Biodiversity

Our Work

The EU has a well-established biodiversity conservation policy framework that has provided major benefits for biodiversity in Europe. IEEP has a strong track record of assessing and advising on the implementation, monitoring and enforcement of EU policy for biodiversity and ecosystem services. Our work, with partners, helps to strengthen the implementation of the EU Biodiversity Strategy, the Habitats and Birds Directives and the Natura 2000 network. We seek to improve our knowledge of the status of biodiversity in Europe and globally, and highlight the cost of policy inaction.

IEEP continues to be instrumental in developing nature conservation policy and other sectoral policies to support biodiversity and ecosystem services. We are advancing the Biodiversity Strategy objective of ‘no net loss’ of biodiversity, by identifying policy measures to avoid and minimise negative impacts on biodiversity, and to offset residual impacts tools.

IEEP has helped to establish a structured process to minimize harmful impacts of EU spending and maximise the biodiversity benefits through our work on ‘biodiversity proofing’ EU funding instruments such as those under the Common Agricultural Policy, Common Fisheries Policy, Cohesion Policy. Our work has also helped to develop policy measures to support the concept of green infrastructure, by assessing its potential costs and benefits, and identifying policies that could support its enhancement.

Latest in Biodiversity Policy & Instruments

  • Fitness Check of the Birds and Habitats Directives

    The Nature Directives (i.e. Birds Directive and Habitats Directive) are the key instruments of EU environmental policy; the Fitness Check support study, carried out by Milieu, IEEP and ICF for the European Commission DG-ENV, examined their effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, EU-added value and their coherence with the wider acquis.

  • The Manual: Chapter 13 - Sectoral policies

    This is a chapter of IEEP’s Manual of European Environmental Policy. This chapter sets out the development of some of the most important links between EU environmental policy and other policy areas, such as agriculture, forestry, fisheries, transport, trade, and so on.

  • Environmental policy and the UK’s review of the EU Balance of Competences

    The UK Government’s Balance of Competences review has now taken evidence on 25 subject areas, including the 6 with the most relevance for the Environment. We take stock of the IEEP’s contributions, and consider what a possible UK renegotiation might mean for the environment.