The legal Observatory Natura 2000 is a network of legal experts from different member states of the European Union (UE-15) gathered at the International Centre of Comparative Environmental Law (C.I.D.C.E.) whose mission consists in the evaluation and the follow-up, in European and comparative law, of the establishment of the Natura 2000 network as provided by the Council Directive of 2nd April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds (Birds Directive) and of Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21st May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and wild fauna and flora (Habitats Directive). 

The Observatory Network has been established after the Limoges meeting at the CRIDEAU in May 2002, on initiative of Professor Michel Prieur, director of the CRIDEAU (CNRS/INRA); and Francis Haumont (Université Catholique de Louvain), director of the Seminar on Planning Law and Environment (SERES).

It is actually financed by the funds of the member universities and member centres, and did benefit in 2003 of a co-funding by the European Commission to the International Centre of Comparative Environmental Law (C.I.D.C.E.).

The missions of the legal Observatory Natura 2000 are:

         - legal monitoring and updating of European and comparative law in order to gather and distribute relevant legal information for the establishment of the Natura 2000 network, as its implementation in national law as European law

        - carrying out legal as prospective studies on problems occurring during implementation of the Habitat and Bird Directives,  the interpretation given by the ECJ as national courts, and their implementation in member states’ law.

        - the follow-up and evaluation of both directives  through their implementation and application process, providing of legal opinions upon request on behalf of public and private players on the European, national or regional level.

        - the distribution and communication of information, through holding of conferences, publication of work, publishing of Newsletter, meetings and partnerships of the Observatory with different public and private players interested (European Institutions, authorities and local governments, NGO, etc.)

The Observatory hopes to contribute through its mission to a better implementation and establishment of the Natura 2000 network in the Member States, in respect of a sustainable development perspective.

CONTACTS:

LIST OF NATURA 2000 NETWORK MEMBERS

LIST OF NATURA 2000 NETWORK MEETINGS

Limoges, 16th May 2002

Louvain-La-Neuve, 26th September 2002

Seminar of Caserta / Piedimonte Matese (Italy), 30th-31st May 2003

Meeting at the University of Thessaloniki, Volos (Greece), 19th-20th mars 2004

Meeting of Limoges-Montaigut, 13th-15th September 2004

Meeting of Helsinki (FIN), 29th September-1st October 2005.

LIST OF NATURA 2000 NETWORK RESEARCH SUBJECTS

1) The implementation of Natura 2000 into national law

2) The temporary protection of Special Protection Areas (SPAs) and Sites of Community Importance (SCI) which might be selected by the European Commission

3) Geographical scope of the protection regime of Natura 2000 sites (art. 6 (2) to (4) of Habitats Directive)

4) Property rights and establishment of the Natura 2000 network

5) Management of Natura 2000 sites

6) Management of features of the landscape which are of major importance with a view to improving the ecological coherence of the Natura 2000 network (as referred to in Art. 3.3 and 10 of the Habitats Directive)

7) Fundamental concepts of the Natura 2000 system.

8) Environmental responsibility and Natura 2000

9) Disturbance and deterioration of Natura 2000 sites
 

LIST OF THE NETWORKS’ PUBLISHED WORK

- Les difficultés de mise en oeuvre de la directive Habitats, journée d'étude, Limoges 30 janvier 2001, Actes et Communications, n°19, 2002, économie et sociologie rurales, INRA

 

- La conservazione della natura in Europa. La Direttiva Habitat ed il processo di costruzione della rete “Natura 2000”, a cura di Domenico Amirante, Collana di diritto e socità, FrancoAngeli, Milano, 2003 (actes du colloque de Caserta / Piedimonte Matese 30-31 mai 2003).

 

- Natura 2000 et le droit. Aspects juridiques de la sélection et de la conservation des sites Natura 2000 en Belgique et en France, Actes de Louvain-la-Neuve (26 septembre 2002), Éditions Bruylant, 2004.
 

- Le réseau écologique européen Natura 2000, sous la direction de Jean-Marc Février et Claude Deves, Collection Carré Droit, LITEC, 2004

- La mise en place du réseau Natura 2000 : les transpositions nationales. Sous la direction de Jessica Makowiak. Éditions PULIM (Presses Universitaires de Limoges), mars 2005. (click here to download the table of contents in *PDF format)

To come :

- Le régime juridique provisoire des futurs sites Natura 2000, PULIM

- Droit de propriété et mise en place du réseau Natura 2000, actes de Volos, Bruylant (Belgique) et presses universitaires de Thessalie (Grèce).
 

08 décembre 2005