Nature Restoration Law in force - eLTER supports its implementation with long-term data

19 August 2024

The Nature Restoration Law (EU 2024/1991) came into force on 18th August 2024 with the aim to reverse biodiversity loss and contribute to climate mitigation in the EU and globally. To reach overall EU targets, member states must restore at least 30% of habitats covered by the new law (from forests, grasslands and wetlands to rivers, lakes and coral beds) from a poor to a good condition by 2030, increasing to 60% by 2040, and 90% by 2050. To be time-efficient and maximise the cost-benefit ratio, actions have to be fact based. They need to build on scientific knowledge and legacy data.

The Integrated European Long-Term Ecosystem, critical zone and socio-ecological Research (eLTER) network is dedicated to support environmental sustainability and provide such knowledge and empirical evidence. The eLTER Research Infrastructure includes hundreds of eLTER Sites and eLTSER socio-ecological Platforms in >20 countries and systematically covers major European terrestrial, freshwater and transitional water ecosystems. Here, researchers study a variety of ecosystem types over long time spans to better understand ecosystem structure and functioning, which is crucial to identify cost-effective restoration measures. At numerous sites, ecosystem restoration has taken place and/or is ongoing, whereas other sites provide pristine/ reference ecosystems with long term data and research results that can be used to support the design of new restoration initiatives. eLTER’s unique Whole System Approach integrates data and knowledge from all spheres (geosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, atmosphere and sociosphere) to identify and mitigate human impacts on ecosystems and enable evidence-based solutions for the well-being of current and future generations. The knowledge gathered by the eLTER network can thus provide guidance on what works and what does not work in restoration. Moreover, eLTER offers an accessible infrastructure and data for further research required to fill knowledge gaps.