasive species, among other measures.
Furthermore, it is a crucial element in the recovery plan of the European Union after COVID-19, since it will strengthen the resilience of countries to future pandemics and will provide immediate business and investment opportunities for economic recovery.
Calleja was pleased that in Europe "there is a general awareness" about the problem of the degradation of biodiversity and about the idea that investing in nature is investing in economic development; "It is getting through the message," he asserted.
"We are in a moment of serious threat to nature, with highly degraded ecosystems, polluted oceans, loss of 60 percent of our vertebrates in 40 years and a million species in danger of extinction," said the director of the Environment of the EC.
He recalled that the international community is called to agree on biodiversity objectives ahead of the 15th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), to be held in Kunming (China), foreseeably in early 2021.
"Europe wants to lead that global strategy with measurable objectives until 2030, achieve an agreement equivalent to the Treaty of Paris and set an example and inspire the rest of the international community," said Daniel Calleja.
It has broken down some of the proposals, such as the effective protection of 30 percent of the earth's surface and 30 percent of Europe's seas, with specific objectives for the most valuable ecosystems.
It also plans to improve the management of the spaces of the Natura 2000 Network, restore 25,000 kilometers of rivers in the territory of the EU or mobilize 3,000 million euros in initiatives aimed at civil society.
For Calleja, "financing is very important" and that is why another of the strategy's objectives is "to attract the private sector, with the message that investing in nature is profitable."
"An effective strategy must contain measures to stop the five causes of biodiversity loss, which are climate change, pollution, overexploitation of resources, changes in land use and invasive species," he said.
