On 16 Dec 2015, the EU Environment Council <link file:4495 download herunterladen der datei>adopted conclusions on the mid-term review of the EU Biodiversity Strategy. Ministers pointed out the areas where further work is needed in order to reach the targets. The goal for 2020 is to halt the loss of biodiversity and the degradation of ecosystem services and to restore them as far as this is feasible.

The conclusions (provisional version) amount to 10 pages. Some remarkable aspects in a nutshell:

• The work of Business and Biodiversity Initiatives is acknowledged, which is a great motivation for our work.
• Commission and the Member States (MS) are called upon to further integrate and mainstream targets for biodiversity in the development and implementation of all relevant EU and national sectoral policies, including funding instruments and decision-making processes.
• The importance of cooperation with all relevant sectors, both public and private, and the contribution that they can make, is highlighted.
• The importance of systematic valuation of natural resources, and of biodiversity and the ecosystem services it provides, is reiterated.
• The Birds and Habitats Directives are confirmed as essential components of European nature protection that need adequate financial resources; MS are called upon to make sure a proper management of the sites.
• Against the background of the EU fitness check of the directives the importance of maintaining the goals and of not lowering of standards is underlined.
• The importance of implementing an ecosystem-based approach for safeguarding biodiversity is stressed and MS are encouraged to intensify their efforts towards valuation and accounting of ecosystem services.
• The approach/potential of „green infrastructure“ is acknowledged and underscored.
• The Commission is urged to put forward by 2016 an initiative setting out a common approach to ensure No-Net-Loss of biodiversity.
• Particular importance of an enhanced contribution by the agricultural sector to the Strategy is stressed (also considering climate change), and the Council notes with concern that there has been no measurable improvement in the status of agriculture-related habitats and species.
• Subsidies to be evaluated, making sure that future CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) and its financial instruments ensure integration of biodiversity.
• The importance of strengthening the forest knowledge base including a detailed analysis of influencing factors in the dynamics of forest ecosystems is emphasised.