An Action Plan for nature, people and the economy.

An Action Plan for nature, people and the economy is a policy at EU level aiming at rapidly improving practical implementation of the Nature Directives and accelerating progress towards the EU 2020 goal of halting and reversing the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services, including in relation to climate resilience and mitigation. The action plan covers four priority areas with 15 concrete actions.
The action plan lays down actions to improve the implementation of the Directives, their coherence with socio-economic objectives and engagement with national, regional and local authorities, stakeholders and citizens. Awareness of all stakeholders will be increased on the Nature Directives for better understanding of the legislation on the ground, and participatory approaches will be applied to encourage the full involvement of landowners and users. Knowledge and access to data necessary for implementation of the Directives will be improved. The linkage between nature protection and socio-economic activities will be emphasized and studies to improve recognition of how healthy ecosystems contribute to wellbeing and economic development will be supported by the Commission. Furthermore, monitoring and reporting across EU environmental legislation will be strengthened to improve the efficiency as well as the effectiveness of the Nature Directives. The Commission will work more closely with the Member States to facilitate and promote the conservation and sustainable use of nature as well as to strengthen Member States' compliance with the Nature Directives.
The action plan aims at making better use of the EU funding available and making nature more attractive for private investment, in order to tackle the decline in species and habitats associated with agriculture. The action plan proposes ways, such as increase in dedicated funding for nature and biodiversity which would allow higher investment in Natura 2000, to improve synergies with the common agricultural policy and other key EU policy sectors. The action plan seeks to strengthen the involvement of the public, stakeholders, local authorities and communities. Their awareness will be raised and local involvement and exchanges of knowledge will be promoted to give more recognition to good management practices in Natura 2000 areas. Moreover, the Commission will help young people to get directly involved in conserving nature and gain valuable expertise for their professional life.