Balancing conservation priorities for nature and for people in Europe

There is an urgent need to protect key areas for biodiversity and nature's contributions to people (NCP). However, different values of nature are rarely considered together in conservation planning. Here, we explore potential priority areas in Europe for biodiversity (all terrestrial vertebrates) and a set of cultural and regulating NCP while considering demand for these NCP. We quantify the spatial overlap between these priorities and their performance in representing different values of nature. We show that different priorities rarely coincide, except in certain irreplaceable ecosystems. Notably, priorities for biodiversity better represent NCP than the reverse. Theoretically, protecting an extra 5% of land has the potential to double conservation gains for biodiversity while also maintaining some essential NCP, leading to co-benefits for both nature and people.

Automated summary

The study highlights the importance of considering different values of nature together in conservation planning. While priorities for biodiversity better represent nature's contributions to people, different priorities rarely coincide, except in certain irreplaceable ecosystems. Theoretically, protecting an extra 5% of land has the potential to double conservation gains for biodiversity while also maintaining some essential nature's contributions to people, leading to co-benefits for both nature and people.