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EU Directives
Habitat Directive (Council Directive 92/43/EEC))
Habitat directive is the most important and most demanding European Union regulation regarding nature protection.
Its goal is to contribute to preservation of biological diversity of European Union trough conservation of wild flora and fauna habitats. The main method this can bee achieved is development of coherent European ecological network. European ecological network is consisting of areas important on the European Union level and it is known as NATURA2000. These areas are important for preservation of threatened habitat types or habitats of threatened species enlisted in annexes of the Directive (so called favourable protection status). When the areas for ecological network are selected, economic, social, cultural demands as well as regional and local characteristics have to be taken into consideration. Favourable protection status is achieved trough obligations of parties to determine and protect Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) and to undertake different measures of protection of threatened habitats and species. This measures need to be taken inside and outside the protected areas, which includes banning of damaging interventions.
Every planned threatening intervention in these areas is subjected to assessment of acceptability to nature. Public has to be involved in these assessments. It is necessary to avoid every intervention that can negatively affect these ecologically important areas, with the exception when there is prevailing public interest. In those cases interventions are approved, but with certain compensation conditions that are primarily in relation to establishment of compensation areas at new location.
For areas that are Sites of Community Interest (SCI), states are obliged to ensure adequate regime of protection that is primarily in relation with prohibition of animal disturbance and habitat degradation. In such cases, prevailing public interest can be in relation only to safety and health of the people.
State members have to register a list of such areas until 2004. Surface of those areas must at least be 10% of the state territory. Protection measures for these areas include the development of Management plans that are made especially for those areas or are incorporated in other development plans. Management plans include contractual and other arrangements with the owners of the land where different protection measures will be taken.
All mentioned obligations are valid for every new accession country that must register a list of proposed NATURA2000 sites on the day of accession. For countries that are in process of accession, suited programme (Emerald network) based on Bern Convention has been developed.
Bird Directive (Council Directive 79/409/EEC)
This directive is targeted to protection, managing and supervision of wild birds, their nests, eggs and habitats on the European Union area. List of protected species is given in annexes of the Directive. It ensures basic protection regarding catchment and killing to all wild birds. According to the Directive, it is necessary to ensure preservation of spacious and diverse habitats important for survival of threatened and migratory birds. All types of extensive and unselective hunting, exploitation, trade or commercialization are strongly forbidden. Some exceptions have been made regarding sport and hunting. It is allowed to certain countries to make exceptions in cases when birds represent serious threat for safety and health of people or other plants and animals, or when they cause huge economic damage.
Some states are obliged to determine and protect sufficient number (and sufficient surface) of most favourable sites for protection of bird species listed in Annex I of the Directive. These sites are so called Special Protection Areas (SPA). A part of obligations to protect bird habitats has been transferred to the Habitat Directive.
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