Habitats Directive
Obligations for the conservation of habitats: legal protection regime for proposed sites of Community importance (pSCI), sites of Community importance (SCI) and special areas of conservation (SAC)
- Conservation measures
Article 6 (1) and 6 (2):
1. For special areas of conservation, Member States shall establish the necessary conservation measures involving, if need be, appropriate management plans specifically designed for the sites or integrated into other development plans, and appropriate statutory, administrative or contractual measures which correspond to the ecological requirements of the natural habitat types in Annex I and the species in Annex II present on the sites.
2. Member States shall take appropriate steps to avoid, in the special areas of conservation, the deterioration of natural habitats and the habitats of species as well as disturbance of the species for which the areas have been designated, in so far as such disturbance could be significant in relation to the objectives of this Directive
→ Article 6 (1):
The Member States shall, within Natura 2000, take appropriate conservation measures to maintain and restore the habitats and species for which the site has been designated to a favourable conservation status.
Art. 6 (1) provides for positive measures, involving management plans and statutory, administrative or contractual measures, which aim to achieve the general objective of the directive. In that regard, Article 6 (1) is different from the three other paragraphs of Article 6 which provide for preventive measures to avoid deterioration, disturbance and significant effects in the Natura 2000.
Art. 6 (1) establishes a general conservation regime which applies to all SACs of the Natura 2000 network without exception and to all the natural habitat types of Annex I and the species of Annex II present on the sites.
The conservation measures can take at least two forms: the form of ‘appropriate statutory, administrative or contractual measures’ and ‘if need be’, the form of ‘appropriate management plans’.