European Environmental Bureau receives new ERF grant

The Ecological Restoration Fund (ERF) has awarded a second grant of £425,000 to the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) to support a new phase of environmental advocacy in Europe. This funding builds on the ERF’s earlier support of £600,000 in 2024, for the EEB’s Defending Wolves and Nature Laws project, which continues to promote coexistence with wolves across Europe in 2025.

This second grant will enable the EEB to launch a major campaign together with WWF EU, ClientEarth and BirdLife Europe – the Hands Off Nature campaign – aimed at defending the EU’s Habitats Directive from weakening and countering broader efforts to undermine environmental regulation and civil society influence.

The EU is unfortunately in the process of lowering the protection status of the wolf from “strictly protected” to “protected” against science and public opinion. This follows the Bern Convention’s December 2024 decision to reduce the wolf’s international protection status. Conservationists warn that this not only threatens wolf populations but sets a dangerous precedent for other protected species and weakens foundational EU Nature Laws.

In response, the Hands Off Nature campaign will focus on safeguarding the integrity of the Nature Laws, resisting attempts to erode key environmental protections and supporting public engagement in environmental decision-making.

The EEB is the largest network of environmental citizens’ organisations in Europe, comprising over 190,190 members across 141 countries. It works at EU, regional, and global levels on climate, biodiversity, pollution, agriculture, and governance, including through institutions such as the United Nations and OECD.