The Natura 2000 Working Group
 

The EUROPARC Federation’s Natura 2000 Working Group was set up at the end of June 2003 in Roses, Catalonia, with the initial aims of preparing the content of the EUROPARC 2004 annual conference and setting up a programme of work on Natura 2000 . It consists of some 10 representatives of EUROPARC member organisations from eight European countries and aims

●   to prepare the Natura 2000 Action Plan,

●   to coordinate, review and monitor the implementation of the
     Action Plan,

●   to act as a thinking tank on the development of Natura 2000 and to
     offer guidance to the wider EUROPARC membership as well as

●   to contribute to project preparations.
 

 

 

 

 



 


Natura 2000 Working Group meeting held in March 2004 at Castello
d'Empuries, close to Roses, Catalonia

In order to create a sound basis for the group's work, all EUROPARC members were consulted by questionnaire between August and October 2003 on their priorities for Natura 2000 and in which areas they have expertise. More than 70 responses were forthcoming from 24 European countries and were evaluated by colleagues from EUROPARC Spain. The survey indicated considerable interest in and reflected the importance of Natura 2000 to EUROPARC members.

So far, following papers and projects have been compiled through the EUROPARC Natura 2000 working group in cooperation with EUROPARC members and sections:

●   EUROPARC position paper 'Natura 2000 and EUROPARC'.

●   Catalonia Declaration.

●   EUROPARC Natura 2000 Action Plan.

EUROPARC position paper 'Natura 2000 and EUROPARC'

This paper gives an overview on Natura 2000, including how it has been established, the current state of play, difficulties in implementation of the network, potential EUROPARC contribution to the management of Natura 2000, and the next steps intended by the European Commission.

Catalonia Declaration

The Catalonia Declaration was published at the EUROPARC annual conference 2004 in Roses, Catalonia, Spain. It sets out a EUROPARC Federation commitment on Natura 2000 and is available in English, German and French.

EUROPARC Natura 2000 Action Plan

The compilation of a EUROPARC Natura 2000 Action Plan resulted from recommendations made in the conference workshops in Spain. The plan is to be added to the Catalonia Declaration and will form the basis for a members’ work programme on Natura 2000. At the end of September 2005, the Action Plan was in the final stages of drafting. A draft version was made available in the members’ area for consultation. The final version will be available shortly.

EUROPARC ... working with other organisations

   The EUROPARC Federation is a project partner in the
   Natura Network Initiative (NNi) led by Eurosite. A further
   project partner is the European Landowners’ Organisation
    (ELO). For further information please follow the link on Natura
   Network Initiative.

EUROPARC is also a member of the European Habitats Forum, the grouping of 14 international NGO networks committed to the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of habitats and species in Europe. Further information can be obtained on the European Habitats Forum's web pages.

EUROPARC Sections and Natura 2000

The EUROPARC Section in Spain has an information page on Natura 2000 (mostly in Spanish). For further information please click here.

In April 2004, the EUROPARC Nordic-Baltic Section held a seminar on monitoring of species and habitats. A report of the meeting can be found here.

Earlier EUROPARC work on Natura 2000

Before the EUROPARC Natura 2000 working group was founded, the EUROPARC Federation conducted a training seminar on the topic ‘Natura 2000 and protected areas’ in the Hortobágy National Park (Hungary) in 2001 as part of the EUROPARC Expertise Exchange Project. The seminar aimed to provide staff working in Central and Eastern European protected areas as well as associated ministries with an opportunity to improve their understanding and technical knowledge of the Natura 2000 policy and designation, thus equipping them to for the challenges that the policy presents. A report of the meeting can be accessed here. Although the report is now five years old, it still represents a useful reference tool for Natura 2000 site management issues.

Financing Natura 2000

A new internet tool based on the "Financing Natura 2000 - Guidance Handbook" for all those involved in Natura 2000 and who are in need of funding can bow be found on the web under www.financing-natura2000.moccu.com/pub/index.html. The site is currently in its pilot phase (April 2008) and therefore only contains information for Latvia, Italy and Austria.