Archived press release

Europe Fails on Wildlife Protection

29 June 1998

The important Euro-summit on wildlife protection starting in Bath on 29 June [1] will be over-shadowed by a legal row between the European Commission and all but one Member State. While the British Government is promoting the protection of internationally important wildlife areas at the conference, the Commission is taking legal action against six states over wildlife issues and is preparing it for seven others [2].

According to the European Commission, only Denmark has completed its lists of protected areas under the European Birds and Habitats Directives on time. All lists are legally due by June 1998 and member states have had six years to pull them together. The full list of sites is intended to form a European network of protected areas known as Natura 2000 [3].

Aside from failing to complete their site lists, member states are being taken to the European Court of Justice for failing to 'transpose' the Directives into their own national laws. The worst offender is Greece which has been condemned by the court, but has still not introduced relevant laws.

Even where countries have got 'compliant' laws, protection is still weak. In the UK wildlife laws still allow for sites to be destroyed quite legally and the Government has just announced policies which could allow development of local importance to override the protection of these internationally important sites [4].

Matt Phillips of Friends of the Earth said:

"Europe's leaders are letting down Europe's wildlife. Too few sites have been designated and those that have been are ineffectively protected. Only Denmark has kept to the timetable, showing up every other Government in Europe. This conference is a good idea, but it must lead to action, not just words.

"In the UK that means action to introduce new wildlife laws, to produce a full list of sites and to commit to full protection of these areas."


For more information on wildlife protection in the UK visit Friends of the Earth's Wildplaces! Website.

[2] Details on progress with designating the sites and legal action being planned are given on the attached table.

[3] Natura 2000 will include Special Protection Areas (SPAs) designated for their importance for wild birds under the Birds Directive and Special Areas of Conservation(SACs) designated for their important habitats and species.

[4] DETR. (12 May 1998). The Birds and Habitats Directives: Outline Government View.DETR, London. Paragraph 9 states: "In general, projects of national importance are most likely to be judged as giving rise to imperative reasons of overriding public interest.Important regional projects might also be so judged. Whilst projects of more local significance are not ruled out it is less likely that their potential benefits will be considered to override the nature conservation value of the sites." FOE considers this to be a green light for developers and road builders to damage internationally important wildlife sites.

Natura 2000 Table

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust