The national blueprints are a central tool for Member States to deliver the Nature Restoration Regulation’s objectives, which entered into force in August 2024. They are intended to help national authorities organise and scale up restoration action in a way that supports healthier ecosystems, and thereby strengthens resilience to drought, heatwaves, floods and wildfires, and helps safeguard the services that nature provides to people and the economy.
The plans contain information on how the country intends to meet each of the restoration targets up to 2030 and should provide a strategic overview of the targets and actions planned to 2040 and 2050. Another key element is the identification of potential synergies with other relevant EU policies and legislation, such as water policy and climate change, as well as within agricultural, forestry, marine and fisheries policies. This will help ensure that restoration measures are well coordinated and deliver substantial benefits not only for biodiversity, but also for other major EU policy areas.
Ambitious but flexible plans
The plans to be submitted at this stage are draft plans. Over the coming months, the Commission, with support from the European Environment Agency, will assess the drafts and provide observations to Member States. This assessment phase will be carried out in cooperation with national authorities and will help improve and refine the plans. Final national restoration plans are to be completed within one year.
The Regulation is designed to account for different national, regional and local circumstances in its implementation, including several flexibilities that allow Member States to tailor their plans to their specific ecological, geographic and socio-economic conditions. Member States can build on existing relevant policies and measures, helping to avoid duplication and making the process more efficient.
Source: EU Enviroment News
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