Welcome to our blog about Natura 2000, the European Union’s largest environmental initiative. Europe is the second most densely populated continent on Earth, and with that population density comes major threats for the continents natural species and habitats. While Natura's goals are not yet all that well defined, the program aims to create a biological corridor throughout the continent and protect it's most important species and habitats through regional cooperation.
Map of Europes Biogeographical Regions and Natura 2000 sites.
The goal of this blog is to look at the overall structure of Natura 2000 as well as some of it's specific projects to determine just how successful the project has been. While the individual projects are maintained by the states where the projects lie, there is a great amount of interaction between states when it comes to funding and enforcement of laws and regulations and disagreements over these issues are often a points of contention. Natura 2000 also faces some problems at the local level, as a number of it's detractors question whether the program does more harm than good both ecologically and economically.
This blog investigates the problems and solutions of three representative Natura 2000 projects that deal with conservation issues. We will then outline the strengths and weaknesses of these projects and the overall success of the Natura 2000 programme, as we realise that while many projects enjoy celebrated successes, there is still work to be done to better the natural and cultural environment and improve communication between stakeholders.[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/7PMZDL-SzCU" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]A joint debate with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats of Europe and the Committee of Regions on the whether Europa 2000 is “an opportunity for or an obstacle to development”