EC sets scope for national natural resource restoration plans

In August 2024, Regulation (EU) 2024/1991 of the European Parliament and the Council on the restoration of natural resources(Nature Restoration Law) entered into force. It is an important piece of legislation that aims to restore the health and productivity of Europe’s environment.

In order to keep national natural resource recovery plans consistent, the European Commission(EC) has prepared proposals for their uniform format. As it points out, this is a pioneering example of using digital planning tools to reduce administrative burdens and reuse existing information, relying on a “first time” approach.

Now, until February 7, 2025, anyone can submit comments on the draft implementing regulation, which will set out uniform formats for national natural resource recovery plans. The European Commission invites interested parties to submit opinions, comments and proposals through a questionnaire published on its website. These will be taken into account in the development of the final form of this initiative.

Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the restoration of natural resources

On June 17, 2024. Regulation (EU) 2024/1991 of the European Parliament and the Council on the restoration of natural resources was adopted.

Its overarching goal is to contribute to the continuous, long-term and sustainable restoration of resilient and biodiverse nature in the European Union’s (EU) land and sea areas. In addition, member states have been required to put in place measures to contribute to:

• long-term and sustainable restoration of biodiverse and resilient nature;
• To achieve the EU’s climate change mitigation and adaptation goals;
• fulfillment of international obligations.

Obligation to prepare national natural resource recovery plans

In connection with the entry into force of Regulation (EU) 2024/1991 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the restoration of natural resources, European Union member states were obliged to develop and submit to the Commission national plans for the restoration of natural resources within 24 months of the entry into force of the aforementioned regulation. These documents are to specify, among other things, actions to achieve the previously described objectives. Examples of types of activities are included in Annex VII to the Regulation on the restoration of natural resources, which lists, among other things:

• Improving hydrological conditions by increasing the quantity, quality and dynamics of surface water and groundwater levels for natural and semi-natural ecosystems;
• Restoration of river meanders and reconnection of artificially cut off meanders or oxbow lakes;
• Removing longitudinal and transverse barriers such as embankments and dams, providing more space for river dynamics and restoring free-flowing sections;
• Restoration of river and lake beds and lowland watercourses, e.g., by removing artificial bottom fixation, optimizing substrate composition, improving or developing habitat cover;
• Establishment of riparian buffers, such as riparian forests, buffer zones, meadows or pastures;
• Wetland restoration by rewetting drained peatlands and removing structures;
• Drainage of peatlands or depolderization and cessation of peat extraction; reduction of grazing intensity where appropriate; and restoration of extensive grazing with livestock and extensive mowing systems where they have been abandoned;
• Restoration of natural sedimentation processes;
• Discontinuing or reducing the use of chemical pesticides, as well as chemical and animal manure fertilizers;
• Increasing the area of agricultural land under organic farming or agroforestry system, multi-species farming and crop rotation, integrated pest management and nutrient management, among others.

National plans will include all planned activities contributing to reconstruction, a timetable for their implementation, and associated financial resources.

Draft Executive Order

In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2024/1991, member countries have delegated implementing powers to the European Commission to, among other things, establish a uniform format for national natural resource recovery plans and the format, structure and detailed arrangements for the electronic transmission of data and information to the Commission.

To fulfill this commitment, a draft implementing act has been prepared and is currently under consultation. The regulation, through a dynamic and transparent instrument, is expected to guarantee legal certainty while significantly reducing the administrative burden on member states. It will avoid double reporting, facilitate the transfer of relevant data from other sources (if possible), and result in prioritizing user-friendliness.

The uniform but flexible format is intended to ensure that all stakeholders, including public authorities at the national, regional and local levels, as well as stakeholders (including citizens, farmers and businesses), can be informed and participate in reconstruction efforts.

The regulation will enter into force on the twentieth day after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union and, most importantly, will be fully and directly applicable in all European Union member states.

Why have a uniform format for national reconstruction plans

As the EC points out, a uniform format for national reconstruction plans:

• will allow national reconstruction plans to include all the information required under Regulation (EU) 2024/1991;
• will ensure that important information is presented in a clear and logical manner;
• will allow the use of digital planning tools to reduce administrative burdens and reuse existing information, taking a report once approach;
• will ensure that all member states prepare documents in the same structure, making them easier to compare;
• will allow faster aggregation and comparison of data across member states;
• will facilitate consistent evaluation of plans against common criteria and benchmarks, and thus allow for objective evaluation;
• will ensure that all relevant elements are included in each plan, helping to minimize confusion or misinterpretation;
• will allow the dissemination of best practices;
• Will contribute to improving stakeholder engagement;
• will provide a consistent framework for planning, monitoring and reporting, making it easier to track progress over time.

You can read more about the National Plan for the Reconstruction of Natural Resources in the article: National Plan for the Reconstruction of Natural Resources – work begins.

pic. main: Zdeněk Macháček / Unsplash