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Of: TT
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Photo: Johan Nilsson / TT
Intensive agriculture is one of the reasons for the decline in biodiversity in the EU, according to the State of Nature in the EU report. Stock Photography.
Efforts to reverse the loss of endangered natural areas in the EU have been unsuccessful, according to a new report.
Only 15 per cent of habitats in the EU that according to the so-called Habitats Directive are considered important to preserve are in good condition. Of the individual species that are similarly monitored, the figure is 27 percent.
This is stated in the latest report of the European Environment Agency The State of Nature in the EU, which is based on observations during the period 2013-2018.
Compared to the previous report, which covers the period 2008-2012, the proportion of habitat types with poor conservation status has increased by 6 percent. The main explanations highlighted in the report are intensive agriculture, growing urban areas and unsustainable forestry.
In contrast, for the species, you can see a small increase in the proportion of species with good conservation status of 4 percent.
For the birds as a group, however, the situation has deteriorated. There, the proportion of monitored species with poor conservation status has increased by 7 percent to a total of 39 percent. At the same time, the proportion of species in good conservation status has decreased by 5 percent.
A similar trend can be observed in Sweden, but with slightly higher figures. 20 percent of habitat types and 40 percent of species are considered in good condition.
“The fact that so few species and habitats are in a good state of conservation is serious because biodiversity is the foundation of our well-being. If we lose it, we lose much of what our society depends on to function. Robust ecosystems protect us from the change, what climate change, and it is insurance for future needs, “says Mark Marissink, deputy director of the Department of Environmental Analysis at the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, in a press release.
However, the report highlights a ray of light when it comes to Sweden: Long-legged frog populations have rebounded.
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