Overall, across the European Union, 37% of terrestrial and freshwater habitats have been assessed as Vulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered. Mires and bogs, grasslands, freshwaters and coastal habitats in particular have experienced huge losses in extent and quality over the last 50 years. The loss and degradation of habitats and ecosystems has impacts on their biodiversity and the environmental services they deliver, undermining the benefits that flow from nature to people and the economy.
The European Union has committed to restore at least 15 % of degraded ecosystems by 2020 (Target 2 of the EU Biodiversity Strategy) – this is an important target to which the Endangered Landscapes Programme aims to contribute.
In a collection of short videos, filmed during a workshop to identify the 100 most important questions for landscape restoration in Europe, six participants from academia, NGOs, companies and private enterprise answer questions about the importance, challenges and good practice in landscape restoration.
“The European landscape of the future is a landscape where functions are mixed, where we build on and contribute to natural values and it is a landscape that inspires people” Erica ten Broeke
“Restoration is a key principle to bring Natural Capital back into landscapes. We should see restoration as an investment into our future and into the future of our children”. Aletta Bonn
“In terms of what is realistic for landscape restoration in Europe, it is a very crowded place… we need to change the terms of sharing landscapes… making landscapes where nature has more of a say in what happens and humans step aside”. Bill Adams
You can watch all the videos on the Endangered Landscapes Programme YouTube channel.
Those interviewed were:
Alexandros Karamanlidis, Regional Manager, Rewilding Europe
Bill Adams, Moran Professor of Conservation and Development, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge
Aletta Bonn, Professor and Head of Ecosystem Services, Helmholtz-Center for Environmental Research, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv)
Charlie Burrell, Founder, Knepp Wildland Project
Cy Griffin, European Programme Manager, Wetlands International
Erica ten Broeke, Project Development Manager, Commonland
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