Hindrances to Effective Implementation of the Habitats Directive in Italy: Regional Differences in Designating Special Areas of Conservation

Sabrina Lai

doi:10.3390/su12062335

Abstract

“Natura 2000” is a coordinated network of protected areas that stretches across the European Union in compliance with two directives (the so-called “Habitats Directive” and the “Birds Directive”) that underpin the Union’s policies on biodiversity conservation. This study is aimed at assessing the implementation of the network by qualitatively analyzing how Special Areas of Conservation are being designated. Such designation process, which is being implemented, although with great delay, in a number of member states, entails the establishment of site-specific conservation measures that may be included within appropriate management plans or other development plans. A systematic documental analysis of official acts establishing Special Areas of Conservation and approving conservation measures and management plans was performed by taking Italy as a case study. The analysis focuses on four key topics, as follows: use of conservation measures and appropriate management plans; multi-level governance of the Natura 2000 sites, in terms of involved institutions and tiers of government; stakeholders’ inclusion in the designation process; and the relationship between conservation measures and the wider spatial planning system. The results show significant differences regarding the implementation of the Natura 2000 network and highlight potential general hindrances to completing the designation process in the European Union.

Highlights

Biodiversity protection in the European Union (EU) is grounded on two cornerstones: First, the EU Biodiversity Strategy, initiated in 1998 [1] and revised in 2011 [2]
Columns 2 and 3 in Table 1 show that the Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) designation process in Italy, still incomplete, is nearing its end: If one takes into account that 20 out of the 74 SCIs still to be designated as SACs were established in 2017-2018, conservation measures are in force in 97.67% of the sites, and the process has been completed in seven regions (Apulia, Basilicata, Campania, Liguria, Molise, Umbria, and Veneto)
This study has examined the processes leading to SAC designation in Italy through a systematic qualitative documental analysis of official acts, issues of multi-level governance, inclusion, and the nature and role of conservation measures (CMs) and management plans (MPs), including their relationship with the wider planning system

Summary

Introduction

Biodiversity protection in the European Union (EU) is grounded on two cornerstones: First, the EU Biodiversity Strategy, initiated in 1998 [1] and revised in 2011 [2]. 1), Natura 2000 could be regarded as the EU tool designed to “govern natural resources used by many individuals in common” where an institution sets limits on the use of natural resources so as to ensure their long term maintenance and, by doing so, even their benefits (be they economic or non-economic) for people It is considered in the literature as a champion example of an international network of protected areas [5,6] and as an outstanding implementation of biodiversity-related spatial policies [7], to the extent that Campagnaro et al [8] state that it has made “unprecedented advances in implementing effective, evidence-based, internationally collaborative conservation policies and practices at continental scales”

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Conclusion