Biodiversity and resilience.
Date: 2022-06-22
Institutions: Directorate-General for Environment
Subjects: EU environmental policy, biodiversity, climate change, conservation of resources, environmental policy, environmental protection, nature-based solution, organic farming, protection of animal life, protection of plant life, soil protection

Biodiversity and resilience

The EU is now taking major steps to bring more nature into farming and into our lives. This 
will ensure that we strengthen our food security in the long-term. Working with nature is 
the  most  effective  and  cheapest  way  to  solve  urgent  problems  with  respect  to  climate 
change, food security, and human health.

22 June 2022
#EUGreenDeal

Climate change

Impacts – nature lessens the impact of natural disasters such as floods, droughts and heat waves.

• Restoring flood plains of rivers can reduce economic damage and the exposure of the population to
flooding by up to 70 %.

• Trees cool the land surface temperature of cities in Europe by up to 12°C.

Mitigation – nature restoration is a key nature-based solution to help us limit global warming to
1.5°C. 

• Reviving ecosystems can provide more than a third of the total climate mitigation measures 
needed by 2030.

• Peatlands store nearly 30% of global soil carbon. Restoring drained peatlands could save up to
25% of Europe’s agricultural greenhouse gas emissions.

Food security

Soil  degradation  –  Severely  eroded  croplands  are  estimated 
in  agricultural  productivity  of  EUR 50  billion per  year 
a 

loss 

to  contribute 

to

in  the  EU.

• Erosion alone is causing losses of almost 3 million tonnes of wheat and 0.6 million 
tonnes of maize per year in the EU.
• Soil conservation practices such as no-tillage and cover crops reduced soil loss by around 9.5%
in the EU from 2000-2016. 

Environment
Environment

Pollinating insects

Around 4 out of 5 wild flowers and crops need animal pollination. 75% of global food production 
depends on animal pollination.

Almost  EUR 5  billion  of  the  EU’s  annual  agricultural  output  is  directly  attributed  to  insect 
pollinators. 

At EU level, the absence of insect pollination alone would mean a 25% to 32% reduction of the 
total production of crops and a loss of EUR 5 billion in agricultural value.
Agro-ecology

Sustainable agricultural practices often result in higher yields, more nutritious food, 
and stronger resilience against climate and socio-economic shocks.
Simple,  landscape  features  like  flower  strips  and  hedgerows  immediately  result  in 
more pollinators, higher levels of pollination and fewer pests.
Restoration  through  agroforestry  alone  has  the  potential  to  increase  global  food  security  for  
1.3 billion people.Oceans / fisheries
Oceans

Around 80% of properly enforced marine protected areas have been observed to have a positive 
spillover effect in the surrounding fisheries.

Restoring the populations of marine fish to deliver a maximum sustainable yield could increase global 
fisheries production by 16.5 million tonnes, an annual value of EUR 30 billion.

Health

Preventing zoonotic diseases

75% of all emerging infectious diseases in humans cross from animals.

When we cut down forests and destroy ecosystems, we destroy the natural barriers that 
normally protect us from pathogens, leaving us exposed and at greater risk. 

Protecting nature to prevent pandemics costs just 1% of fighting them.*
Reducing pollution

Healthy ecosystems help significantly reduce pollution, filtering both water and air.

Roughly 25% of the global burden of disease can be attributed to avoidable environmental factors. 
This includes 7 million people dying per year as a result of air pollution, and 11 million from 
unhealthy diets.

Source of medicines

Some 70% of cancer drugs are either natural products or synthetic products inspired by nature. 

Around  60  000  species  –  plants,  animals,  fungi  and  microbes  –  are  used  for  their  medicinal, 
nutritional and aromatic properties.

Wellbeing

Spending time in nature improves mental health, lowers stress levels, prevalence of diseases, 
as well as levels of allergies.

* Source: Science Advances Journal : https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abl4183

Print  ISBN 978-92-76-53144-9 
doi:10.2779/65543
KH-07-22-382-EN-C

PDF  ISBN 978-92-76-53116-6
doi:10.2779/125285
KH-07-22-382-EN-N

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union,  2022
© European Union, 2022
Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.
For any use or reproduction of elements that are not owned by the European Union, 
permission may need to be sought directly from the respective rightholders.

i

s
e
g
a
m
y
t
t
e
G
©

:

s
t
i
d
e
r
C