The new Industrial Emissions Directive

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Overview

 

The Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive form the cornerstone of Europe’s nature conservation policy. The heart of European nature conservation is the protection of biodiversity. In order to achieve this protection, over the last few years the European Union has built up a vast network of protected areas in all Member States, the so called Natura 2000. Also the European Charter on Hunting and Biodiversity, which was adopted in 2007, supports these two instruments by reinforcing their implementation and coherence. Nevertheless, protected natural areas cannot thrive in isolation. In order to protect Europe’s biodiversity, agriculture, energy and transport policies must be sustainable too.

The enlargement of the European Union in 2004, 2007 and 2013 has brought amendments of these two legal instruments. In the first place, new typical and endangered species and habitats in the new Member States have been added to the annexes, with a limited number of geographic exceptions granted. But these enlargements also brought an amazing richness in nature and wildlife. The new Member States still host species and habitat types that have nearly vanished from Western Europe.

The Habitats Directive consists generally of two sets of rules:
  • section on the designation of Special Areas of Conservation (SACs);
  • section on species protection.

The Birds Directive has a similar structure, except here designated areas are called Special Protection Areas (SPAs).

All designated SPAs and SACs form a coherent ecological network throughout Europe, called Natura 2000. The main goal of Natura 2000 is to link different areas throughout Europe in order to combat habitat fragmentation, which is regarded as a major cause of the extinction of species.

Natura 2000 not only applies to the Birds and Habitats Directives, but also to the marine environment. Further, it fulfills one of the Communities’ obligations under the United Nation Convention on Biological Diversity.

In order to obtain recent statistical information on the progress in establishing the Natura 2000 network, both under the Birds and the Habitats Directives, one can consult the Natura 2000 Barometer.

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