ECOS | Environmental Coalition on Standards

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Nature protection & restoration

Ecosystems and biodiversity

Today’s economic system is tied to ecosystem loss – it exerts enormous pressure on nature. Changes in land use, pollution of land, sea, and air, and the overexploitation of natural resources drive many serious negative impacts, which are unevenly distributed across society, hitting the most vulnerable populations the hardest. Life on Earth, including humans, needs healthy and productive ecosystems to thrive. To restore and protect nature, we need ambitious environmental policies and standards based on ecological land management, such as agroecology for farming, and ecological forestry. We need binding rules, which, in turn, require effective monitoring via ecological health indicators and targets.

What we are working on

  • ECOS contributes to policies that monitor and report the progress of key ecological health indicators, including biodiversity, land resilience and adaptation to climate change, and the impacts of different management practices on ecosystems.
  • We advocate robust laws, principles, and definitions for the ecological management of forests, farmland, and other land ecosystems, such as close-to-nature forestry.
  • We develop standardised methodologies for assessing ecosystem functions, based on state-of-the-art scientific knowledge.
  • We promote ecological land management that is regenerative, restores nature and resources, is just towards all stakeholders, and supports human health.
Who we work with

Alliances and campaigns

Related news

  • If a tree falls in the woods… we need to know about it

    Healthy forests are essential for our health, our economy, and our well-being; yet they are under threat. To reduce and mitigate these threats in Europe, we need cooperation at the EU level to monitor forest health and guide coordinated action with better forest information. A strong Forest Monitoring Law can provide reliable, consistent data on the many cross-border risks to forests and help to support healthier forests and the benefits they provide.

  • Digging deep for World Soil Day

    Every day we take soil for granted – but there is a whole world beneath our feet, hidden from our view, that is not only teeming with life but provides invaluable support to human existence. On World Soil Day we focus on the need for robust policy, backed by global standards, to both protect and restore healthy soil to elevate its life-sustaining power.

  • Biodiversity. Planetary crises. The role of standards. All you need to know for Mother Earth Day

    Around one million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction. 4.7 million hectares of forests are lost every year. 90% of disasters are now classed as weather and climate-related linked to the climate crisis.

Contact person
Samy Porteron
Senior Programme Manager samy.porteron@ecostandard.org
Martina Forbicini
Programme Officer martina.forbicini@ecostandard.org

ECOS is co-funded by the European Commission and EFTA Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or EISMEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

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