3FOOD

Third Industrial Revolution Consulting Group
To its great credit, Luxembourg has nearly tripled its terrestrial protected area, from roughly
12% in 1990 to 35% as of 2014. 319 This goes well beyond the international target set by the
Convention for Biological Diversity of protecting at least 17% of terrestrial habitats by 2020. 320
It is important to understand that the principle of circularity does not simply extend from the
extraction of resources from the environment and the recycling of used products back into the
environment. There is an increasing awareness of the need to properly nurture the 19
kilometers – from the stratosphere to the water – that makes up a country’s biosphere zone.
The recycling of used materials back into Luxembourg’s natural environment, therefore, needs
to go hand-in-hand with stewarding nature’s circular flows that allow the biosphere to flourish.
A rejuvenated biosphere, in turn, provides the sustenance to maintain a sustainable quality of
life for present and future generations in Luxembourg. With its current commitment to
maintain 35% of its landmass as protected space, Luxembourg can serve as an exemplary
rewilding model for the rest of the European Union.
There are roughly 375 identified faunal species of amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles,
and more than 1,250 floral species of vascular plants in Luxembourg. None are endemic to
Luxembourg (indigenous to the nation), but many are endemic to Europe. Roughly 2% of the
species are threatened with extinction. 321 According to the IUCN’s Red List assessment of
Europe’s 6,000 species, roughly 12% are located in Luxembourg (695), with 2% listed as
threatened. 322
The 2050 European Union Biodiversity Vision is far more challenging to achieve and sustain.
According to the mandate, “the ecosystem services it [the Biosphere] provides – its natural
capital – are protected, valued and appropriately restored for biodiversity's intrinsic value and
for their essential contribution to human wellbeing and economic prosperity, and so that
catastrophic changes caused by the loss of biodiversity are avoided.” 323
319 World Bank (nd) Terrestrial Protected Areas (% of total land area),
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ER.LND.PTLD.ZS.
320 UNEP (nd) Target 11 - Technical Rationale extended (provided in document COP/10/INF/12/Rev.1), Quick Guide
(Target 11), Strategic Goal C: To improve the status of biodiversity by safeguarding ecosystems, species and
genetic diversity, Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, including Aichi Biodiversity Targets, Convention on
Biological Diversity, UN Environment Programme, https://www.cbd.int/sp/targets/rationale/target-11/.
321 Mongabay.com (na) Luxembourg Forest Statistics,
http://rainforests.mongabay.com/deforestation/archive/Luxembourg.htm.
322 IUCN (2013) Luxembourg’s biodiversity at risk, A call for action, May 2013, European Red List, International
Union for the Conservation of Nature, Global Species Programme, http://www.iucnredlist.org/europe.
323 CBD (na) The 2050 EU Biodiversity Vision , National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans (NBSAPs), Convention
for Biological Diversity, https://www.cbd.int/nbsap/about/targets/eu/.
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