Wetlands in the EU policy context

This paper provides an overview of the EU policy context relevant to wetlands, assessing EU legislations that support or counteract wetland conservation, restoration and sustainable use. We classify selected EU environmental and climate policies according to their impacts and reliance on wetlands and assess prevailing implementation weaknesses of their wetland-related aims. The second part of the assessment focusses on the new EU Nature Restoration Regulation, finding that it can serve as a focal point for synergetic action, promoting wetland restoration while enhancing benefits for biodiversity conservation, climate change adaptation and mitigation, flood risk management, water resilience and other policy objectives. The success of the Nature Restoration Regulation will depend on its effective implementation in EU Member States through ambitious and well-funded National Restoration Plans. To further improve policy coherence and enhance the health of wetlands in Europe, systemic changes are needed in policy sectors currently driving wetland degradation, including the Common Agricultural Policy. Nature and water policies in the EU are supportive of wetland conservation and rely on high quality wetlands to meet their aims. The CAP, as the biggest fund for land management, needs significantly better targeting to reduce continued wetland damage and promote wetland conservation. The EU Nature Restoration Regulation introduces legally binding, time-bound restoration targets, a legislative milestone for wetland restoration. The NRR’s success depends on political will, funding, and cross-sector coherence to effectively deliver synergies for biodiversity, climate, disaster risk reduction and water resilience.