Economic & Social Benefits

The Natura 2000 network protects ecosystems (forests, wetlands, marine areas, etc.) that function as carbon “sinks”. It is estimated that, at the EU level, the Natura 2000 network “stores” around 10 billion tonnes of carbon, a quantity corresponding to 35 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2). The monetary value of this gigantic stock is estimated between 607 billion – 1.13 trillion euros and is constantly increasing, as international carbon prices rise; as the Natura 2000 network expands geographically; and as the management methods of the network’s protected areas improve in quality (note that, due to lack of data, this value is calculated statically, without being reduced to annual flows). By 2020 (compared to 2010 data) the increase is expected to be in the order of 810-913 billion euros. In any case, the real value lies in the fact that, as long as the Natura 2000 network works effectively, these huge quantities remain trapped and not released into the atmosphere.

The Natura 2000 network sites play a decisive role in limiting the consequences of natural disasters, such as floods, landslides, etc., reducing their economic costs which on average reach 13 billion euros per year in the EU member states and, above all, protecting human lives. Healthy ecosystems can provide effective protection in such cases, at a much lower cost than artificial protection measures.

About 80% of wildflowers and over 80% of crops in the European Union are directly dependent on pollination by insects, such as bees, butterflies, beetles, etc. The value of the services offered by insects-pollinators (Economic Value of Insect Pollination – EVIP) in the European agricultural sector is estimated at 14 billion euros per year. Though there is no data on the exact percentage of the contribution of the Natura 2000 network, nevertheless the network is at the “vanguard” of the efforts of the European authorities to arrest the rapid decline of the population of insect-pollinators. Especially with regard to Greece, the amount of EVIP reaches 1 billion euros per year. In fact, our country is among the top EU member states in terms of EVIP per square kilometer (of arable land), which is estimated at 14,147 euros/km2. Among Greek crops, those most dependent on pollinating insects are cotton, peaches, nectarines and melons. At the same time, however, Greece ranks among the most vulnerable countries in Europe in terms of fluctuations in the population of pollinating insects, as the value of their services exceeds 15% of the total profits of the country’s agricultural food production.

One of the most important services that we are offered by healthy ecosystems, including the protected areas of the Natura 2000 network, is the supply and filtration of water. Major European cities such as Munich, Berlin, Vienna, Oslo, Madrid, Sofia, Rome and Barcelona benefit in one way or another from natural water filtration processes. The available data from Berlin, Vienna, Oslo and Munich show that their economic benefit can cumulatively exceed 100 million euros per year, while the per capita benefit reaches even 45 euros per year, an amount that corresponds to 25% of the bill for water that an average German household pays over the course of one year.

Marine protected areas, including those that are part of the Natura 2000 network, support a large number of ecosystem services. Their value is estimated Europe-wide at 1.4-1.5 billion euros per year, while this amount would increase steeply, to 3-3.2 billion euros if 10% of the EU sea area was part of a protection regime and 6-6.5 billion euros if this percentage reached 20%.

It is estimated that, every year, tourists visiting Natura 2000 sites spend around 50-85 billion euros, which supports 4.5-8 million full-time jobs. The benefit, if one focuses on tourists who specifically show a preference for destinations within the Natura 2000 network (as opposed to those who generally choose a destination close to nature) amounts to €9-20 billion per year, an expenditure that supports around €0.8-2.0 million full-time jobs, i.e. up to 15.4% of full-time jobs in the tourism industry across Europe.