Cohesion policy: protecting nature and biodiversity
Why invest in nature
for regional development?
The
health and strength of our economies depend to a large extent on the health and
strength of our natural environment and ecosystems. Nature forms the foundation
of our food and energy systems and provides air, water, and raw materials.
Restoring nature and conserving biodiversity not only makes economic sense but
it also provides other benefits to regions and cities such as absorbing heat in
urban centres, providing water retention and recreation.
Europe is currently not on
track to halt biodiversity loss by 2020. The
underlying causes of biodiversity loss (e.g. urban sprawl, intensive
agriculture, pollution and invasive species) will probably persist, and the
impact of climate change is even projected to intensify. Cohesion policy investments
support the EU's nature and biodiversity policies, for instance by strengthening the Natura 2000 network of protected
areas. Such investments also
contribute to EU objectives in the fields of water quality, air quality and
climate change adaptation, which in turn are important for regional development.
In
addition, under its commitment to better regulation, the Commission adopted an action plan for nature, people and the
economy in
2017 to improve the implementation of the Habitats and Birds Directives (the backbone of the EU's biodiversity policy). The action plan aimed to increase the awareness of cohesion
policy funding opportunities and improve the synergies with other sources of
finance.
Cohesion policy
support for 2014-2020
EU cohesion policy is a key instrument to support Member States’
investment in biodiversity, nature and green infrastructure. In the investment
framework of the 2014-2020 period, Member States have allocated EUR 3.7 billion
of EU co-financing to this area. National financing adds to this, and also
leverages additional private funding. Cohesion policy is complemented by other
EU funding sources, such as LIFE. Almost 7 million hectares – roughly the
size of Latvia – of habitats are supported in order to attain a better
conservation status (for more details - see the section on common output indicators below).
The total
investments in two categories, i.e. (i) protection and enhancement of
biodiversity, nature protection and green infrastructure and (ii) protection,
restoration and sustainable use of Natura 2000 sites, are shown in the graph
below.
Tracking biodiversity...
However, the full range of investments that are indirectly related to biodiversity reach more than EUR 10 billion once the allocations to three other related interventions, indicated below, are taken into consideration:
- waste water treatment
- adaptation to climate change, prevention and management of climate risks
- development and promotion of tourism potential of natural areas
The methodology for tracking biodiversity based on the above named interventions, was agreed after the Cohesion policy legislation for 2014-2020 was adopted. More information on the tracking of biodiversity are available in the data story titled "Tracking cohesion policy biodiversity investments".
What is cohesion policy focusing on?
The scope for cohesion policy investments
is broad and will usually deliver both environmental gains and socio-economic benefits.
In many cases, they focus on the effective
management of Natura 2000 sites, following the Prioritised Action Frameworks (PAFs) that EU Countries are
required to develop under the Habitats Directive.
Cohesion policy investment can also target the promotion of natural heritage, for the
benefit of awareness raising, local development and sustainable tourism.
Support can be given, for instance, to walking tours, information displays,
visitor centres or other infrastructure.
Important research and innovation funding opportunities are available too. Priorities
related to nature and biodiversity are part of several Smart Specialisation Strategies, in which regions identified their strengths and capacities for
innovation. The Commission supports these
regions in the implementation of their strategies, for instance through the Smart Specialisation Platform.
Nature can also be supported
indirectly in other types of cohesion policy investment. Thanks to the mainstreaming
of the sustainable development principle, the use of ecosystem-based approaches and nature-based solutions has been
promoted horizontally. It has been applied, for instance, in investments
targeting climate change adaptation.
Examples of projects...
Naturavita, Croatia
"NATURAVITA" is a Cohesion Fund supported project in the Danube and Drava river basin in Osijek-Baranja County in Croatia which aims to ensure safe public access and pre-conditions for the sustainable management of natural resources, restoration and protection of wetland and floodplain forest areas in the protected and Natura 2000 areas. It will be achieved by demining, establishing forest fighting infrastructure, forest regeneration activities, monitoring and biodiversity increase. The overall project budget is € 49.6 million with implementation time planned until mid-2023.
Roads for nature, Poland
Cohesion policy
supported the "Roads for Nature'' project that creates roadside habitats as ecological corridors for a hermit beatle in Poland. The main goal was to restore and protect roadside oak alleys connecting
isolated subpopulations of the hermit
beetle. This was achieved by planting
native tree species along the roads - creating new corridors and supplementing and rebuilding the existing ones.
These corridors also enable migration and development of other new organisms.
As a result of the project, 70 ecosystems were combined, including 33 located
in Natura 2000 areas.
PANACeA, Interreg Med
ERDF co-financed project "PANACeA" is being implemented in the framework of the Interreg Mediterranean Programme. It aims to streamline networking and management efforts in Mediterranean Protected Areas as a mechanism to enhance nature conservation and protection in the region. PANACeA builds a community of nature conservation stakeholders in the Mediterranean and acts as the Communication and Capitalisation instrument of the projects dealing with protection of biodiversity and natural ecosystems.
Emphasis on urban green
infrastructure
When preparing
the 2014-2020 cohesion policy programmes, the Commission emphasised the
benefits of supporting green infrastructure. This refers to a network of
(semi-)natural areas, designed and managed to deliver a wide range of
ecosystem services and protect biodiversity in both rural and urban settings.
It brings multiple environmental and climate benefits, fosters a better quality
of life and human well being and provides job opportunities. Green infrastructure
investments can be a cost-effective alternative or be complementary to 'grey' infrastructure
and intensive land use change, for instance for flood prevention. Green infrastructure measures
have been particularly considered in the context of urban development
programmes, for instance with regard to green walls and roofs, river banks, parks
and other green urban spaces.
Green infrastructure in the Ruhr region, Germany
The Ruhr region in North
Rhine-Westphalia has become a champion of green infrastructure. Cohesion
policy has supported several projects in the framework of a
long-term strategy aimed at transforming the region, including the restoration
of the river system, the construction of a bicycle network, the creation of
landscape parks, and the conversion of former steel sites and railroads into
lakes and green neighbourhoods. This is embedded in nearly three decades of EU
funding to support the structural change of this old industrial region into a
modern, green metropolis.
Continuous cooperation between local administrations within the Ruhr region has been crucial to this project’s success. City partnerships mean that local knowledge and resources can be shared.- Michael Schwarze-Rodrian, Ruhr Regional Association
Testing innovative urban solutions
Since 2016, the Commission has
been working directly with cities for better funding, better policies and better
knowledge, in the context of the Urban Agenda for the EU. One of the specific
partnerships has been working on nature. It developed an action plan for the
efficient and sustainable use of land and other natural resources to help
create compact, liveable and inclusive European cities for everyone and
promoting the uptake of nature-based solutions.
In that context, the Commission
provides direct funding to a number of cities to test novel nature-based
solutions, within the Urban Innovative Actions Initiative. For instance, in the Italian city of Prato we are developing ‘urban jungles’, high-densely green re-designed urban areas that multiply the natural
capacity of plants to abate pollutants and restore the soil. These jungles are
turning Prato’s marginal and decaying areas into life-giving green active hubs.
Supporting nature across borders
A
significant part of the allocations to nature and biodiversity is implemented
through the European Territorial Cooperation programmes, or Interreg. This
provides critical funding opportunities for biodiversity conservation across
regions, as ecosystems naturally cross borders.
In addition, the macro-regional strategies (the EU Strategies for the Baltic Sea Region, Danube Region, Adriatic
and Ionian Region and Alpine Region) put a strong focus on those EU Countries and
regions that are critically linked through shared natural resources. The
Strategy for the Danube Region, for instance, has made the protection of the
Danube sturgeon as one of its strategic tasks. The aim is not only to save this
unique fish from extinction, but also to improve the economic situation of
local communities in the middle and lower stretches of the Danube who
previously benefited from sturgeon fishing.
Many Interreg projects facilitate
and promote the exchange of good practices and the development of joint
strategies, including in those EU Countries where the available EU funding
for this topics is generally lower. Regions in North East France, Wallonia and Flanders have used Interreg support to launch a cross-border action plan to save wild bees, which
are under severe threat although they perform an indispensable function in
pollinating crops. The SAPOLL project organises awareness-raising, for instance
in schools, supports monitoring by volunteer networks and stimulates academic
cooperation.
The European Green Belt project transforms the former ‘iron curtain’ into an ecological network.
Stretching over 12,000 kilometres from the North to the South of Europe, it
connects more than 4,000 protected areas in 16 EU Countries and 8 eight other
countries. In doing so, it creates a corridor of habitats for a great variety
of species. At the same time, more than 150 organisations come together in an
initiative tailored to the economic, social and cultural needs of local
communities.
Supporting nature in the outermost regions
80% of the EU’s biodiversity is hosted by its nine
outermost regions – Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Mayotte, Reunion
Island and Saint-Martin (France), Canary Islands (Spain), the Azores and
Madeira (Portugal). These regions provide the EU and the world with unique heritage,
and several economic sectors directly depend on it, including tourism,
fisheries, forestry and agriculture. Through its programmes, EU cohesion policy
provides specific support for the conservation of these natural assets.
How can you get support?
Cohesion policy programmes provide funding opportunities for all EU Countries and regions until 2020. EU Countries run the programmes via national or regional "Managing Authorities". These give information on the programmes, select projects and assist implementation. Visit the Commission’s Regional Policy Atlas to read about the programmes and find useful contact points.
The chart below also allows you to find where financial allocations are planned and how they are progressing, by country and by programme (including regional programmes). You can search for a relevant programme near you by filtering by country.
Progress in the surface of habitats protected under the common output indicator
One common indicator was proposed for 2014-2020 covering the surface areas of protected and conserved habitats. The chart below allows you to check the common indicator and the progress made by EU Countries per year.
Specific national and regional indicators are also used by some programme (although they cannot be aggregated).
Further reading
- Regional policy (programmes and Managing Authorities): https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/
- Project examples: https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/projects/
- Open Data Platform: https://cohesiondata.ec.europa.eu/
- EU nature and biodiversity policy: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/
Contact
We are REGIO's sustainable growth team. Contact us at: REGIO-G1-HEAD-OF-UNIT@ec.europa.eu
(European Commission, Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy, Smart and Sustainable Growth)