Integration approach to EU biodiversity financing : evaluation of results and analysis of options for the future : final report

The review of existing evidence reveals a range of shortcomings in the EU financing framework for biodiversity. These shortcomings limit the ecological effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and legitimacy of the framework, which risks jeopardising the successful delivery of EU's biodiversity objectives and targets. The review also highlights a number of positive aspects of the current EU financing approach. Some existing EU funds (LIFE, EAFRD and, to some extent, ERDF) have been shown to be able to deliver a range of conservation outputs in a relatively effective and efficient manner when the funded measures have been appropriately designed and properly implemented. By engaging stakeholders at different governance levels and at different stages of decision-making, integrated biodiversity financing has demonstrated a potential to advance the legitimacy of biodiversity conservation.