EU Will Plant 3 Billion Trees to Protect Old Forests

The European commission is upping its game in tackling the global biodiversity crisis, with plans to plant 3 billion trees in the EU by 2030 and to “strictly protect” its ancient forests.

According to the draft policy document published online by an environmental NGO, protection to date in the EU “has been incomplete, restoration has been small-scale, and the implementation and enforcement of legislation has been insufficient”.

The new strategy calls for planting 3 billion trees over the next decade and turning nearly one-third of EU land and sea into protected zones.

Plans are also in place to map, monitor and protect the last remaining primeval forests in the EU, which naturally protect against climate change but have been threatened by illegal logging and other human activity.