Protected areas and nature restoration
Protected areas on land and at sea form the basis for conserving biodiversity. They provide habitat for threatened species and shield ecosystems from human pressures. Protection also has effects beyond reserve boundaries: species recover within protected zones and spread into surrounding regions, with positive knock-on effects for agriculture and fisheries.
To protect more nature and restore existing ecosystems, sufficient space is needed. This calls for an integrated spatial approach in which nature, agriculture, energy and infrastructure are planned together and shifting habitats due to climate change are taken into account.
New protected areas do not arise by themselves; they must be carefully embedded in the wider landscape. Protected areas are biodiversity hotspots; around them, multifunctional landscapes can act as buffers and connections to biodiverse farmland and cities. This means pushing boundaries, literally and figuratively: using farmland more extensively, reducing pollution and nitrogen pressure, and creating space for natural processes. Protection only works when nature areas are connected so that plants and animals can move and ecosystems become more resilient.
In addition, sustained financing and good governance are essential. Protection and restoration require long-term investment in management, monitoring and knowledge. Governments can set the direction through subsidies, tax incentives and by embedding nature targets in spatial policy, while the financial sector also has a role to play by recognising restoration projects as valuable investments. Restoration moreover requires reliable knowledge: insight into local ecology, soil and water quality, and the area’s social context. Without this, measures remain fragmented and only temporarily effective.
Collaboration is the key to success. Protected nature can only be created when residents, farmers, businesses and authorities work together. Local involvement builds support and ensures that restoration also delivers economic and social returns. Measures that consider local interests—such as nature-inclusive farming, nature-based recreation or coastal restoration that takes fisheries into account—lead to lasting results. More protected areas do not come from designating hectares alone, but from making nature part of a shared vision for land and sea. In this way, protection is not a constraint but an investment in future-proof space for people and nature.
Theme Biodiversity and resilient ecosystems
The interaction between plants, animals and ecosystems keeps our environment healthy, nutritious and resilient. How do we preserve that balance?