Around thirty social and environmental organisations have launched a new Alliance for Nature Restoration in Spain, aiming to place ecological recovery at the centre of public debate and public policy. The coalition positions restoration as a structural response to interconnected climate, pollution, and biodiversity pressures, and says it will push for an ambitious National Restoration Plan that moves beyond isolated projects toward long-term recovery of ecosystem function.

 

Europe’s Restoration Law Sets the Deadline and the Baseline

 

The alliance is timing its launch to a binding European policy window. The European Nature Restoration Regulation adopted in 2024 requires member states to restore at least 20 percent of degraded terrestrial and marine ecosystems by 2030 and to move toward restoring all degraded ecosystems by 2050. Spain must approve its National Restoration Plan before the end of August 2026, and the coalition argues that current conditions make that plan consequential, citing official data indicating only a small share of habitats are currently in good condition.

 

A Ten Point Declaration Focused on Structure Not Symbolism

 

The alliance has published a ten point declaration intended to define what credible restoration should look like in Spain’s national plan. Its framing is that restoration cannot be treated as a compensatory label used to offset new impacts or rebrand damaging activities. Instead, it should focus on restoring ecological processes, reducing pressures that drive degradation, and ensuring that protection and non-deterioration are applied so gains persist rather than being eroded by ongoing harm.

 

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Principles That Aim to Prevent Misuse of the Restoration Agenda

 

A key message is that recovery efforts must be anchored in prevention as well as repair. The coalition calls for rigorous application of the non-deterioration principle, protection of areas that are still in good condition, and safeguards to stop restoration from being used to justify actions that conflict with conservation objectives. This is positioned as both a technical requirement and a governance requirement, because the outcomes depend on how restoration is defined, measured, and enforced across sectors.

 

Economic and Social Stakes Linked to Jobs and Rural Resilience

 

The alliance links restoration to public safety and economic stability in a context of extreme weather, water stress, food insecurity, and emerging health risks. It also argues restoration can drive quality green employment and rural revitalisation, but only if just transition principles are built into planning. The coalition calls for assessing social and labour impacts of environmental degradation and for ensuring workers in harmful activities are offered credible alternatives as policies shift toward recovery.

 

What the Alliance Plans to Do Next

 

Over the coming months the coalition says it will focus on influencing the design of the National Restoration Plan and translating its principles into concrete measures that can be implemented on the ground. The goal is to consolidate a culture of restoration that is sustained over political cycles, grounded in scientific evidence, and supported by changes in sectoral policy, spatial planning, and public spending so restoration becomes a state-level priority rather than a collection of short-term initiatives.