CHANGED NATURE OF EUROPE IN 2050

PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency is developing a European Nature Outlook, which will gather and explore perspectives on what Europe’s nature might look like in 2050. This process will provide input to an informal Ministers Conference in 2016, organised under the Dutch Presidency of the EU Council.

The process is already underway and there was an initial meeting in December 2014, which brought together umbrella organisations in Europe in various sectors, including nature conservation, agriculture, landowners, business, and healthcare, to define different ‘perspectives’ or outcomes for nature over the coming decades. The results of this meeting have now been summarised in four perspectives. These perspectives describe a particular outcome for nature in 2050 and the pathway to that outcome. For example, one perspective foresees a Europe in which society and nature are strongly connected and in which spaces have been created for large herbivores and predators, whilst another perspective foresees a Europe in which nature is taken for granted and increasingly smaller protected areas are “boxed” in.

The process is now being opened up for a period of consultation to allow stakeholders to provide input on the perspectives and suggest new perspectives. You can find out more about the Nature Outlook and take part in the consultation on the PBL website. The deadline for input to the consultation is Sunday 15 March.