Nature is magic. What’s more, it is the basis for our existence. Without healthy ecosystems, there is no drinkable water, no clean air and no fertile soils.
Without nature, there is no farming. Without nature, there is no food. Without nature, we cannot withstand the impacts of climate change.
However, we are losing nature faster than ever. Globally, more than a million species are at risk. The extinction crisis threatens the very foundations of our economies and livelihoods.
Luckily, nature has an incredible capacity to bounce back. But it needs our active support.
We can bring back nature, and it is already happening in some places. Across the EU, people have successfully worked to restore our wetlands, forests, rivers and seas.
But a toxic coalition of conservatives, far right and some liberals is out to destroy nature, destroy farmers, and destroy our way of life.
They want to stop every effort to bring back nature. First, they tried to kill a new EU law to #RestoreNature. Now they are coming after existing EU nature laws.
We must stop them. We must defend nature and save our planet.
We successfully defended the nature restoration law - we will defend our other nature laws too.
Conservatives already have their next target in sight: they want to lower EU protections for key wildlife species like the wolf, bear and lynx. They say they worry about the wolf but in reality, they want to get rid of cranes, flamingos and bisons too, which have only just bounced back around Europe.
[insert voting card wolf resolution Nov 2022]
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To defend nature, we must stand firm against all coordinated attacks and expand EU protections of nature, in line with the EU’s international commitments.
This means:
- Effectively protect 30 percent of EU land and sea, and strictly protect 10 percent;
- Fully apply existing legislation, especially the EU’s Birds and Habitats Directives and Nature Restoration Law. Stop illegal culling of top predators and other infringements of EU nature laws;
- Adapt farming, forestry and fishing practices to protect and restore nature also outside protected areas;
- Ensure the EU budget provides sufficient funding for nature protection and restoration.