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The Habitats Directive (more formally known as Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora) is a European Union directive adopted in 1992 as an EU response to the Berne Convention. It is one of the EU's two directives in relation to wildlife and nature conservation, the other being the Birds Directive.^[1][2] It is one of European nature's policies that establishes one organised network—Natura 2000^{[3][better source needed]}, which intends to protect nature and wildlife. The Habitats Directive requires national governments to specify areas that are expected to be ensuring the conservation of flora and fauna species.

The Habitats Directive assures the conservation of endangered native animal and plant divisions. It aims to protect 220 habitats and approximately 1,000 species listed in the directive's Annexes. These are species and habitats which are considered to be of European interest, following criteria given in the directive.^[4][5] It directs Member States of the EU to take measures to maintain the "favourable conservation status" of protected habitats and species.^[6]

• Annex I covers habitats,


• Annex II species requiring designation of Special Areas of Conservation,


• Annex IV species in need of strict protection, and


• Annex V species whose taking from the wild can be restricted by European law.

The directive led to the setting up of a network of Special Areas of Conservation, which together with the existing Special Protection Areas form a network of protected sites across the European Union called Natura 2000.^[1][2] Article 17 of the directive requires EU Member States to report on the state of their protected areas every six years. The first complete set of country data was reported in 2007.

History

From 1988 to 1992, the policy was given importance at the national level by policy experts, scientists and ecologists and later on spawned political, social and administrative discussions within the states that are engaged in the policy in the 1990s.

In 1998, the protection of the habitat of the European hamster^{[7][better source needed]} —Korenwolf, received a lot of attention from the public and the media during discussions projected by the Non-governmental Organization responsible for the matter. The extinction of the species symbolised the failed conservation of wild flora and fauna and other species of plants and animals and the deficiency of the pursuit for nature policies in the Netherlands.

Implications

Due to differences in nature conservation traditions, national problems have arised in the implementation of the directive. Since member states in the South and East of Europe participated less in nature policies, these states experienced misfits in promoting the new EU-originating provisions. In Germany, Austria, Italy and Belgium, the observation of conflicts between various government layers have caused prolonged delays in the management of nature policies. On the other hand, in member states such as United Kingdom and Sweden, positive outcomes have developed due to stakeholder involvement, pro-active authorities, agencies responsible for implementation and public participation.

Not only does the Habitats Directive promote nature and wildlife conservation but it also develops a disquisition between "economy" and "ecology" (Van der Zouwen and Van den Top 2002). Several discussions have been made regarding the directive and its flaws by the Dutch politics and administration— these discussions are still going on until today. The disadvantages of the policy have been believed to raise awareness on Europe's implementation of policies. Representatives of provinces and municipalities have been putting efforts in implementing nature policies within their area and scope. The Habitats Directive and Birds Directive^{[8][better source needed]}were considered as the first legitimate effort in pursuing Europeanization^{[9][better source needed]}.

See also

• Conservation movement


• Ecology


• Environmental protection


• Environmentalism


• List of European Union directives


• Natural capital


• Natural environment


• Natural resource


• Renewable resource


• Sustainability

References

External links

• The Habitats Directive online at the EU's website


• Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, Bern (1982)


• The Habitats Directive by Keulen, M. van (2002)

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