Our life insurance, our natural capital: an EU biodiversity strategy to 2020.

This Biodiversity Strategy sets forth strategies by 2020. The overall objectives of this policy are to reverse biodiversity loss and boost the EU's transition towards a resource efficient and green economy, by protecting and restoring biodiversity and associated ecosystem services, enhancing the positive contribution of agriculture, forestry and fisheries and reducing key pressures on EU biodiversity, and stepping up the EU’s contribution to global biodiversity.
In order to protect status of all species and habitats covered by EU nature legislation and achieve a significant and measurable improvement in their status, assessments on habitats and species will be strengthened. Furthermore, ecosystems and their services will be maintained and enhanced through the establishment of green infrastructure and restoration of degraded ecosystems. The integration in key sectors will be improved, specifically through targets and action to enhance the positive contribution of the agriculture, forest and fisheries sectors to biodiversity conservation and sustainable use. Sustainable forest management will be strengthened and the areas under agriculture across grasslands, arable land and permanent crops will be maximized in order to ensure the conservation of biodiversity and the status of species and habitats that depend on or are affected by agriculture and forestry. Healthy stocks will be ensured through fisheries management by preventing significant adverse impacts on other stocks, species and ecosystems.
The conservation and sustainable use of natural resources will be strengthened to improve the resource efficiency of EU's economy and reduce its dependence on natural resources from outside Europe. The biodiversity knowledge base will be improved to underpin policy with up-to-date scientific data and information. Moreover, mapping and assessment of ecosystem services will be strengthened to improve knowledge of the links between biodiversity and climate change, and the role of soil biodiversity in delivering key ecosystem services, such as carbon sequestration and food supply. Agro-environmental measures will be taken to support genetic diversity in agriculture and a strategy for the conservation of genetic diversity will be developed. The legal framework will be strengthened to ensure access to genetic resources and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their use.
Ecosystem-based approaches will be integrated into climate change mitigation and adaptation to offer cost-effective alternatives to technological solutions, while delivering multiple benefits beyond biodiversity conservation. Invasive alien species and their pathways will be identified and prioritized to prevent the introduction and establishment of new invasive alien species.