Restoring Urban Nature: Greening Cities Partnership webinar series on implementing the Nature Restoration Regulation
The EU Nature Restoration Regulation aims to reverse the ongoing loss of biodiversity and restore ecosystems across Europe. Urban ecosystems, such as green roofs, urban forests, wetlands, and biodiversity corridors, provide critical services that contribute to both environmental and human well-being. This regulation encourages cities to integrate nature-based solutions into urban planning, enhancing resilience to climate change, improving air and water quality, and fostering healthier communities.
Webinar #1: Urban Ecosystem Restoration – Baselines and Data
This session explored how cities can define baselines for urban ecosystem restoration under the EU Nature Restoration Regulation, with insights on using LAUs vs. UEAs and integrating EU satellite data with local sources. Experts from the European Commission, JRC, and Space4Good shared practical tools and a case study from Brussels highlighted on-the-ground data challenges.
Webinar #2: Developing a Municipal Roadmap for Urban Ecosystem Restoration
This session focused on how cities can design impactful Urban Nature Plans and municipal roadmaps aligned with the EU Nature Restoration Regulation, featuring practical examples from Fundación Biodiversidad (Spain), Espoo (Finland), and Utrecht (Netherlands).
Webinar #3: Building and Spatial Regulations for Nature Restoration
This session explored how urban planning frameworks and building regulations can integrate biodiversity goals, featuring inspiring examples from the cities of Bristol and Paris, as well as academic insights from the University of Naples on nature-positive urban regeneration.
Webinar #4: Regulations for Nature Restoration on Municipal-Owned Land
This session explored how cities can restore nature on municipal-owned land through both new developments and retrofitting projects. The Barcelona Metropolitan Area presented their Sustainability Protocol as a practical example of embedding biodiversity goals into housing, public facilities, and urban space design.
Webinar #5: Citizen Engagement for Nature Restoration
This session focused on how cities can engage citizens and businesses in restoring nature on privately owned land, with inspiring examples from Rotterdam, Zagreb, and co-design projects across Europe. Speakers highlighted practical ways to foster collaboration beyond the public sector to expand green space and climate resilience.
Webinar #6: Collaboration on National Restoration Plans
The final webinar in the Greening Cities Partnership’s Nature Restoration Regulation (NRR) Webinar Series focused on collaboration across levels of government for the development of National Restoration Plans (NRPs). The session explored how cities, regions, and national governments can align their policy ambitions to ensure effective urban ecosystem restoration under the EU Nature Restoration Regulation.
Axelle Griffon, Senior Policy Advisor at CEMR, presented survey insights into the key challenges that local and regional authorities face when coordinating nature restoration actions with national strategies. Kristian Kvist from the European Environment Agency provided an overview of the uniform format for NRPs, including the roles of Local Administrative Units (LAUs) and Urban Ecosystem Areas (UEAs) in reporting and planning.
The session also featured a case study from Finland, highlighting how different government levels can work together. Laura Mäki and Virve Hokkanen (Finnish Ministry for Environment) shared lessons from their cross-government collaboration to embed urban greening into national restoration plans.
Moderated by Heather Brooks (Eurocities), the session included interactive exchanges with the audience, reinforcing the importance of multi-level governance and cooperation in delivering on the urban targets of the NRR.