▼C1 REGOLAMENT (UE) 2024/1991 TAL-PARLAMENT EWROPEW U TAL-KUNSILL ta1-24 ta’ Ġunju 2024 dwar ir-restawr tan-natura u li jemenda r-Regolament (UE) 2022/869 ▼B (Test b’rilevanza għaż-ŻEE)

(1)

It is necessary to lay down rules at Union level on the restoration of ecosystems to ensure the recovery of biodiverse and resilient nature across the Union territory. Restoring ecosystems also contributes to the Union’s climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation objectives.

(2)

The communication of the Commission of 11 December 2019 entitled ‘The European Green Deal’ (the ‘European Green Deal’) sets out an ambitious roadmap to transform the Union into a fair and prosperous society, with a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy, aiming to protect, conserve and enhance the Union’s natural capital, and to protect the health and well-being of citizens from environment-related risks and impacts. As part of the European Green Deal, the communication of the Commission of 20 May 2020 entitled ‘EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2023 Bringing nature back into our lives’ sets out the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030.

(3)

The Union and its Member States are parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (4). As such, they are committed to the long-term strategic vision, adopted at the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to that Convention on 18-29 October 2010 by Decision X/2 Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, that, by 2050, biodiversity is to be valued, conserved, restored and wisely used, maintaining ecosystem services, sustaining a healthy planet and delivering benefits essential for all people.

(4)

The Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted at the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity on 7-19 December 2022, sets out action-oriented global targets for urgent action over the decade to 2030. Target 1 is to ensure that all areas are under participatory, integrated and biodiversity inclusive spatial planning and/or effective management processes addressing land and sea use change; to bring the loss of areas of high biodiversity importance, including ecosystems of high ecological integrity, close to zero by 2030 while respecting the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities, as set out in the United Nations (UN) Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Target 2 is to ensure that, by 2030, at least 30 % of areas of degraded terrestrial, inland water, and marine and coastal ecosystems are under effective restoration, in order to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, ecological integrity and connectivity. Target 11 is to restore, maintain and enhance nature’s contributions to people, including ecosystem functions and services, such as the regulation of air, water and climate, soil health, pollination and reduction of disease risk, as well as protection from natural hazards and disasters, through nature-based solutions and/or ecosystem-based approaches for the benefit of all people and nature. The Global Biodiversity Framework will enable progress towards the achievement of the outcome-oriented goals for 2050.

(5)

The UN Sustainable Development Goals, in particular goals 14.2, 15.1, 15.2 and 15.3, refer to the need to ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands.

(6)

In its resolution of 1 March 2019, the UN General Assembly proclaimed 2021-2030 as the UN decade on ecosystem restoration, with the aim of supporting and scaling-up efforts to prevent, halt and reverse the degradation of ecosystems worldwide and raise awareness of the importance of ecosystem restoration.

(7)

The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 aims to ensure that Europe’s biodiversity will be put on the path to recovery by 2030 for the benefit of people, the planet, the climate and our economy. It sets out an ambitious EU Nature Restoration Plan with a number of key commitments, including a commitment to put forward a proposal for legally binding EU nature restoration targets to restore degraded ecosystems, in particular those with the most potential to capture and store carbon, and to prevent and reduce the impact of natural disasters.

(8)

In its resolution of 9 June 2021 on the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the European Parliament strongly welcomed the commitment to draw up a legislative proposal with binding nature restoration targets, and furthermore considered that in addition to an overall restoration target, ecosystem-, habitat- and species-specific restoration targets should be included, covering forests, grasslands, wetlands, peatlands, pollinators, free-flowing rivers, coastal areas and marine ecosystems.

(9)

In its conclusions of 23 October 2020, the Council acknowledged that preventing further decline of the current state of biodiversity and nature will be essential, but not sufficient to bring nature back into our lives. The Council reaffirmed that more ambition on nature restoration is needed, as proposed by the new EU Nature Restoration Plan, which includes measures to protect and restore biodiversity beyond protected areas. The Council also stated that it awaited a proposal for legally binding nature restoration targets, subject to an impact assessment.

(10)

The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 sets out a commitment to legally protect a minimum of 30 % of the land, including inland waters, and 30 % of the sea in the Union, of which at least one third should be under strict protection, including all remaining primary and old-growth forests. The criteria and guidance for the designation of additional protected areas by Member States (the ‘Criteria and Guidance’), developed by the Commission in 2022, in cooperation with Member States and stakeholders, highlight that if the restored areas comply or are expected to comply, once restoration produces its full effect, with the criteria for protected areas, those restored areas should also contribute towards the Union targets on protected areas. The Criteria and Guidance also highlight that protected areas can provide an important contribution to the restoration targets in the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, by creating the conditions for restoration efforts to be successful. This is particularly the case for areas which can recover naturally by stopping or limiting some of the pressures from human activities. Placing such areas, including in the marine environment, under strict protection, will, in some cases, be sufficient to lead to the recovery of the natural values they host. Moreover, it is emphasised in the Criteria and Guidance that all Member States are expected to contribute towards meeting the Union targets on protected areas set out in the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, to an extent that is proportionate to the natural values they host and to the potential they have for nature restoration.

(11)

The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 sets out a target of ensuring that there is no deterioration in conservation trends or in the status of protected habitats and species and that at least 30 % of species and habitats not currently in favourable status will fall into that category or show a strong positive trend towards falling into that category by 2030. The guidance developed by the Commission in cooperation with Member States and stakeholders to support meeting these targets highlights that maintenance and restoration efforts are likely to be required for most of those habitats and species, either by halting their current negative trends by 2030 or by maintaining current stable or improving trends, or by preventing the decline of habitats and species with a favourable conservation status. That guidance further emphasises that those restoration efforts primarily need to be planned, implemented and coordinated at national or regional level and that, in selecting and prioritising the species and habitats to be improved by 2030, synergies with other Union and international targets, in particular environmental or climate policy targets, are to be sought.

(12)

The Commission’s Report on the state of nature in the European Union of 15 October 2020 (the ‘2020 State of Nature Report’) noted that the Union has not yet managed to stem the decline of protected habitat types and species whose conservation is of concern to the Union. That decline is caused mostly by the abandonment of extensive agriculture, intensifying management practices, the modification of hydrological regimes, urbanisation and pollution as well as unsustainable forestry activities and species exploitation. Furthermore, invasive alien species and climate change represent major and growing threats to native Union fauna and flora.

(13)

The European Green Deal will lead to a progressive and profound transformation of the economy of the Union and its Member States, which in turn will have a strong bearing on the Union’s external action. It is important that the Union uses its trade policy and extensive network of trade agreements to engage with partners on the protection of the environment and biodiversity also globally, while promoting a level playing field.

(14)

It is appropriate to set an overarching objective for ecosystem restoration to foster economic and societal transformation, the creation of high-quality jobs and sustainable growth. Biodiverse ecosystems such as wetland, freshwater, forest as well as agricultural, sparsely vegetated, marine, coastal and urban ecosystems deliver, if in good condition, a range of essential ecosystem services, and the benefits of restoring degraded ecosystems to good condition in all land and sea areas far outweigh the costs of restoration. Those services contribute to a broad range of socio-economic benefits, depending on the economic, social, cultural, regional and local characteristics.

(15)

The UN Statistical Commission adopted the System of Environmental Economic Accounting - Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA) at its 52nd session in March 2021. SEEA EA constitutes an integrated and comprehensive statistical framework for organising data about habitats and landscapes, measuring the extent, condition and services of ecosystems, tracking changes in ecosystem assets, and linking that information to economic and other human activity.

(16)

Securing biodiverse ecosystems and tackling climate change are intrinsically interlinked. Nature and nature-based solutions, including natural carbon stocks and sinks, are fundamental for fighting the climate crisis. At the same time, the climate crisis is already a driver of terrestrial and marine ecosystem change, and the Union needs to prepare for the increasing intensity, frequency and pervasiveness of its effects. The Special Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on the impacts of global warming of 1,5 oC pointed out that some impacts may be long-lasting or irreversible. The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report states that restoring ecosystems will be fundamental in helping to combat climate change and also in reducing risks to food security. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) in its 2019 Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services considered climate change a key driver of change in nature, and it expected impacts of climate change to increase over the coming decades, in some cases surpassing the impact of other drivers of ecosystem change such as changed land and sea use.

(17)

Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council (5) sets out a binding objective of climate neutrality in the Union by 2050 and negative emissions thereafter, and to prioritise swift and predictable emission reductions and, at the same time, enhance removals by natural sinks. The restoration of ecosystems can make an important contribution to maintaining, managing and enhancing natural sinks and to increasing biodiversity while fighting climate change. Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 also requires relevant Union institutions and the Member States to ensure continuous progress in enhancing adaptive capacity, strengthening resilience and reducing vulnerability to climate change. It also requires Member States to integrate adaptation in all policy areas and promote ecosystem-based adaptation and nature-based solutions. Nature-based solutions are solutions that are inspired and supported by nature, that are cost-effective, and that simultaneously provide environmental, social and economic benefits and help build resilience. Such solutions bring more, and more diverse, nature and natural features and processes into cities, landscapes and seascapes, through locally adapted, resource-efficient and systemic interventions. Nature-based solutions need to therefore benefit biodiversity and support the delivery of a range of ecosystem services.

(18)

The communication of the Commission of 24 February 2021 entitled ‘Forging a climate-resilient Europe - the new EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change’ emphasises the need to promote nature-based solutions and recognises that cost-effective adaptation to climate change can be achieved by protecting and restoring wetlands and peatlands as well as coastal and marine ecosystems, by developing urban green spaces and installing green roofs and walls and by promoting and sustainably managing forests and farmland. Having a greater number of biodiverse ecosystems leads to higher resilience to climate change and provides more effective forms of disaster reduction and prevention.

(19)

Union climate policy is being revised in order to follow the pathway set out in Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions (emissions after deduction of removals) by at least 55 % compared to 1990 levels by 2030. In particular, Regulation (EU) 2023/839 of the European Parliament and of the Council (6) aims to strengthen the contribution of the land sector to the overall climate ambition for 2030 and aligns objectives regarding accounting of emissions and removals from the land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector with related policy initiatives on biodiversity. That Regulation emphasises the need for the protection and enhancement of nature-based carbon removals, for the improvement of the resilience of ecosystems to climate change, for the restoration of degraded land and ecosystems, and for rewetting peatlands. It further aims to improve the monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and removals of land subject to protection and restoration. In that context, it is important that ecosystems in all land categories, including forests, grasslands, croplands and wetlands, are in good condition in order to be able to capture and store carbon effectively.

(20)

As indicated by the communication of the Commission of 23 March 2022 entitled ‘Safeguarding food security and reinforcing the resilience of food systems’, geo-political developments have further underlined the need to safeguard the resilience of food systems. Evidence shows that restoring agro-ecosystems has positive impacts on food productivity in the long-term, and that the restoration of nature acts as an insurance policy to ensure the Union’s long-term sustainability and resilience.

(21)

In the final report of the Conference on the Future of Europe of May 2022, citizens call on the Union to protect and restore biodiversity, the landscape and oceans, eliminate pollution and to foster knowledge, awareness, education and dialogues on environment, climate change, energy use, and sustainability.

(22)

The restoration of ecosystems, coupled with efforts to reduce wildlife trade and consumption, will also help prevent and build up resilience to possible future communicable diseases with zoonotic potential, therefore decreasing the risk of outbreaks and pandemics, and contribute to support the Union’s and global efforts to apply the One Health approach, which recognises the intrinsic connection between human health, animal health and a healthy and resilient nature.

(23)

Soils are an integral part of terrestrial ecosystems. The communication of the Commission of 17 November 2021 entitled ‘EU Soil Strategy for 2030 Reaping the benefits of healthy soils for people, food, nature and climate’ outlines the need to restore degraded soils and enhance soil biodiversity. The Global Mechanism, a body set up under the United Nations Convention to combat desertification in those countries experiencing serious drought and/or desertification, particularly in Africa (7), and the secretariat of that Convention have established the Land Degradation Neutrality Target Setting Programme to assist countries to achieve land degradation neutrality by 2030.

(24)

Council Directive 92/43/EEC (8) and Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (9) aim to ensure the long-term protection, conservation and survival of Europe’s most valuable and threatened species and habitats as well as the ecosystems of which they are part. Natura 2000, which was established in 1992 and is the largest coordinated network of protected areas in the world, is the key instrument implementing the objectives of those two Directives. This Regulation should apply to the European territory of the Member States to which the Treaties apply, thereby aligning with Directives 92/43/EEC and 2009/147/EC and also with Directive 2008/56/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (10).

(25)

The Commission has developed a framework and guidance for the determination of good condition of habitat types protected under Directive 92/43/EEC and the determination of sufficient quality and quantity of the habitats of species falling within the scope of that Directive. Restoration targets for those habitat types and habitats of species can be set based on that framework and guidance. However, such restoration will not be enough to reverse biodiversity loss and for all ecosystems to recover. Therefore, in order to enhance biodiversity at the scale of wider ecosystems, additional obligations should be established that are based on specific indicators.

(26)

Building on Directives 92/43/EEC and 2009/147/EC and in order to support the achievement of the objectives set out in those Directives, Member States should put in place restoration measures to ensure the recovery of protected habitats and species, including wild birds, across Union areas, also in areas that fall outside Natura 2000 sites.

(27)

Directive 92/43/EEC aims to maintain and restore, at favourable conservation status, natural habitats and species of wild fauna and flora of Union interest. However, it does not set a deadline to achieve that goal. Similarly, Directive 2009/147/EC does not establish a deadline for the recovery of bird populations in the Union.

(28)

Deadlines should be established for putting in place restoration measures within and outside Natura 2000 sites, in order to gradually improve the condition of protected habitat types across the Union and in order to re-establish them until the favourable reference area needed to reach favourable conservation status of those habitat types in the Union is reached. Member States should, as appropriate, until 2030, give priority to areas of habitat types that are not in good condition and that are located in Natura 2000 sites when putting in place restoration measures, given the essential role of those sites for nature conservation and the fact that under existing Union law there is already an obligation to put in place effective systems to ensure long-term effectiveness of the restoration measures in Natura 2000 sites. In order to give the necessary flexibility to Member States to make large scale restoration efforts, Member States should retain the possibility to put in place restoration measures in areas of habitat types that are not in good condition and that are located outside Natura 2000 sites, when it is justified by specific local circumstances and conditions. Moreover, it is appropriate to group habitat types according to the ecosystem to which they belong and set the time-bound and quantified area-based targets for groups of habitat types. This would allow Member States to choose which habitats to restore first within the group.

(29)

The requirements set for the habitats of species that fall within the scope of Directive 92/43/EEC and for habitats of wild birds falling within the scope of Directive 2009/147/EC should be similar, having special regard to the connectivity needed between both of those habitats in order for the species populations to thrive.

(30)

It is necessary that the restoration measures for habitat types are adequate and suitable for those habitat types to reach good condition and favourable reference areas are established as swiftly as possible, with a view to reaching favourable conservation status of those habitat types. It is important that the restoration measures are those necessary to meet the time-bound and quantified area-based targets. It is also necessary that the restoration measures for habitats of the species are adequate and suitable to reach sufficient quality and quantity as swiftly as possible with a view to reaching favourable conservation status of the species.

(31)

Restoration measures put in place under this Regulation to restore or maintain certain habitat types listed in Annex I, such as grasslands, heath or wetland habitat types, could in certain cases require the removal of forest in order to reinstall conservation-driven management, which might include activities such as mowing or grazing. Nature restoration and halting deforestation are both important and mutually reinforcing environmental objectives. The Commission will develop guidelines, as mentioned in recital 36 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 of the European Parliament and of the Council (11), in order to clarify the interpretation of the definition of ‘agricultural use’ set out in that Regulation, in particular in relation to the conversion of forest to land the purpose of which is not agricultural use.

(32)

It is important to ensure that the restoration measures put in place under this Regulation deliver a concrete and measurable improvement in the condition of the ecosystems, both at the level of the individual areas subject to restoration and at national and Union levels.

(33)

In order to ensure that the restoration measures are efficient and that their results can be measured over time, it is essential that the areas that are subject to such restoration measures, with a view to improving the condition of habitats that fall within the scope of Annex I to Directive 92/43/EEC, to re-establish those habitats and to improve their connectivity, show continuous improvement until good condition is reached.

(34)

It is also essential that the areas that are subject to restoration measures with a view to improving the quality and quantity of the habitats of species that fall within the scope of Directive 92/43/EEC, as well as habitats of wild birds falling within the scope of Directive 2009/147/EC, show a continuous improvement to contribute to the achievement of a sufficient quantity and quality of the habitats of such species.

(35)

It is important to ensure that the areas covered by habitat types falling within the scope of Directive 92/43/EEC that are in good condition across the European territory of Member States and of the Union as a whole are gradually increased until the favourable reference area for each habitat type is reached and at least 90 % at Member State level of such areas are in good condition, so as to allow those habitat types in the Union to reach favourable conservation status. Member States should, where duly justified and for habitat types that are very common and widespread in the Union and that cover more than 3 % of the European territory of the Member State concerned, be allowed to apply a percentage lower than 90 % for the area that is to be in good condition for individual habitat types listed in Annex I to this Regulation if that percentage would not prevent favourable conservation status for those habitat types, as determined pursuant to Article 1, point (e), of Directive 92/43/EEC, from being reached or maintained at national biogeographical level. If a Member State applies that derogation, the Member State should justify it in its national restoration plan.

(36)

It is important to ensure that the quality and quantity of the habitats of species that fall within the scope of Directive 92/43/EEC, as well as of habitats of wild birds falling within the scope of Directive 2009/147/EC, across the European territory of Member States and of the Union as a whole are gradually increased until they are sufficient to ensure the long-term survival of those species.

(37)

It is important that Member States put in place measures which aim to ensure that the areas covered by habitat types falling within the scope of this Regulation subject to restoration measures show a continuous improvement in condition until they reach good condition, and that Member States put in place measures which aim to ensure that once they have reached good condition, those habitat types do not significantly deteriorate, so as not to jeopardise the long-term maintenance or achievement of good condition. Not achieving those outcomes does not imply a failure to comply with the obligation to put in place measures suitable for reaching those outcomes. It is also important that Member States endeavour to make efforts with the aim of preventing significant deterioration of areas covered by such habitat types that are either already in good condition or that are not in good condition but are not yet subject to restoration measures. Such measures are important to avoid increasing the restoration needs in the future and should focus on areas of habitat types, as identified by the Member States in their national restoration plans, the restoration of which is necessary in order to meet the restoration targets. It is appropriate to consider the possibility of force majeure, such as natural disasters, which could result in the deterioration of areas covered by those habitat types, as well as unavoidable habitat transformations which are directly caused by climate change. Outside Natura 2000 sites it is appropriate to consider also the result of a plan or project of overriding public interest for which no less damaging alternative solutions are available. For areas subject to restoration measures, this should be determined on a case-by-case basis. For Natura 2000 sites, plans and projects are authorised in accordance with Article 6(4) of Directive 92/43/EEC. It is appropriate to ensure that Member States retain the possibility, in the absence of alternatives, to apply the non-deterioration requirement at the level of each biogeographical region of their territory for each habitat type and each habitat of species. Such possibility should be allowed under certain conditions, including that compensatory measures are taken for each significant deterioration occurrence. Where, as a desired result of a restoration measure, an area is transformed from one habitat type falling within the scope of this Regulation to another habitat type falling within the scope of this Regulation, the area should not be considered to have deteriorated.

(38)

For the purposes of the derogations from the obligations of continuous improvement and non-deterioration outside Natura 2000 sites under this Regulation, plants for the production of energy from renewable sources, their connection to the grid, the related grid itself and storage assets, should be presumed by the Member States as being of overriding public interest. Member States should be able to decide to restrict the application of that presumption in duly justified and specific circumstances, such as for reasons related to national defence. In addition, Member States should be able to exempt such renewable energy projects from the obligation that no less damaging alternative solutions are available for the purposes of the application of those derogations, provided that the projects have been subject to a strategic environmental assessment or an environmental impact assessment. Considering such plants as being of overriding public interest and, where applicable, limiting the requirement to assess less damaging alternative solutions would allow such projects to benefit from a simplified assessment as regards the derogations to the assessment of overriding public interest under this Regulation.

(39)

Activities which have defence or national security as their sole purpose should be given utmost priority. Therefore, when putting in place restoration measures, Member States should be able to exempt areas used for such activities, if those measures are deemed to be incompatible with the continued military use of the areas in question. In addition, for the purpose of the application of the provisions of this Regulation on derogations from the obligations of continuous improvement and non-deterioration outside Natura 2000 sites, Member States should be allowed to presume that plans and projects concerning such activities are of overriding public interest. Member States should also be able to exempt such plans and projects from the obligation that no less damaging alternative solutions are available. However, if they apply this exemption, Member States should be required to put in place measures, as far as reasonable and practicable, with the aim to mitigate the impact of those plans and projects on the habitat types.

(40)

The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 emphasises the need for stronger action to restore degraded marine ecosystems, including carbon-rich ecosystems and important fish spawning and nursery areas. That strategy also sets out that the Commission is to propose a new action plan to conserve fisheries resources and protect marine ecosystems.

(41)

The marine habitat types listed in Annex I to Directive 92/43/EEC are defined broadly and comprise many ecologically different sub-types with different restoration potential, which makes it difficult for Member States to put in place appropriate restoration measures at the level of those habitat types. The marine habitat types listed in Annex I to that Directive should therefore be further specified by using relevant levels of the European nature information system (EUNIS) classification of marine habitats. Member States should establish favourable reference areas for reaching the favourable conservation status of each of those habitat types, in so far as those reference areas are not already addressed in other Union legislation. The group of marine soft sediment habitat types, corresponding to certain of the benthic broad habitat types specified under Directive 2008/56/EC, is widely represented in marine waters of several Member States. Member States should therefore be allowed to limit the restoration measures that are put in place gradually, to a smaller proportion of the area of these habitat types that are not in good condition, provided that this does not prevent good environmental status, as determined pursuant to Directive 2008/56/EC, from being achieved or maintained, taking into account in particular threshold values for descriptors for determining good environmental status referred to in points 1 and 6 of Annex I to that Directive, laid down in accordance with Article 9(3) of that Directive, for the extent of loss of these habitat types, for adverse effects on the condition of these habitat types and for the maximum allowable extent of those adverse effects.

(42)

Where the protection of coastal and marine habitats requires that fishing or aquaculture activities be regulated, the common fisheries policy (CFP) applies. Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (12) provides, in particular, that the CFP is to implement the ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management so as to ensure that negative impacts of fishing activities on the marine ecosystem are minimised. That Regulation also provides that the CFP is to endeavour to ensure that aquaculture and fisheries activities avoid degradation of the marine environment.

(43)

In order to achieve the objective of continuous, long-term and sustained recovery of biodiverse and resilient nature, Member States should make full use of the possibilities provided under the CFP. Member States have the possibility, within the scope of the exclusive competence of the Union with regard to conservation of marine biological resources, to take non-discriminatory measures for the conservation and management of fish stocks and the maintenance or improvement of the conservation status of marine ecosystems within the limit of 12 nautical miles. In addition, Member States that have a direct management interest, as defined in Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013, have the possibility to agree to submit joint recommendations for conservation measures necessary for compliance with obligations under Union environmental law. Where a Member State includes conservation measures necessary to contribute to the objectives of this Regulation in its national restoration plan and those conservation measures require the submission of joint recommendations, the Member State concerned should engage in consultation and submit those joint recommendations within a deadline that allows for their timely adoption before their respective deadlines, with a view to promoting the coherence between different policies on conservation of marine ecosystems. Such measures are to be assessed and adopted in accordance with the rules and procedures provided for under the CFP.

(44)

Directive 2008/56/EC requires Member States to cooperate bilaterally and within regional and sub-regional cooperation mechanisms, including through Regional Sea Conventions, namely the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment in the North-East Atlantic (13), the Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment in the Baltic Sea Area (14), the Convention for the Protection of Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean (15) and the Convention for the Protection of the Black Sea, signed in Bucharest on 21 April 1992, as well as, where fisheries measures are concerned, in the context of the regional groups established under the CFP.

(45)

It is important that restoration measures be put in place also for the habitats of certain marine species, such as sharks and rays, that fall within the scope of, for example, the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, signed in Bonn on 23 June 1979, or the Regional Sea Conventions’ lists of endangered and threatened species, but outside the scope of Directive 92/43/EEC, as they have an important function in the ecosystem.

(46)

To support the restoration and non-deterioration of terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and marine habitats, Member States have the possibility to designate additional areas as ‘protected areas’ or ‘strictly protected areas’, to implement other effective area-based conservation measures, and to promote private land conservation measures.

(47)

Urban ecosystems represent around 22 % of the land surface of the Union and constitute the area in which the majority of the citizens of the Union live. Urban green spaces include, inter alia, urban forests, parks and gardens, urban farms, tree-lined streets, urban meadows and urban hedges. Urban ecosystems, like the other ecosystems addressed in this Regulation, provide important habitats for biodiversity, in particular plants, birds and insects, including pollinators. They also provide many other vital ecosystem services, including natural disaster risk reduction and control such as for floods and heat island effects, cooling, recreation, water and air filtration, as well as climate change mitigation and adaptation. Increasing urban green space is an important parameter for measuring the increase of the ability of urban ecosystems to provide those vital services. Increasing green cover in a given urban area slows water run-off thus reducing river pollution risk from storm water overflow and helps keep summer temperatures down, building climate resilience, and provides additional space for nature to thrive. Increasing the level of urban green space will, in many cases, improve the health of the urban ecosystem. In turn, healthy urban ecosystems are essential for supporting the health of other key European ecosystems, for example by connecting natural areas in the surrounding countryside, improving river health away from the city, providing a haven and breeding ground for bird and pollinator species linked to agricultural and forest habitats, as well as providing important habitats for migrating birds.

(48)

Actions to ensure that the coverage of urban green spaces, in particular trees, will no longer be at risk of being reduced need to be strongly enhanced. In order to ensure that urban green spaces continue to provide the necessary ecosystem services, their loss should be stopped and they should be restored and increased, inter alia by integrating green infrastructure and nature-based solutions, such as green roofs and green walls, in the design of buildings. Such integration can contribute to maintaining and increasing not only the area of urban green space but also, if trees are included, the area of urban tree canopy cover.

(49)

Scientific evidence suggests that artificial light negatively impacts biodiversity. Artificial light can also impact human health. When preparing their national restoration plans under this Regulation, Member States should be able to consider to stop, reduce or remediate light pollution in all ecosystems.

(50)

The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 requires greater efforts to be made to restore freshwater ecosystems and the natural functions of rivers. The restoration of freshwater ecosystems should include efforts to restore the natural connectivity of rivers as well as their riparian areas and floodplains, including through the removal of artificial barriers, in order to support reaching of favourable conservation status for rivers, lakes and alluvial habitats and species living in those habitats protected by Directives 92/43/EEC and 2009/147/EC, and the achievement of one of the key objectives of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, namely, the restoration of at least 25 000 km of free-flowing rivers, as compared to 2020 when the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 was adopted. When removing barriers, Member States should primarily address obsolete barriers, which are those that are no longer needed for renewable energy generation, inland navigation, water supply or other uses.

(51)

In the Union, pollinators have dramatically declined in recent decades, with one in three bee species and butterfly species in decline and one in ten such species on the verge of extinction. Pollinators are essential for the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems, human wellbeing and food security, by pollinating wild and cultivated plants. The 2021 Report based on the output of the Integrated system for Natural Capital Accounting (INCA) project, jointly undertaken by the Commission services and the European Environment Agency (EEA),shows that almost EUR 5 000 000 000 of the Union’s annual agricultural output is directly attributed to insect pollinators.

(52)

With its communication of 1 June 2018, the Commission launched the EU Pollinators Initiative in response to calls from the European Parliament and from the Council to address the decline of pollinators. The progress report of 27 May 2021 on the implementation of that initiativeshowed that significant challenges remain in tackling the drivers of pollinator decline, including on the use of pesticides. Both the European Parliament, in its resolution of 9 of June, and the Council, in its conclusions of 17 December 2020 on the European Court of Auditors’ Special Report No 15/2020, have called for stronger action to tackle pollinator decline, the establishment of a Union-wide monitoring framework for pollinators, and clear objectives and indicators regarding the commitment to reverse the decline of pollinators. In its Special Report issued in 2020, the European Court of Auditors recommended that the Commission set up appropriate governance and monitoring mechanisms for actions to address threats to pollinators. In its communication of 24 January 2023, the Commission presented a revised EU Pollinators Initiative entitled ‘Revision of the EU Pollinators Initiative A new deal for pollinators’, which sets out actions to be taken by the Union and its Member States to reverse the decline of pollinators by 2030.

(53)

The proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the sustainable use of plant protection products aims to regulate one of the drivers of pollinator decline by prohibiting the use of pesticides in ecologically sensitive areas, many of which are covered by this Regulation, for example areas sustaining pollinator species which the European Red Lists of species classify as being threatened with extinction.

(54)

Sustainable, resilient and biodiverse agricultural ecosystems are needed to provide safe, sustainable, nutritious and affordable food. Biodiversity-rich agricultural ecosystems also increase agriculture’s resilience to climate change and environmental risks, while ensuring food safety and security and creating new jobs in rural areas, in particular jobs linked to organic farming as well as rural tourism and recreation. Therefore, the Union needs to improve the biodiversity of its agricultural lands, through a variety of existing practices that are beneficial to or compatible with biodiversity enhancement, including through the use of extensive agriculture. Extensive agriculture is vital for the maintenance of many species and habitats in biodiversity-rich areas. There are many extensive agricultural practices which have multiple and significant benefits on the protection of biodiversity, ecosystem services and landscape features, such as precision agriculture, organic farming, agro-ecology, agroforestry and low intensity permanent grassland. Such practices do not intend to stop agricultural land-use but rather to adapt this type of use for the benefit of the long-term functioning and productivity of the agricultural ecosystems. Financially attractive funding schemes for owners, farmers and other land-managers to voluntarily engage in such practices are important in delivering the long-term benefits of restoration.

(55)

Restoration measures need to be put in place to enhance the biodiversity of agricultural ecosystems across the Union, including in the areas not covered by habitat types that fall within the scope of Directive 92/43/EEC. In the absence of a common method for assessing the condition of agricultural ecosystems that would allow setting specific restoration targets for agricultural ecosystems, it is appropriate to set a general obligation to improve biodiversity in agricultural ecosystems and measure the fulfilment of that obligation on the basis of a selection of indicators out of the grassland butterfly index, the stock of organic carbon in cropland mineral soils or the share of agricultural land with high diversity landscape features.

(56)

Since farmland birds are well-known and widely recognised key indicators of the health of agricultural ecosystems, it is appropriate to set targets for their recovery. The obligation to meet such targets should apply to Member States, not to individual farmers. Member States should meet those targets by putting in place effective restoration measures on farmland, working with and supporting farmers and other stakeholders for their design and implementation on the ground.

(57)

High-diversity landscape features on agricultural land, including buffer strips, rotational or non-rotational fallow land, hedgerows, individual or groups of trees, tree rows, field margins, patches, ditches, streams, small wetlands, terraces, cairns, stonewalls, small ponds and cultural features, provide space for wild plants and animals, including pollinators, prevent soil erosion and depletion, filter air and water, support climate change mitigation and adaptation, and agricultural productivity of pollination-dependent crops. Productive features can also be considered as high-diversity landscape features under certain conditions.

(58)

The common agricultural policy (CAP) aims to support and strengthen environmental protection, including biodiversity. The policy has among its specific objectives to contribute to halting and reversing biodiversity loss, enhance ecosystem services and preserve habitats and landscapes. The new CAP conditionality standard Nr. 8 on Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions of Lands (GAEC 8), set out in Annex III to Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 of the European Parliament and of the Council (16), requires beneficiaries of area-related payments to have at least 4 % of arable land at farm level devoted to non-productive areas and features, such as land lying fallow, and to retain existing landscape features. The 4 % share that is to be attributed to compliance with the GAEC 8 standard can be reduced to 3 % if certain pre-requisites are met. That obligation will contribute to Member States reaching a positive trend in high-diversity landscape features on agricultural land. In addition, under the CAP, Member States have the possibility to set up eco-schemes for agricultural practices carried out by farmers on agricultural areas that may include maintenance and creation of landscape features or non-productive areas. Similarly, in their CAP strategic plans, Member States can also include agri-environment-climate commitments, including the enhanced management of landscape features going beyond the GAEC 8 standard or eco-schemes. Projects under the sub-programme ‘Nature and Biodiversity’ of the LIFE Programme, established by Regulation (EU) 2021/783 of the European Parliament and of the Council (17), will also help to put Europe’s biodiversity on agricultural land on a path to recovery by 2030, by supporting the implementation of Directives 92/43/EEC and 2009/147/EC as well as the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030.

(59)

Restoration and rewetting of organic soils, as defined in 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, in agricultural use, i.e. under grassland and cropland use, constituting drained peatlands help achieve significant biodiversity benefits, an important reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental benefits, while at the same time contributing to a diverse agricultural landscape. Member States can choose from a wide range of restoration measures for drained peatlands in agricultural use, spanning from converting cropland to permanent grassland and extensification measures accompanied by reduced drainage, to full rewetting with the opportunity of paludicultural use, or the establishment of peat-forming vegetation. The most significant climate benefits are created by restoring and rewetting cropland followed by the restoration of intensive grassland. To allow for a flexible implementation of the restoration target for drained peatlands under agricultural use, Member States should be able to count the restoration measures and rewetting of drained peatlands in areas of peat extraction sites as well as, to a certain extent, the restoration and rewetting of drained peatlands under other land uses, for example forest, as contributing to meeting of the restoration targets for drained peatlands under agricultural use. Where duly justified, if rewetting of drained peatland under agricultural use cannot be implemented due to considerable negative impacts on buildings, infrastructure, climate adaptation or other public interests, and it is not feasible to rewet peatlands under other land uses, it should be possible for the Member States to reduce the extent of the rewetting of peatlands.

(60)

In order to reap the full biodiversity benefits, restoration and rewetting of areas of drained peatland should extend beyond the areas of wetlands habitat types listed in Annex I to Directive 92/43/EEC that are to be restored and re-established. Data about the extent of organic soils as well as their greenhouse gas emissions and removals are monitored and made available by LULUCF sector reporting in national greenhouse gas inventories by Member States, submitted under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Restored and rewetted peatlands can continue to be used productively in alternative ways. For example, paludiculture, the practice of farming on wet peatlands, can include cultivation of various types of reeds, certain forms of timber, blueberry and cranberry cultivation, sphagnum farming and grazing with water buffaloes. Such practices should be based on the principles of sustainable management and aimed at enhancing biodiversity so that they can have a high value both financially and ecologically. Paludiculture can also be beneficial to several species which are endangered in the Union and can also facilitate the connectivity of wetland areas and of associated species populations in the Union. Funding for measures to restore and rewet drained peatlands and to compensate possible losses of income can come from a wide range of sources, including expenditure under the Union budget and Union financing programmes.

(61)

The new EU Forest Strategy for 2030, set out in the communication of the Commission of 16 July 2021, outlined the need to restore forest biodiversity. Forests and other wooded land cover over 43,5 % of the Union’s land space. Forest ecosystems that host rich biodiversity are vulnerable to climate change but are also a natural ally in adapting to and fighting climate change and climate-related risks, including through their carbon-stock and carbon-sink functions, and provide many other vital ecosystem services and benefits, such as the provision of timber and wood, food and other non-wood products, climate regulation, soil stabilisation and erosion control, and the purification of air and water.

(62)

Restoration measures need to be put in place to enhance the biodiversity of forest ecosystems across the Union, including in the areas not covered by habitat types falling within the scope of Directive 92/43/EEC. In the absence of a common method for assessing the condition of forest ecosystems that would allow for the setting of specific restoration targets for forest ecosystems, it is appropriate to set a general obligation to improve biodiversity in forest ecosystems and measure the fulfilment of that obligation on the basis of the common forest bird index and of a selection of other indicators, out of standing deadwood, lying deadwood, share of forests with uneven-aged structure, forest connectivity, stock of organic carbon, share of forests dominated by native tree species and tree species diversity.

(63)

When planning and putting in place the restoration measures necessary to enhance biodiversity in forest ecosystems and when setting satisfactory levels for biodiversity indicators for forests, Member States should take into account the risks of forest fire, based on local circumstances. Member States should make use of best practices to reduce such risks, particularly as described in the Commission’s Guidelines on land-based wildfire prevention issued in 2021.

(64)

The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 sets out a commitment to plant at least 3 billion additional trees in the Union by 2030, in full respect of ecological principles. The New EU Forest Strategy for 2030, set out in the communication of the Commission of 16 July 2021, includes a roadmap for the implementation of that commitment based on the overall principle of planting and growing the right tree in the right place and for the right purpose. An online tree counter is available as a tool to record contributions to and progress on the commitment and Member States should document trees planted in the tool. As set out in the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and in the roadmap in the New EU Forest Strategy for 2030, on 17 March 2023 the Commission issued Guidelines on biodiversity-friendly afforestation, reforestation and tree planting. Those Guidelines, which articulate the framework of ecological principles to consider, aim to contribute to the commitment and, through this, to support the implementation of this Regulation.

(65)

Restoration targets and obligations for habitats and species protected under Directives 92/43/EEC and 2009/147/EC for pollinators and for freshwater, urban, agricultural and forest ecosystems should be complementary and work in synergy, with a view to achieving the overarching objective of restoring ecosystems across the Member States’ land and sea areas. The restoration measures required to meet one specific target will, in many cases, contribute to meeting other targets or fulfilling other obligations. Member States should therefore plan restoration measures strategically with a view to maximising their effectiveness in contributing to the recovery of nature across the Union. Restoration measures should also be planned in such manner that they address climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation and the prevention and control of the impact of natural disasters, as well as land degradation. They should aim to optimise the ecological, economic and social functions of ecosystems, including their productivity potential, taking into account their contribution to the sustainable development of the relevant regions and communities. In order to avoid unintended consequences, Member States should also consider the foreseeable socio-economic impacts and estimated benefits of the implementation of the restoration measures. It is important that Member States prepare detailed national restoration plans based on the best available scientific evidence. Documented records on historic distribution and area, as well as on the projected changes to environmental conditions due to climate change, should inform the determination of favourable reference areas for habitat types. Furthermore, it is important that the public is given early and effective opportunities to participate in the preparation of the plans. Member States should take account of the specific conditions and needs in their territory, in order for the plans to respond to the relevant pressures, threats and drivers of biodiversity loss, and should cooperate to ensure restoration and connectivity across borders.

(66)

To ensure synergies between the different measures that have been, and are to be put in place to protect, conserve and restore nature in the Union, Member States should take into account, when preparing their national restoration plans: the conservation measures established for Natura 2000 sites and the prioritised action frameworks prepared in accordance with Directives 92/43/EEC and 2009/147/EC; measures for achieving good ecological and chemical status of water bodies included in river basin management plans prepared in accordance with Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (18); marine strategies for achieving good environmental status for all Union marine regions prepared in accordance with Directive 2008/56/EC; national air pollution control programmes prepared under Directive (EU) 2016/2284 of the European Parliament and of the Council (19); national biodiversity strategies and action plans developed in accordance with Article 6 of the Convention on Biological Diversity, as well as conservation measures adopted in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 and technical measures adopted in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2019/1241 of the European Parliament and of the Council (20).

(67)

In order to ensure coherence between the objectives of this Regulation and Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council (21), Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council (22) and Directive 98/70/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (23) as regards the promotion of energy from renewable sources, in particular, during the preparation of national restoration plans, Member States should take account of the potential for renewable energy projects to contribute towards fulfilling nature restoration objectives.

(68)

Considering the importance of addressing consistently the dual challenges of biodiversity loss and climate change, the restoration of biodiversity should take into account the deployment of renewable energy and vice versa. It should be possible to combine restoration activities and the deployment of renewable energy projects, wherever possible, including in renewables acceleration areas and dedicated grid areas. Directive (EU) 2018/2001 requires Member States to carry out a coordinated mapping for the deployment of renewable energy in their territory in order to identify the domestic potential and the available land surface, sub-surface, sea or inland water that are necessary for the installation of renewable energy plants and their related infrastructure, such as grid and storage facilities, including thermal storage, that are required in order to fulfil at least their national contributions towards the revised 2030 renewable energy target. Such necessary areas, including the existing plants and cooperation mechanisms, are to be commensurate with the estimated trajectories and total planned installed capacity by renewable energy technology set in the national energy and climate plans. Member States should designate a sub-set of such areas as renewables acceleration areas. Renewables acceleration areas are specific locations, whether on land or sea, that are particularly suitable for the installation of plants for the production of energy from renewable sources, where the deployment of a specific type of renewable energy is not expected to have significant environmental impacts, in view of the particularities of the selected territory. Member States are to give priority to artificial and built surfaces, such as rooftops and facades of buildings, transport infrastructure and their direct surroundings, parking areas, farms, waste sites, industrial sites, mines, artificial inland water bodies, lakes or reservoirs, and, where appropriate, urban waste water treatment sites, as well as degraded land not usable for agriculture.Directive (EU) 2018/2001 also establishes that Member States be allowed to adopt a plan or plans to designate dedicated infrastructure areas for the development of grid and storage projects that are necessary to integrate renewable energy into the electricity system, where such development is not expected to have a significant environmental impact, such an impact can be duly mitigated or, where that is not possible, compensated for. The aim of such areas is to be to support and complement the renewables acceleration areas. In the designation of renewables acceleration areas and dedicated infrastructure areas, Member States are to avoid protected areas and consider their national restoration plans. Member States should coordinate the development of national restoration plans with the mapping of areas that are required in order to meet at least their national contribution towards the 2030 renewable energy target and, where relevant, with the designation of the renewables acceleration areas and dedicated grid areas. During the preparation of the national restoration plans, Member States should ensure synergies with the build-up of renewable energy and energy infrastructure and with renewables acceleration areas and dedicated grid areas that have already been designated and ensure that the functioning of those areas, including the permit-granting procedures applicable in those areas provided for by Directive (EU) 2018/2001, remain unchanged.

(69)

In order to ensure synergies with restoration measures that have already been planned or put in place in Member States, the national restoration plans should recognise those restoration measures and take them into account. In light of the urgency signalled by the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report for taking action on the restoration of degraded ecosystems, Member States should implement those measures in parallel with the preparation of the restoration plans.

(70)

The national restoration plans and the measures to restore habitats, as well as the measures to prevent habitats from deteriorating, should also take into account the results of research projects relevant for assessing the condition of ecosystems, identifying and putting in place restoration measures, and monitoring purposes. Where appropriate, they should also take into account the diversity of situations in the various regions of the Union, in accordance with Article 191(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), such as social, economic and cultural requirements and regional and local characteristics, including population density.

(71)

It is appropriate to take into account the specific situation of the Union’s outermost regions, as listed in Article 349 TFEU, which provides for specific measures to support those regions. As envisaged in the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, particular focus should be placed on protecting and restoring the outermost regions’ ecosystems, given their exceptionally rich biodiversity value. At the same time, the associated costs for protecting and restoring those ecosystems and the remoteness, insularity, small size, difficult topography and climate of the outermost regions should be taken into account, in particular when preparing the national restoration plans. Member States are encouraged to include, on a voluntary basis, specific restoration measures in those outermost regions that do not fall within the scope of this Regulation.

(72)

The EEA should support Member States in preparing their national restoration plans, as well as in monitoring progress towards meeting the restoration targets and fulfilling the obligations. The Commission should assess whether the national restoration plans are adequate for meeting those targets and fulfilling those obligations, for fulfilling the Union’s overarching objectives to jointly cover, as a Union target, throughout the areas and ecosystems within the scope of this Regulation, at least 20 % of land areas, and at least 20 % of sea areas by 2030, and all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050, the objectives to restore at least 25 000 km of rivers into free-flowing rivers in the Union by 2030, as well as for contributing to the commitment of planting at least 3 billion additional trees in the Union by 2030.

(73)

The 2020 State of Nature Report has shown that a substantial share of the information reported by Member States in accordance with Article 17 of Directive 92/43/EEC and Article 12 of Directive 2009/147/EC, in particular on the conservation status and trends of the habitats and species they protect, comes from partial surveys or is based only on expert judgment. That report also showed that the status of several habitat types and species protected under Directive 92/43/EEC is still unknown. Filling in those knowledge gaps and investing in monitoring and surveillance are necessary in order to underpin robust and science-based national restoration plans. In order to increase the timeliness, effectiveness and coherence of various monitoring methods, monitoring and surveillance should make best possible use of the results of Union-funded research and innovation projects, new technologies, such as in-situ monitoring and remote sensing using space data and services delivered under the EGNOS, Galileo and Copernicus components of the Union Space Programme, established by Regulation (EU) 2021/696 of the European Parliament and of the Council (24). The EU missions ‘Restore Our Ocean and Waters’, ‘Adaptation to Climate Change’, and ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’, set out in the communication from the Commission of 29 September 2021 on European Missions, will support the implementation of the restoration targets.

(74)

Considering the particular technical and financial challenges associated with mapping and monitoring marine environments, Member States should be able, as a complement to information reported in accordance with Article 17 of Directive 92/43/EEC and in accordance with Article 17 of Directive 2008/56/EC, to use information about pressures and threats or other relevant information as a basis for extrapolation when assessing the condition of marine habitats listed in Annex II to this Regulation. It should also be possible to use such an approach as a basis for planning restoration measures in marine habitats in accordance with this Regulation. The overall assessment of the condition of marine habitats listed in Annex II to this Regulation should be based on the best available knowledge and latest technical and scientific progress.

(75)

In order to ensure the monitoring of the progress in implementing the national restoration plans, the restoration measures put in place, the areas subject to restoration measures and the data on the inventory of barriers to river continuity, a system should be introduced requiring Member States to set up, keep up-to-date and make accessible relevant data on results from such monitoring. The electronic reporting of data to the Commission should make use of EEA’s Reportnet system and should aim to limit the administrative burden on all entities as far as possible. To ensure an appropriate infrastructure for public access, reporting and data-sharing between public authorities, Member States should, where relevant, base the data specifications on those referred to in Directives 2003/4/EC (25), 2007/2/EC (26) and (EU) 2019/1024 (27) of the European Parliament and of the Council.

(76)

In order to ensure an effective implementation of this Regulation, the Commission should support Member States upon request through the Technical Support Instrument, established under Regulation (EU) 2021/240 of the European Parliament and of the Council (28), which provides for tailor-made technical support to design and implement reforms. The technical support provided under that instrument involves, for example, strengthening the administrative capacity, harmonising the legislative frameworks and sharing relevant best practices.

(77)

The Commission should report on the progress made by Member States towards meeting the restoration targets and fulfilling the obligations of this Regulation on the basis of Union-wide progress reports drawn up by the EEA as well as other analysis and reports made available by Member States in relevant policy areas such as nature, marine and water policy.

(78)

To ensure meeting the targets and fulfilling the obligations set out in this Regulation, it is of utmost importance that adequate private and public investments are made in restoration. Member States should therefore integrate in their national budgets expenditure for biodiversity objectives, including in relation to opportunity and transition costs resulting from the implementation of the national restoration plans, and reflect how Union funding is used. Regarding Union funding, expenditure under the Union budget and Union financing programmes, such as the LIFE Programme, the European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF), established by Regulation (EU) 2021/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council (29), the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF), both established by Regulation (EU) 2020/2220 of the European Parliament and of the Council (30), the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Cohesion Fund, both established by Regulation (EU) 2021/1058 of the European Parliament and of the Council (31) and the Just Transition Fund, established by Regulation (EU) 2021/1056 of the European Parliament and of the Council (32), as well as Horizon Europe – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, established by Regulation (EU) 2021/695 of the European Parliament and of the Council (33), contributes to biodiversity objectives with the ambition to dedicate 7,5 % in 2024, and 10 % in 2026 and in 2027 of annual spending under the multiannual financial framework for the years 2021 to 2027 laid down in Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2093 (34) (the ‘MFF 2021-2027’) to biodiversity objectives. The Recovery and Resilience Facility, established by Regulation (EU) 2021/241 of the European Parliament and of the Council (35), is a further source of funding for the protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems. With reference to the LIFE Programme, special attention should be given to the appropriate use of the strategic nature projects as a specific tool that could support the implementation of this Regulation, by way of mainstreaming available financial resources in an effective and efficient way.

(79)

The preparation of the national restoration plans should not imply an obligation for Member States to re-programme any funding under the CAP, the CFP or other agricultural and fisheries funding programmes or instruments under the MFF 2021-2027 in order to implement this Regulation.

(80)

A range of Union, national and private initiatives are available to stimulate private financing, such as the InvestEU Programme, established by Regulation (EU) 2021/523 of the European Parliament and of the Council (36), which offers opportunities to mobilise public and private finance to support, inter alia, the enhancement of nature and biodiversity by means of green and blue infrastructure projects, and carbon farming as a green business-model. Funding nature restoration measures on the ground, through private or public financing, including result-based support and innovative schemes such as carbon removal certification schemes, could be promoted. Private investment could also be incentivised through public investment schemes, including financial instruments, subsidies and other instruments, provided State aid rules are complied with.

(81)

To ensure the implementation of this Regulation, adequate private and public investments for nature restoration measures are essential. Therefore, the Commission should, within 12 months from the date of entry into force of this Regulation and in consultation with Member States, present a report with an analysis identifying any gaps in implementing this Regulation. That report should be accompanied, where appropriate, by proposals for adequate measures, including financial measures to address the gaps identified, such as the establishment of dedicated funding and without prejudging the prerogatives of the co-legislators for the adoption of the multiannual financial framework post 2027.

(82)

According to settled case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, under the principle of sincere cooperation laid down in Article 4(3) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), it is for the courts of the Member States to ensure judicial protection of a person’s rights under Union law. Furthermore, Article 19(1) TEU requires Member States to provide remedies sufficient to ensure effective judicial protection in the fields covered by Union law. The Union and the Member States are parties to the UN Economic Commission for Europe Convention on access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters (37) (the ‘Aarhus Convention’). Under the Aarhus Convention, Member States are to ensure that, in accordance with the relevant national legal system, members of the public concerned have access to justice.

(83)

Member States should promote a fair and cross-society approach in the preparation and implementation of their national restoration plans. They should put in place the necessary measures to engage local and regional authorities, landowners and land users and their associations, civil society organisations, business community, research and education communities, farmers, fishers, foresters, investors and other relevant stakeholders and the general public, in all phases of the preparation, review and implementation of the national restoration plans, and to foster dialogue and the diffusion of science-based information about biodiversity and the benefits of restoration.

(84)

Pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, CAP strategic plans are meant to contribute to the achievement of, and be consistent with, the long-term national targets set out in or deriving from, the legislative acts listed in Annex XIII to that Regulation. This Regulation should be taken into account when, in accordance with Article 159 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, the Commission reviews, by 31 December 2025, the list set out in Annex XIII to that Regulation.

(85)

In line with the commitment in the 8th Environment Action Programme, set out in Decision (EU) 2022/591 of the European Parliament and of the Council (38), Member States are to phase out environmentally harmful subsidies at national level, making the best use of market-based instruments and green budgeting and financing tools, including those required to ensure a socially fair transition, and supporting businesses and other stakeholders in developing standardised natural capital accounting practices.

(86)

In order to ensure the necessary adaptation of this Regulation, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission in respect of supplementing this Regulation by establishing and updating a science-based method for monitoring pollinator diversity and populations and in respect of amending Annexes I to VII to this Regulation by adapting to technical and scientific progress the groups and lists of habitat types, the list of marine species, the list of species used for the common farmland bird index, the description, unit and methodology of biodiversity indicators for agricultural ecosystems and forest ecosystems and the list of examples of restoration measures, to take into account experience gained from the application of this Regulation or to ensure consistency with the EUNIS habitat types. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out impact assessments and appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level, in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making (39). In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member States’ experts, and their experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts.

(87)

In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission in respect of specifying the methods for monitoring the indicators for agricultural ecosystems listed in Annex IV to this Regulation and the indicators for forest ecosystems listed in Annex VI to this Regulation, establishing guiding frameworks for setting the satisfactory levels for urban green space, for urban tree canopy cover in urban ecosystems, for pollinators, for biodiversity indicators for agricultural ecosystems listed in Annex IV to this Regulation and for indicators for forest ecosystems listed in Annex VI to this Regulation, establishing a uniform format for the national restoration plans, and establishing the format, structure and detailed arrangements for reporting data and information to the Commission electronically. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council (40).

(88)

In order to allow for a rapid and effective response when an unforeseeable, exceptional and unprovoked event occurs that is outside the control of the Union, with severe Union-wide consequences on the availability of land required to secure sufficient agricultural production for Union food consumption, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission in respect of the temporary suspension of the application of the relevant provisions of this Regulation to the extent and for such period as is strictly necessary, up to a maximum of 12 months, while preserving the objectives of this Regulation. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.

(89)

The Commission should carry out an evaluation of this Regulation. Pursuant to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making, that evaluation should be based on the criteria of efficiency, effectiveness, relevance, coherence and value added and should provide the basis for impact assessments of options for further action. In addition, the Commission should assess the need to establish additional restoration targets, based on common methods for assessing the condition of ecosystems not covered by Articles 4 and 5 of this Regulation, taking into account the most recent scientific evidence.

(90)

Regulation (EU) 2022/869 of the European Parliament and of the Council (41) should be amended accordingly.

(91)

Since the objectives of this Regulation, namely to ensure the long-term and sustained recovery of biodiverse and resilient ecosystems, across the European territory of the Member States, through restoration measures to be put in place by the Member States to collectively meet a Union target for the restoration of land areas and sea areas by 2030 and all areas in need of restoration by 2050, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States but can rather, by reason of the scale and effects of the action, be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 TEU. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives,