ROUND TABLE Brussels W. Langhout BirdLife Europe

Natura 2000
The toolkit for nature
conservation in the EU
Wouter Langhout
EU Nature Policy Officer at BirdLife Europe
BE-NATUR, 12 November 2013
Introduction
1. Why manage Natura 2000 sites?
2. Is the current management of Natura 2000
sufficient?
3. What is needed to manage the Natura 2000
network?
4. What action is underway at EU level?
5. What further action is needed?
Why manage Natura 2000 sites?
• Favourable conservation status
– Birds and Habitats Directive
– Species and habitats of Community interest
Why manage Natura 2000 sites?
• Unlocking the full potential of Natura 2000
– Ecosystem services
Is the current management of
Natura 2000 sufficient?
• Work is in progress…
Is the current management of
Natura 2000 sufficient?
• … but more is needed!
What is needed to manage the
Natura 2000 network?
Management planning
• Conservation objectives on site level
• Management plan
–
–
–
–
–
Written document
One or more sites
Agreed with stakeholders in a participatory process
Conservation measures
Publicly available
• Site manager
What is needed to manage the
Natura 2000 network?
Financial resources
• Costs of managing the Natura 2000 network
–
–
–
–
Estimated by IEEP (2010) on € 5.8 billion
Includes management, monitoring, land purchase
About 67% recurrent costs
Currently only 20% available through EU funds
• Benefits of managing the Natura 2000 network
– Monetary valuation of benefits is a challenge
– Case studies show a great added value
What action is underway at EU
level?
Sectoral integration
• Common Fisheries Policy
• Common Agricultural Policy
• Soil Directive
Implementation
• Water Framework Directive
What action is underway at EU
level?
Environmental inspections
• Proposal in the making
• Compliance assurance and promotion
– Risk assessment
– Prioritisation strategy
– Inspections plan and schedule
• Need to increase human resources
What action is underway at EU
level?
Green infrastructure
• Landscape approach to conservation
• Sustainable use zones, connectivity zones
• Green roofs, hedgerows, flood plains
Restoration of ecosystems
• Member States to restore 15% of degraded
ecosystems
• Large potential, but results yet unclear
Conclusions
• Management of Natura 2000 is important
– Achieve favourable conservation status
– Unlock potential of ecosystem services
• Hard work is being done, but management is not sufficient
• Management of Natura 2000 requires
– Planning
– Adequate financial resources
• New EU instruments can be helpful, but need political
support
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