Ariel Brunner
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arielbrunner.bsky.social
Ariel Brunner
@arielbrunner.bsky.social
Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia with @birdlifeeurope.bsky.social
Lots of good restoration work inside sites, but huge untapped potential. Nature restoration law implementation is a great oportunity to scale up.

In this image a small dam raising water level to restore a degraded bog.
October 26, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Water hemmoraging from Natura2000 peatbog in Belgium's Haute fagne. Deep drainge, bad for biodiversity, floods, summer droughts. For the sake of uneconomic spruce plantations.

A priority for RestoreNature
October 26, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Hard not to agree.
The survival of humanity and solving most of the problems it faces are largely down to overcoming the concentrated power of the big polluters and the Big Men who work for them
October 5, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Once again on the streets of Brussels with @birdlifeeurope.bsky.social @natuurpunt.bsky.social @natagora.bsky.social for the #ClimateMarch

Whatever toxic lies from east and west, we face an existential crisis and must deal with it.

Nature is our best ally against climate chaos.

#RestoreNature
October 5, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Very proud that #RestoreNature campaign won the SER comms award.

Well done @birdlifeeurope.bsky.social @wwf.eu @eeb.org @clienteartheur.bsky.social
October 4, 2025 at 5:05 PM
We're on the streets of Brussels to say #HandsOffNature as the EC pushes through a serious of "omnibus" laws designed to destroy decades of good laws that protect nature and people.

Later we will hand @jessikaroswall.ec.europa.eu 200k signatures of citizens who responded to her consultation
October 1, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Join us in Brussels on 18/9 to discuss key issues around the energy transition. Including the need to advance it in coordination and in parallel with addressing the biodiversity crisis.
September 12, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Good to hear Commissioner Jorgensen committing to no backtracking on climate action.

I hope the same goes for biodiversity and ecosystems. We have one big environmental crisis.

#WindEurope2025
April 10, 2025 at 7:29 AM
Kudos to EU Commissioner Dan Jorgensen for accepting our invitation for crack of dawn birding before starting the workday at #WindEurope2025
April 10, 2025 at 7:05 AM
Starting now.
Will be arguing for aligning the #RestoreNature and #offshorewind drives.

Strategic planning, investments, and cooperation are key.

#WindEurope2025
April 9, 2025 at 10:09 AM
A nice low tech interactive map of the North sea brings home the size of the challenge we face. We have A LOT of wind and grid infrastructure planned for the coming years.

Good planning is crucial to minimise biodiversity impacts, but also to just make it work economically.

#WindEurope2025
April 8, 2025 at 9:07 AM
The symbolism of passing past massive coal mines and power plants on my long train journey to @windeurope.bsky.social conference in Copenhagen.

Like travelling through the past into the future.
April 7, 2025 at 7:28 AM
Moving east we visit an area being restored with funding from companies like Coca Cola and Microsoft who are seeking to replenish water resources they depend on (yes, Flanders is now a water stressed region!)
April 3, 2025 at 5:05 PM
With good laws, good planning, and good cooperation, nature and heavy economic activities can coexist.

But it's hard work, unlike lazy propaganda on deregulation and red tape.
April 3, 2025 at 10:25 AM
Hard to imagine but these mudflats have only been here since the Hedwige polder dike has been demolished 2 years ago.

Amazing habitats aside, this helps sap the energy of tidal waves, providing safety for hundreds of thousands of people and some of Europe's most heavy industry.
April 3, 2025 at 9:23 AM
In this case hundreds of ha of drained land have been transformed into an amazing marsh hosting beavers, otters and a host of birds, while providing safety to local population in case of floods (plus cleaning up the water).
April 3, 2025 at 7:07 AM
Will be spending the day with the @birdlifeeurope.bsky.social committee & @natuurpunt.bsky.social visiting some of the best #RestoreNature in Europe around the port of Antwerp
April 3, 2025 at 7:04 AM
Now visiting a nice example of working extractive site combining smart habitat restoration with both #windpower and floating #solarpower
April 2, 2025 at 1:46 PM
We are signing a new 3 years agreement between @birdlifeeurope.bsky.social and Sibelco, a leading minerals extraction company, ramping up #RestoreNature efforts
April 2, 2025 at 10:42 AM
Example that can be repeated in many other places: use of extractive industry (here clay in NL) to reopen floodplains restoring biodiversity and providing flood prevention and economic opportunities in recreation etc.
March 19, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Important talk by the brilliant @jcsvenning.bsky.social
All of our ecosystems lack the megafauna we wiped out long ago. Big implications for #RestoreNature
eg "farmland" species are actually disturbance dependent species.
March 19, 2025 at 10:47 AM
A European Forest Institut speaker arguing for increased forest set aside (strict protection) and allowing natural forest regeneration is very refreshing.

Hope we get more foresters to look at cost-benefits analysis instead of sticking to the clear-cutting and planting BaU.
March 19, 2025 at 9:36 AM
Nature is the only mature and competitive carbon removal technology.

But currently agriculture and forestry are eroding our carbon sinks.

Time to invert the trend.

#RestoreNature #ClimateAction
March 19, 2025 at 9:03 AM
#RestoreNature law getting into the implementation stage.

Will be spending the day with the scientists putting knowledge in the service of a better future for nature and people.

Stay tuned.
March 19, 2025 at 8:14 AM