Jozef Keulartz and Gilbert Leistra (eds): Legitimacy in European Nature Conservation Policy: Case Studies in Multilevel Governance

Abstract

In Legitimacy in European Nature Conservation Policy: Case Studies in Multilevel Governance, the numerous expert contributors—25 in total—examine issues of governance and legitimacy via exploring various European case studies. There are nine case studies examined, with the first two focusing on species protection, the next four concentrating on particular protected areas, and the final three examining the implementation of Natura 2000 at the national level. Additionally, each case study is followed by a commentary provided by another expert. In some cases the commentaries suggest weaknesses in the case study discussion. In others they provide additional ideas and concepts to consider while coming to terms with the arguments in the case studies. I found the text to be straightforward, the discussions of policy issues to be informative, and the examinations of legitimacy production to be revealing. This text is accessible to novices of EU nature conservation policy as well as to experts in the field. Engelen, Keulartz, and Leistra introduce the purpose of the book as seeking to explore if and how approaches to creation and implementation of nature conservation policies have changed over time in the EU as a whole and at the various levels of governance—including the local, regional, national, and transnational (at least at the EU level). The text revolves around Natura 2000 and the legislation coming before and after its adoption, such as the Birds and Habitat Directives. Through the generation and implementation of nature conservation policies, the aim of Natura 2000 has been to create an EU-wide system of conservation areas to, ideally, protect species and land and to improve the natural environment. The authors consider the creation of a network via Natura 2000 to be ‘‘one of the most ambitious supranational initiatives for nature conservation worldwide and [it] forms the cornerstone of the EU nature conservation policies’’