Home » SRU and WBW call for more EU funding for nature conservation

SRU and WBW call for more EU funding for nature conservation

euap

The German Advisory Council on the Environment (SRU) and the Scientific Advisory Board on Forest Policy (WBW) are calling for an independent and effective European nature conservation fund. This is the key recommendation contained in their newly-released joint statement.

Biodiversity in Europe is still being lost at an alarming rate, and in order to improve the status of flora and fauna and their habitats, effective nature conservation is more essential than ever. However, funding for this is woefully inadequate. At present, nature conservation in the EU does not have its own fixed budget – it is mainly funded through a variety of separate funds with different objectives. However, money is not even sufficient for implementing the current legal obligations.

“For the future, we require a funding instrument that is able to finance the needs of nature conservation in the European Union”, explains the Vice Chair of SRU, Prof Manfred Niekisch. “The best way to achieve this would be through an independent EU Nature Conservation Fund.” This fund should be administered under the leadership of nature conservation authorities.

The financial resources for such an EU nature conservation fund should be provided through the Common Agricultural Policy. “WBW and SRU are in agreement, though, that farmers and foresters should continue to receive EU funding, because they are important partners for nature conservation”, explains Prof Hermann Spellmann, Chair of WBW. But they must make concrete contributions to the maintenance of species and habitats. “In the next funding period from 2021, the principle of ‘Public money for public goods’ should finally be implemented”, concluded Manfred Niekisch.

The full statement is available on the SRU website.

For further information you can contact Dr. Julia Hertin, Tel: +49 30 263696-118,

E-mail: julia.hertin@umweltrat.de