Nature & BiodiversityBiodiversity - the immense variety of Life
on Earth - is what makes our planet not only habitable but
beautiful. We depend on the natural richness of our planet
for the food, energy, wood, raw materials, clean air and clean
water that make life possible and which drive our economy.
But we also look to our natural environment for less tangible
things such as aesthetic pleasure, artistic inspiration and
recreation. The EU is committed to the protection
of biodiversity; indeed there is a political commitment
to halt biodiversity loss within the EU by 2010. European society, our immense cultural diversity
and our economies are reflected in our landscapes, agriculture
and natural spaces. We are stewards of a wonderful natural
legacy that we can pass on hopefully in tact to future generations.
Over the last 25 years together we have built up a vast network
of over 26,000 protected areas covering all the Member States
and a total area of around 850.000 km2, representing more
than 20% of total EU territory. This vast array of sites,
known as the Natura 2000
network - the largest coherent network of protected areas
in the world, is a testament to the importance that EU citizens
attach to biodiversity. The legal basis for the Natura 2000 network
comes from the Birds
Directive which dates back to 1979 and the Habitats
Directive from 1991. Together these Directives constitute
the backbone of the EU's internal policy on biodiversity protection.
But protected nature areas do not exist and certainly cannot
thrive in isolation from the rest of the land. We need to
ensure that our agriculture as well as our regional, energy
and transport policies are sustainable and that Europe's natural
capital-its biodiversity, is conserved and protected. For questions and comments, please write
to nature@ec.europa.eu.
|
