What is the EU doing?

Biodiversity

What is the EU doing?

In 2001 European heads of government adopted an ambitious target to halt the loss of biodiversity by 2010. However, it took the EU another 5 years to adopt a plan of action - the Biodiversity Action Plan. The heart of the Plan is a series of legislative acts, the most important being the Birds and the Habitats Directives which together form the Natura 2000 network.

The implementation and enforcement of other pieces of legislation were expected to play an important role in meeting the 2010 target – namely the Water Framework Directive, the Environmental Impact Assessment and Strategic Environment Assessment Directive; and the Environmental Liability Directive.

Unfortunately, European Member States failed poorly to meet the 2010 target . In light of this failure, the EU’s biodiversity target and the Action Plan will now undergo a major overhaul. They are expected to be replaced by a new target for 2020 as well as a new set of tools and instruments that should ensure its delivery.

Please see the European Commission website on biodiversity:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature_biodiversity/index_en.htm

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