Policy Briefing #18: Agroforestry and the EU Nature Restoration Regulation (Nature Restoration Law)

Briefing #18 (v3) reviews implications for agroforestry of the final text of the Nature Restoration Regulation (NRR) published on 24.6.24 (Reg 2024/1991).  EURAF continues to welcome the NRR, but we noted six problems in version 1 of this Briefing and added two more in version 2. Both briefings were circulated to relevant MEPs.  In the final text of the NRR three of these issues were resolved: A) clarification that productive trees are included as part of “high diversity landscape features”, B) an invitation for Member States to develop improved methods to monitor landscape features by August 2025, and C) permission for eligible landscape features to include management practices like mowing or grazing if needed for biodiversity improvement.  Two were partially resolved: D) recognition that Mediterranean states must do everything possible to use nature based solutions to mitigate wildfires, but, unfortunately they must still use “standing dead biomass” and “lying dead biomass” as indicators of forest biodiversity – despite the role of these factors in propagating fires, and E) increased mention of trees in the context of the EU 3 billion trees initiative.  Three recommendations were not acted on: F) the adjective “high-diversity” continues to describe landscape features despite the metric being identical to ordinary “landscape features” monitored in CAP legislation, G) no use is made of the CAP tree-planting and maintenance metric “Result Indicator 17”, and H) no mention is made of open data, including the EU INSPIRE or REFIT Directives or the OpenData4All initiative.