The European Union is approaching the halfway point of implementing its Biodiversity strategies to 2030Published in May 2020 as a central pillar of the European Green Deal, this strategy aims to: to put Europe's biodiversity on the path to renewal by 2030, for the benefit of people, the climate and the planet. Biodiversity and the services it provides support human life and well-being, for example by regulating air and water quality, as well as providing food, energy and medicines.

According to the latest evaluation report, prepared by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre and the European Environment Agency, key measures have been taken. Although significant steps have been taken in developing and adopting policies to reduce impacts on biodiversity, so far were not sufficient to halt biodiversity loss and reverse the trend of its decline.

The report analyzes 29 different sub-goals strategy in terms of progress observed so far and the likelihood of their fulfilment by 2030. Findings from the EU Biodiversity Strategy Actions Tracker show that half of the shares, which were requested under the four pillars of the strategy – protecting areas, restoring ecosystems, enabling transformative change and external action – are completedMost of the remaining actions are in the process of being implemented. These actions include, for example, the introduction of legislation such as Nature Restoration Regulation, as well as addressing implementation gaps in existing policies.

As it stands now, the EU is not responsible for most of the 15 sub-goals that could be evaluated, is moving in the right direction. Progress is being made on 10 targets related to measures to mitigate human pressures on biodiversity. These include, for example: designating protected areas at sea and on land, reducing the use of pesticides and fertilizers, switching to organic farming, increasing tree planting and improving the sustainability of fisheriesOn the other hand, the situation is stagnant for three sub-goals and for the two sub-targets related to the state of biodiversity, they are negative trends. Populations of common birds and pollinators continue to decline. For the remaining 14 targets, it was not possible to assess the current status for lack of data.

In relation to future targets by 2030, the EU is currently is not on track to meet any of the 13 sub-goals that could be evaluatedFor the remaining 16 sub-goals hindered by lack of relevant data in the possibility of assessing whether the EU is on track to meet them. Of the 13 assessed sub-goals, The EU could still meet nine targets by 2030if the pace of change will accelerateFor example, compared to the pace observed so far, the pace of designation of new protected areas and conversion to organic farming would have to be accelerated. tripleto stay on course towards 2030. However four of the evaluated sub-goals are unlikely to be metThese include efforts to halt the decline in species conservation status, reverse pollinator losses, reduce soil nutrient losses by 50 %, and reduce fertilizer use by 20 %.

Meeting the strategy's objectives would require stronger enforcement of existing environmental policies, including full implementation of the EU Nature Restoration RegulationFuture work, partly carried out through the Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity, will focus on closing remaining monitoring gaps a providing a complete overview on the state of the 2030 strategy. These efforts to strengthen and integrate monitoring will be crucial for policymakers.

Overall, the report suggests that while significant steps have been taken under the EU Biodiversity Strategy, the pace of progress must accelerateto meet the 2030 targets and to effectively address the negative trends that still persist. Spring