Valuing and restoring biodiversity and ecosystem services
Valuing and restoring biodiversity and ecosystem services is necessary to develop tools to guide decisions, inform and implement policies on environment, water, health, climate, disaster risk reduction, agriculture, forest, protected areas management, bioeconomy, blue economy, maritime spatial planning, and responsible business practices. The continued degradation of the ecosystems and their services affects biodiversity, climate change, and enhance the risk of severe ecological disasters and pandemics.
The European Green Deal and its Biodiversity Strategy request urgent restoration efforts for damaged aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems to increase biodiversity and deliver a wide range of ecosystem services.
The contribution of ecosystems to human wellbeing and the economy is not properly accounted for in market transactions, planning, and investment decisions: social and economic co-benefits of healthy ecosystems are often disregarded. Natural capital accounts need to be developed and mainstreamed. Investments on R&I will also prepare the ground for scaling up and speeding up the implementation of technological, societal and nature-based solutions (NBS). NBS support vital ecosystem services, biodiversity and biomass provision, as well as access to fresh water, clean soil, improved livelihoods, healthy diets and food safety and security from sustainable food systems. NBS deployment will also create green jobs and build resilience to climate change and natural disasters. Citizens, authorities, businesses, social partners and the research community must be engaged at local, regional, national and European levels.