Attitudes Of Europeans Towards The Issue Of Biodiversity

The results of this Flash Eurobarometer survey indicate that 93% of adults globally and 85% of adults in Europe consider the loss of biodiversity (animal species, flora and fauna, natural habitats, and ecosystems) to be a “very serious” or “fairly serious” problem.

In other findings, while European Union (EU) citizens largely agree that loss of biodiversity is a global problem, they are less likely to see it as a “very serious” problem for Europe or their own country; 72% of Portuguese consider it a “very serious” problem for their country, compared with only 9% of Fins.

Respondents were also asked if they personally make an effort to protect biodiversity and, by country, the proportion of those who do ranged from 17% in the Czech Republic to 58% in Belgium. For the European Union overall, 37% say they do, while 33% say they would like to do more. Another 20% say they do not because they do not know what to do, while 8% do not make efforts to protect biodiversity for other reasons.

Regarding how well-informed respondents feel about the loss of biodiversity, 5% of EU citizens say they feel “very well” informed, while 32% say they are “well” informed, and 62% are “not well” or “not” informed at all. By country, those in Romania and Lithuania felt the least informed, while those in Germany and Bulgaria felt the most informed.