In partnership with the JRC

Europe’s ecosystems face unrelenting pressures from land use and climate change, pollution, resource extraction and invasive alien species. Ensuring that ecosystems achieve or maintain a healthy state or a good condition is a key requirement to secure the sustainability of human activities and human well-being. As part of the evaluation of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020, the European Commission and the European Environment Agency made an assessment of the condition of Europe’s ecosystems. It shows little evidence of significant improvements in ecosystem condition, despite reductions in pressures. Putting these ecosystems on a path to recovery will require further reductions in these pressures, better implementation of existing legislation and large-scale ecosystem restoration.

This session will showcase the results of this study, and make the case for greater efforts to protect and restore our ecosystems, allowing them to continue delivering the wide range of services that are essential to the prosperity of the European Union and the well-being of its citizens.

Speakers:

Humberto Delgado Rosa, Director, Natural Capital, Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission

Giovanni De Santi, Director, Sustainable Resources, Joint Research Centre, European Commission

Hans Bruyninckx, Executive Director, European Environment Agency

Markus Erhard, Integrated Ecosystem Assessment Expert, European Environment Agency

Joachim Maes, Scientific Project manager, Land resources Unit, Joint research Centre, European Commission

Anne Teller, Senior Expert, Biodiversity Unit, Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission