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Published: 04 Oct 2010
Europe is still far from meeting its 2010
target and we risk missing future targets
unless we change the way we are managing
our environment. The European Environment
Agency’s new biodiversity report based on
SEBI 2010 indicators assesses the state
of biodiversity in Europe and makes recommendations
for improving policy effectiveness.
The Agency's new report
"Assessing biodiversity in Europe –
the 2010 report" considers the status
and trends of Pan-European biodiversity
in a range of ecosystems, and the implications
of these trends for biodiversity management
policy and practice. It makes use of "Streamlining
European 2010 Biodiversity Indicators"
(SEBI 2010) as well as other relevant national
and regional information sources.
"For change to occur, we first need
broader public understanding and appreciation
of biodiversity and its role in sustaining
our societies and economies. Secondly, policymakers
need to understand what is driving biodiversity
loss and how we can halt it,' said Professor
Jacqueline McGlade, Executive Director of
the EEA 'This cannot be made without embedding
environment in the economy.'
European biodiversity
has declined dramatically in the last two
centuries. Today, most of Europe's biodiversity
exists within a mosaic of heavily managed
land and highly exploited seascapes, largely
linked to agricultural, forestry and fishery
practices across the region. Major threats
include habitat destruction and fragmentation,
establishment and spread of invasive species,
pollution from agricultural runoff, increasing
water abstraction, over exploitation, and
the increasing impact of climatic change.
The policies adopted
and implemented at international and European
levels have had positive impacts on some
aspects of biodiversity. For example, forest
cover has significantly increased in the
last two decades across northern Europe
and the status of many waterways has improved
as a result of reduced industrial and agricultural
pollution. Recovery plans implemented for
many threatened species have also had some
success.
Key recommendations
Conservation measures, where implemented
successfully, have had positive impacts.
However, a large proportion of habitats
and species still have an unfavourable conservation
status, indicating the need to intensify
conservation efforts.
Conservation activities
alone are insufficient to address biodiversity
loss because many of the causes emanate
from sectors beyond the control of conservation
interventions. Other sectors impacting biodiversity,
such as trade, agriculture, fisheries, transport,
health, tourism and the financial sector
must take the economic value of biodiversity
into account and be reshaped to support
biodiversity conservation.
Policies and measures
to address biodiversity loss must be formulated
to address all the pressures and threats
on an ecosystem, disregarding administrative
boundaries on land and at sea, while ensuring
cooperation across economic sectors.
Filling knowledge gaps
through further monitoring, research and
assessment will enable better decision-making
and policies on European biodiversity.
Policy framework should
be complemented by efforts to raise public
awareness aimed at encouraging individual
action and to boost public opinion for changes
in policy.
