THE EUROPEAN ENVIRONMENT
STATE AND OUTLOOK 2015
A ‘Land’ focus –assessments & information
UK-Land cover event, July 1, 2015, Leicester
Ronan Uhel
Head of Programme ‘Natural Systems and Vulnerability’
Vision of the 7th EU Environment Action Programme
SYNTHESIS
REPORT
GLOBAL
MEGATRENDS
EUROPEAN
BRIEFINGS
COUNTRY
COMPARISONS
COUNTRIES &
REGIONS
‘In 2050, we live well, within the planet's ecological limits.
Our prosperity and healthy environment stem from an innovative,
circular economy where nothing is wasted and where natural
resources are managed sustainably, and biodiversity is
protected, valued and restored in ways that enhance our society's
resilience. Our low-carbon growth has long been decoupled from
resource use, setting the pace for a global safe and sustainable
society.’
Source: 7th EU Environment Action Programme
The EU policy context: no ‘Land’ explicit objectives
SYNTHESIS
REPORT
GLOBAL
MEGATRENDS
EUROPEAN
BRIEFINGS
COUNTRY
COMPARISONS
COUNTRIES &
REGIONS
Source: EEA Multiannual Work Programme 2014–2018
EU policy context: Land and Soil ‘soft’ measures, large
financing support?
• Soil Thematic Strategy [COM(2006) 231]
• Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) – provisions for soil
• EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 [COM(2011) 244]
• Europe 2020 - ‘Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe’ [COM(2011) 571]
• EU Territorial Agenda and Action Plan
• UN Rio+20 Summit outcome [A/RES/66/288] ‘The future we want’
• EU 7EAP ‘Living well, within the limits of our planet’ [Decision 1386/2013/EU]’
• Planned EC Communication on land as a resource
•
Regional & Cohesion funds
•
Agriculture and Rural funds
•
LIFE projects
•
URBACT III
SOER 2015 – looking into a transition agenda
SYNTHESIS
REPORT
GLOBAL
MEGATRENDS
EUROPEAN
BRIEFINGS
COUNTRY
COMPARISONS
A comprehensive assessment of past trends and future outlooks and of
opportunities to recalibrate policies, knowledge, investments and
innovations in line with the long-term vision of the 7th EAP.
SOER 2015 Synthesis report
SOER 2015 Assessment of global megatrends
Global
megatrends
European
briefings
Cross-country
comparisons
Countries and
regions
11 briefings
25 briefings
9 briefings
39+3 briefings
COUNTRIES &
REGIONS
Thematic priority objective 1:
Protecting, conserving and enhancing natural capital
SYNTHESIS
REPORT
Past (5–10
year) trends
20+ years outlook
Progress to
policy targets

Terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity
Land use and soil functions
No target
Ecological status of freshwater bodies

Water quality and nutrient loading

Air pollution and its ecosystem impacts

Marine and coastal biodiversity

Climate change impacts on ecosystems
No target
Improving trends dominate
Largely on track
Trends show mixed picture
Partially on track
Deteriorating trends dominate
Largely not on track



Source: EEA. SOER 2015 Synthesis report.
Thematic priority objective 2:
Resource efficiency and the low-carbon economy
SYNTHESIS
REPORT
Past (5–10
year) trends
20+ years outlook
Material resource efficiency and material use
Progress to
policy targets
No target

Waste management
/
Greenhouse gas emissions and climate change mitigation
Energy consumption and fossil fuel use

Transport demand and related environmental impacts

Industrial pollution to air, soil and water

Water use and water quantity stress

Improving trends dominate
Largely on track
Trends show mixed picture
Partially on track
Deteriorating trends dominate
Largely not on track



Source: EEA. SOER 2015 Synthesis report.
Thematic priority objective 3:
Safeguarding from environmental risks to health
SYNTHESIS
REPORT
Past (5–10
year) trends
20+ years outlook
Progress to
policy targets
/
Water pollution and related environmental health risks

Air pollution and related environmental health risks
Noise pollution (especially in urban areas)
/

Urban systems and grey infrastructure
No target
Climate change and related environmental health risks
No target
Chemicals and related environmental health risks
/
Improving trends dominate
Largely on track
Trends show mixed picture
Partially on track
Deteriorating trends dominate
Largely not on track



Source: EEA. SOER 2015 Synthesis report.
The overall picture:
Efficiency improvements have not secured long-term resilience
SYNTHESIS
REPORT
Protecting, conserving
and enhancing natural
capital
Resource efficiency
and the low-carbon
economy
Safeguarding from
environmental risks to
health
Past
(5–10)
year
trends
20+
years
outlook
/
Improving trends dominate
Trends show mixed picture
Deteriorating trends dominate
Source: EEA. SOER 2015 Synthesis report.
Land system
Components and interactions
© Victor
Hristina
Hristova,/EEA
Troyanov,
Environment & Me /EEA
EUROPEAN
BRIEFINGS
Source: EEA, 2015, The European Environment: State & Outlook 2015 (SOER 2015), European briefing ‘Land systems’.
The ‘land’ services provide benefits to people….
EUROPEAN
BRIEFINGS
Local climate
regulation
Flood regulation
Timber production
Carbon
sequestratio
n
Recreation
Aestetic
values
Habitat
services
Production
of food
Place / Ecosystem-based management…
…Landscape ecology
EUROPEAN
BRIEFINGS
Food supply systems….
12
‘Land take’
Pressure on soil and ecosystem functioning
© Victor
Langohr Environment & Me /EEA
RogerTroyanov,
EUROPEAN
BRIEFINGS
Source: EEA, 2015, The European Environment: State & Outlook 2015 (SOER 2015), European briefing ‘Soil’.
EUROPEAN
BRIEFINGS
...this together with increased urbanisation leads to
higher fragmentation
EUROPEAN
BRIEFINGS
The more brown the areas are the more
intense the artificial developments –
especially in central and western Europe…
Conflicting growing demand for space – new
dominant landscapes?
EUROPEAN
BRIEFINGS
16
Conflicting growing demand for space – new
dominant landscapes?
EUROPEAN
BRIEFINGS
17
Green Infrastructure? It enhances
Europe's natural capital
…it provides ecological, economic and social benefits through
natural solutions – and is a key tool to sustainable spatial planning
and development
So, mostly a question of how we use the natural
capital
EUROPEAN
BRIEFINGS
Source: Foley et al., 2005 Science Vol. 309
19
What is meant by Natural capital
EUROPEAN
BRIEFINGS
…using the green economy as an integrating framework
SYNTHESIS
REPORT
Source: EEA.
GLOBAL
MEGATRENDS
EUROPEAN
BRIEFINGS
COUNTRY
COMPARISONS
COUNTRIES &
REGIONS
Improve the Knowledge base
European ecosystem assessment
Concept, data, and implementation
Mapping and Assessing Ecosystems and their Services (EU
MAES initiative) - Analytical Framework
Source: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/knowledge/ecosystem_assessment/pdf/MAESWorkingPaper2013.pdf
European ecosystem map
EUNIS habitat – Land cover – Reference data
Ecosystem
type
EUNIS Level 1
EUNIS Level 2
J1 Buildings of cities, towns and villages
J2 Low density buildings
J3 Extractive industrial sites
Urban
J Constructed, industrial and
other artificial habitats
J4 Transport networks and other constructed
hard-surface areas
J5 Highly artificial man-made waters and
associated structures
J6 Waste deposits
Cropland
I Regularly or recently
cultivated agricultural,
horticultural and domestic
habitats
I1 Arable land and market gardens
I2 Cultivated areas of gardens and parks
E1 Dry grasslands
Grassland
42.47
6453
2.91
16100
7.26
1828
0.82
998
0.45
1243168
99.18
10292
0.82
9330
1.35
8.04
E4 alpine and subalpine grasslands
21128
3.05
0
0.00
3043
0.44
E5 Woodland fringes, clearings and tall forbs
stands
32195
4.64
487970
28.29
49248
2.86
G3 Coniferous woodland
695907
40.35
G4 Mixed woodland
291687
16.91
G5 Lines of trees, small woodlands, recently
felled woodlands, early stage woodland,
coppice
199784
11.58
G2 Broadleaved evergreen woodland
0
0.00
F2 Arctic, alpine and subalpine scrub
34524
14.88
F3 Temperate and mediteraneo-montane scrub
52824
22.76
691
0.30
F1 Tundra
F Heathland, scrub and
tundra
46.08
94150
82.48
G1 Broadleaved deciduous woodland
Heathland
and shrub
102151
55771
E7 sparsely wooded grasslands
G Woodland, forest and other
wooded land
% area
EUNIS level
2 per level 1
571931
E6 Inland salt steppes
Woodland
and forest
Area (km2)
E3 Seasonally wet and wet grasslands
E2 Mesic grasslands
E Grasslands and land
dominated by forbs, mosses or
lichens
Total ecosystem
coverage
F4 Temperate shrub heathland
Source: http://projects.eionet.europa.eu/eea-ecosystem-assessments/library/draft-ecosystem-map-europe, ETC/SIA 2014
European ecosystem map - Ecosystem distribution
Source: http://projects.eionet.europa.eu/eea-ecosystem-assessments/library/draft-ecosystem-map-europe, ETC/SIA 2014
Protection status of ecosystems under Natura 2000
Source: ETC/ULS 2015
Consequences on biodiversity in Europe
• 50% of wetlands and high-nature-value farmland gone
• 40% of all European bird species have unfavourable
conservation status
Conservation status of habitat types
EU Health Check 2009
« 50% of species and up to 80% of
habitats have unfavourable
conservation status »
State of Nature 2015 – EU Habitats and Birds Directives
SYNTHESIS
REPORT
GLOBAL
MEGATRENDS
© Dare Ferjan, Environment & Me /EEA
Over 17,000 datasets on
individual species and habitats
used to assess the status of
around:
•
450 wild bird species
•
230 habitat types
•
more than 1,200 other
species of European
importance.
EEA technical analysis supporting the
European Commission Composite Report
EUROPEAN
BRIEFINGS
COUNTRY
COMPARISONS
COUNTRIES &
REGIONS
EU conservation status (Habitats Directive) - 2007-2012
SYNTHESIS
REPORT
© Dare Ferjan, Environment & Me /EEA
Habitats
GLOBAL
MEGATRENDS
EUROPEAN
BRIEFINGS
COUNTRY
COMPARISONS
COUNTRIES &
REGIONS
Species
Source: EEA. State of Nature report, 2015.
Selection of EU habitats and species – e.g. 50% of wetlands and high-nature-value
farmland gone
Distance to Target 1 of the EU Biodiversity Strategy (2020)
SYNTHESIS
REPORT
GLOBAL
MEGATRENDS
EUROPEAN
BRIEFINGS
COUNTRY
COMPARISONS
COUNTRIES &
REGIONS
Need of more effective
management of the Natura 2000
network.
So far only 50% of the sites were
reported as having
comprehensive management
plans.
© Dare Ferjan, Environment & Me /EEA
Investment insufficient in some
Member States.
Opportunities offered by, for
example, the Common
Agricultural Policy, the Common
Fisheries Policy and the EU
Regional Policy have not been
fully realised.
Conservation status of habitats of European interest
SYNTHESIS
REPORT
GLOBAL
MEGATRENDS
EUROPEAN
BRIEFINGS
COUNTRY
COMPARISONS
Data sources: EEA. Conservation status of habitat types and species (Article 17, Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC)
COUNTRIES &
REGIONS
The influence of Natura 2000 on conservation objectives –
some indications
SYNTHESIS
REPORT
GLOBAL
MEGATRENDS
Source: EU Habitats Directive reporting, EC Policy report, 2015
EUROPEAN
BRIEFINGS
COUNTRY
COMPARISONS
COUNTRIES &
REGIONS
Main problems reported by Member States - pressures
SYNTHESIS
REPORT
GLOBAL
MEGATRENDS
EUROPEAN
BRIEFINGS
COUNTRY
COMPARISONS
Agriculture
•
Intensification: pesticides, nutrients, overgrazing, fragmentation
•
Abandonment: lack of management, undergrazing
Changes in hydraulic conditions
•
Dams, dykes, canalisation
•
Water abstraction and deviation
© Dare Ferjan, Environment & Me /EEA
Forestry
•
intensive management
•
Afforestation
Urbanisation, grey infrastructure
Aquaculture, hunting, trapping, poisoning
COUNTRIES &
REGIONS
Trends in drivers and impacts on ecosystems
© Dare Ferjan, Environment & Me /EEA
According MAES
classification
Getting to integrated & spatially-explicit analysis: the
causality chain…
Drivers
agriculture, forestry,
watermanagement,
settlement, transport,
industry, tourism,etc
Response
maintaining ecosystem
functioning andbiodiversity,
management change,
prevention measures,
protection, nutrient &
pollution reduction
Impacts
change/lossof ecosystem
function,
change/lossof biodiversity
Pressures
habitat change,climate
change,invasive species,
land use / exploitation,
nutrient & pollution load
State / Condition
ecosystem state and quality
/ structure and functioning
nutrientcondition, habitat
diversity, species
abundance and diversity
…developing ecosystem assessments
Source: Maes et al. (2014)
Towards accounting
Spatially-explicit bio-physical accounting
LAND
WATER
Land cover change
Land use change
Water in soil/runoff
Water quantity
Water use
Fast track accounts
DB
CARBON
BIODIVERSITY
Organic carbon
Land use
Organic carbon
flows
Trends in
populations
Landscape
ecological potential
Better data -Copernicus land service
pan-European & local components
Sealed soil
Forest type
Corine Land
Cover 2012
Tree cover density
Urban
Atlas
LC Biodiversity
Grassland
Wetlands
Image mosaics
Water bodies
Land as a resource – Linking across scales &
governance structures
© Alex
Hristina
Hristova,/EEA
Environment & Me /EEA
Dumitrescu,
EUROPEAN
BRIEFINGS
Source: EEA, 2015, The European Environment: State & Outlook 2015 (SOER 2015), European briefing ‘Land systems’.
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