Natura 2000: The European Way Towards Sustainability

Since the entry into force of the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) on 9 June 1994, the Natura 2000 Network has become the tool conceived by the Community authorities to lead the implementation of the environmental commitments on European territory, to which they were bound in application of their accession to international conventions. Natura 2000 pursues the conservation of biodiversity in Europe by harmonizing the conservation of natural heritage with the support and promotion of traditional human activities. The Habitats Directive formulated the principles, objectives, management measures and procedures to preserve, maintain or, where appropriate, restore biological diversity, which each State was subsequently responsible for transferring to the jurisdiction. The standard does not impose any specific method to be used in the designation of the sites, the type of management to be developed or the measures to be implemented, but it does establish control mechanisms over their application. The designation of a Natura 2000 site provides an invaluable opportunity to stimulate the sustainable rural development of the area and to promote plans and activities compatible with the conservation of habitats and protected species. Dialogue and concertation are the mechanisms to be put into practice when it comes to resolving conflicts arising from the design of management models that articulate the recovery of the environmental heritage. The model by which the Natura 2000 Network has been implemented so far in Spain, and specifically in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, has been based on technocratic-formal processes. The inclusion of the area in the Natura 2000 network tends to be perceived by the inhabitants of the rural world as a bureaucratized process, disconnected from local plans and collective projects. The considerable delay in the designation of areas protected by the Natura 2000 network has contributed to the delay in adopting appropriate measures to promote biodiversity and achieve the objective of halting biodiversity loss in Europe in the short term. Despite having redoubled efforts in favor of conservation, the processes of environmental degradation have been increasing.