General informations
Description
Ecosystems and biodiversity have long been endangered by numerous factors, such as habitat modification due to changes in land use, habitat loss due to various human activities, habitat fragmentation for example due to traffic routes, etc. Climate change is an essential factor adding additional pressure on habitats and biodiversity. Every organism has certain demands in terms of climatic conditions. This is reflected in the global distribution of species. Rising temperatures and changing precipitation conditions as well as the increased occurrence of extreme events imply that organisms must either adapt or move to new habitats to service. The shift of the area boundaries is expected to change the number of species and the species composition in biocoenosis and biotopes.Ecological connectivity is a determining factor for the survival and migration of species and adaptation potential of populations. Promoting ecological connectivity is an important option to enable dynamic adaptation processes in ecosystems, and thus to combat the decline in biodiversity and preserve ecosystem services, especially in view of changing climatic conditions. Moreover, healthy ecosystems provide numerous goods and services that are vital to human society. These services are particularly relevant for ecosystem-based approaches for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction, for example ensuring protection against floods, avalanches and other climate-related hazards, prevention of soil or coastal erosion and regulation of the (micro) climate (regulating services).The conservation of biological diversity and the improvement of ecosystem services must go beyond the approach of static protected areas. An improvement of the ecological continuum is needed in order to mitigate the effect of change in land use and climate change. Indeed, the persistent loss of natural habitats leads to fragmentation and further to landscape "patchiness" and isolation with distinct habitat "islands". These habitat islands lose their ecological functionality, essential ecological processes can no longer take place and migration to other habitats is no longer possible."https://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/index_en.htm", legally based on the Birds and Habitat Directives, support the creation of a network of nature conservation sites among all Member States. These protected and high nature value areas can provide an important initial basis in sustaining ecological functionality. In order to promote functional connectivity and an area-wide ecological network, ecological corridors between protected areas are also needed, even at the transnational and macro-regional levels. In this view, also generic habitat measures across the wider environment are necessary. These include sustainable land use policies and measures (e.g. preservation of landscape elements, ecological agriculture and ecological land management), funding mechanisms and planning regulation and policies."https://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/ecosystems/strategy/index_en.ht…; pursues the aim of a strategically planned network of natural and semi-natural areas, supporting biodiversity conservation, improving environmental conditions and delivering essential ecosystem services. Green infrastructure include conservation sites, stepping stones and network elements, but also greenways, wildlife corridors and other green spaces and eco-technical structures that allow for mitigating the negative effects of fragmentation. This green infrastructure strategic planning approach can make an important contribution to improving functional connectivity of ecosystems and ecological networks.A number of adaptation options are closely linked to green infrastructure planning and implementation. Ecological connectivity is essential to improve the adaptation capacity of plant and animal species, strengthening the resilience of ecosystems. At the same time, through the preservation of ecosystem services, an improved ecological and functional connectivity can contribute to other forms of adaptation which are also relevant for humans, e.g. through "https://climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu/metadata/adaptation-options/agro-fo…;. Both the impacts of the rapid changing climate on biodiversity and the meaning of ecosystem services for sustainable adaptation to climate change show how important it is to improve ecological networks as an adaptation measure.