“To be or not to be” for “groundbreaking” law. The votes of Polish parliamentarians can decide

On Wednesday, November 29, the European Parliament will hold the first of two votes on which the future of the regulation on the restoration of natural resources will depend. The law, more commonly known as Nature Restoration Law, is one of the pillars of the Green Deal. If adopted, it may influence the protection and restoration of nature in the EU countries, including Poland, for decades.

The result of Wednesday’s vote in the European Parliament’s environment committee (ENVI Committee) will have to be approved by the plenary session of the entire European Parliament. This could take place in early 2024. These two votes are “to be or not to be” for the law. If the law does not receive a majority in one of these votes, it will be lost.

Non-governmental organizations dealing with nature conservation talk about many compromises and weakening of some of the ideas that were included in the first proposal of the law. Despite this, they emphasize that it has great importance and potential for improving the natural environment and, consequently, for social and economic development, human health and nature.

– Without investment in natural resources, economic development will be difficult or even impossible. It is difficult to imagine food production without the basic resources needed for agriculture: soil, water, pollinators and, more broadly, biodiversity. Restoring nature is one of the best investments. The benefits of it significantly outweigh the costs, comments Dariusz Gatkowski from WWF Polska.

A key voice of Polish parliamentarians

Work on the regulation has been going on for a year and a half. Many proposals divided MEPs and even those from the factions supporting the current European Commission were critical of some ideas. The current shape of the regulation is the result of compromises between the positions of the European Parliament, the Commission and the member states.

– After an extremely stormy legislative process, in which our country’s representatives in the Parliament and the EU Council took an active and not always constructive part, we received a weakened text. However, it still provides the basis for specific actions, thanks to which we have a chance to rebuild nature and protect the quality of life on our continent, says Marta Klimkiewicz, science and policy advisor from the ClientEarth Lawyers for the Earth foundation. In her opinion, “voting against the current, compromise wording of the regulation would be simply irresponsible.”

Non-governmental organizations report that the fate of the regulation in the committee vote is uncertain. The voice of Polish MEPs may be crucial. They appeal to MEPs of all parties sitting in the EU Parliament, as well as the Polish government, to “strongly support the law on the restoration of natural resources agreed by the EU Parliament, the EU Council and the European Commission.”

In the earlier vote in the European Parliament on the initial proposal of the law, Augustyn Mikos from the Pracownia na Wszystkich Estot association believes that Wednesday’s vote is “the first test of the credibility of the new majority”, which promises a lot in terms of environmental protection in its programs and coalition agreement.

What is “restoring nature” about?

We hear much more often about “protecting” nature than about its restoration. However, the state of nature requires us not only to stop harming it, but also to actively support its restoration. Especially since the existing protection often turned out to be insufficient. Status 81 percent protected natural habitats in the EU is unsatisfactory or poor. It is similar in Poland. Virtually all our rivers have poor water conditions.

The law provides for actions that will allow for the restoration of nature in forests and rivers, agricultural areas and cities. EU countries would create their nature restoration plans and based on them, for example, support the re-irrigation of drained wetlands or the creation of green spaces in cities.