Interreg Euro-MED Mission for Natural Heritage is moving towards a position paper on restoration. On October 8, a webinar took place to unite the 4 Working Groups to coordinate efforts on the EU Nature Restoration Regulation & Global Biodiversity Framework implementation. The conclusions of the webinar, in the form of preliminary policy positions, will contribute to the drafting of a position paper document that will be presented and enriched during the 2024 Annual Institutional Dialogue event to be held in Málaga, Spain, on the 28th and 29th November, for its final approval.
The organizing partners of this webinar were: Plan Bleu, Marine Institute, MedCities, IUCN Center for Mediterranean Cooperation, Region of Crete, Region of Sardinia, Ministry of Spatial Planning and Urbanism from Montenegro. With the assistance of Eco-Union.
The EU Nature Restoration Law (NRL) represents a landmark initiative aimed at reversing biodiversity loss and promoting ecosystem recovery across member states. As the world faces increasing environmental challenges, the degradation of ecosystems has emerged as a critical issue, particularly in areas where land-sea interactions are complex. Coastal regions and the hinterland, where human activities intersect with natural processes, are particularly vulnerable to habitat loss, pollution, and climate change impacts, threatening both biodiversity and the livelihoods dependent on these ecosystems.
At the beginning of the event, to explain the objectives of the webinar, Marilena Mochianaki Karampatzaki (Region of Crete) and Caterina Praticò (CoNISMa) spoke.The plenary session was dedicated to EU Political update and key features of the EU Nature Restoration Law (NRL) & the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), with these points: Objectives and key provisions of the NRL; The GBF & links with NRL; targets addressed by Wgs; Policy process (present and future); Challenges and constraints in implementation (governance, financing, capacity, multilevel challenges, policy coherence, stakeholder engagement, etc.); Implications and significance for nature restoration in the Mediterranean region.
Each participant then chose to join one of these four working groups: Area-based Conservation, facilitated by IUCN facilitators; Overcoming Local Barriers for Climate Change Adaptation, energized by facilitators from Med-Cities and Eco-Union; Evaluating the Socio-Economic Value of Biodiversity, energized by the Marine Institute of Croatia, and Ecosystem Resilience through the promotion of Ecosystem Restoration and Nature-based Solutions, energized by Plan Bleu facilitators. Next, WG leaders presented to the plenary the preliminary conclusions from each thematic session.
In the final stretch of this event, for drafting process of the position paper and working session during the 2024 Annual Institutional Dialogue, and for the introduction to the clusters and activities that will take place in Malaga, those who spoke were Jeremie Fosse, from Eco- Union; Vicky Georgieva (Association of Parks in Bulgaria); Annelies Broekman (CREAF); and Caterina Practicò, from CoNISMa.
