The compatibility of the habitats directive with the novel EU green infrastructure policy

European Energy and Environmental Law Review

Volumn 23, Issue 2, 2014, Pages 36-44

  Borgstroäm, Suvi ^a   Kistenkas, Frederik H ^b  

^a FINNISH ENVIRONMENT INSTITUTE   (Finland)

^b WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITY   (Netherlands)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ECOSYSTEM SERVICE; ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY; EUROPEAN COMMISSION; EUROPEAN UNION; NATURE CONSERVATION;

EUROPE;

EID: 84898885447     PISSN: 18793886     EISSN: 25890387     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.54648/eelr2014004     Document Type: Article

References (55)

1. The preparation of this paper was funded from four projects: (1) EU 7th framework project, Securing The Conservation of biodiversity across Administrative Levels, and spatial, temporal, and Ecological Scales (SCALES), Grant Agreement 226852, (2) EU 7th framework project, Assessment of economic instruments to enhance the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity (Policy Mix) Grant Agreement 244065, (3) Finnish Environment Ministry funded project, Green Infrastructure (Decision YM107/481/2012) (4) EU 7th framework project Open- NESS.
2. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, Ecosystems and Human Well-being: General Synthesis (Island Press 2005).
3. Barbier, Edward and Markandya, Anil, A New Blueprint for a Green Economy (Earthscan from Routledge 2012), 5.
4. Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Green Infrastructure (GI) ± Enhancing Europe's Natural Capital COM(2013)249 final.
5. Council Directive 92/43/EC on the Conservation of the Natural Habitats of Wild Fauna and Flora, OJ. 1992 L 206.
6. Borgstroä m, Suvi and Simila Ä, Jukka, Assessing Current Governance System for Green Infrastructure Policy, (forth-coming).
7. For instance in France the Trame verte et bleue (TVB) is an example of a nationwide green infrastructure policy initiative. Loi n 2009-967 du 3 aouà t 2009 de programmation relative aÁ la mise en oeuvre du Grenelle de l'environnemen- t(articles 8, 23, 24, 26 et 29).
8. COM(2011)244 final. Communication from the Commis- sion to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. Our life insurance, our natural capital: an EU biodiversity strategy to 2020.
9. COM(2012)673 final Communication from the Commis- sion to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. An EU Strategy on adaptation to climate change
10. COM(2013)216 final. Communication from the Commis-sion to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe.
11. COM(2011)571 final. Communication from the Commis-sion to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions A Blueprint to Safeguard Europe's Water.
12. Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Green Infrastructure (GI) ± Enhancing Europe's Natural Capital COM(2013)249 final.
13. Mazza L., Bennett G., De Nocker L., Gantioler S., Losarcos L., Margerison C., Kaphengst T., McConville A., Rayment M., ten Brink P., Tucker G., van Diggelen R., Green Infrastructure Implementation and Efficiency (Final report for the European Commission, DG Environment on Contract ENV.B.2/SER/2010/0059. Institute for European Environmental Policy, Brussels and London 2011).
14. Brett Frischmann, Infrastructure, The Social Value of Shared resources, (Island University Press 2012) 227.
15. J. Similaä et al. Vihreaä infra ± ekosysteemipalveluiden ja luonnon monimuotoisuuden riippuvuus vihreaä staä infra-struktuurista ja saä aä ntelyjaä rjestelmaän muutostarpeet. (Forth-coming in SYKE report series 2014).
16. Frischmann, supra n. 18.
17. Allen, Craig R., Harm Benson, Melinda, Ebbesson, Jonas, Garmestani, Ahjond S., Heyamong Ellen (eds), Law and Social-Ecological Resilience, Part 1: Contributions Resilience 2011(2013), Ecology and Society18:2 (2013), Ebbesson, Jonas and Hey, Ellen (eds) Law and Social-Ecological Resilience, Part 2: Contribu- tions from Law for Social-Ecological Resilience Symposium Stockholm, Sweden, 2010"18:3 (2013), and Arnold, Craig and Gunderson, Lance L.,Adaptive law and resilience, Environmental 43Law Reporter, 10426 (2013).
18. Habitats Directive (EU Council Directive 92/43/EEC), Art 2.
19. Habitats Directive, Art. 6(1).
20. Habitats Directive, Art. 6(2).
21. Habitats Directive, Art. 6(3).
22. Habitats Directive, Art. 6(4).
23. Habitats Directive, Art. 2(3).
24. Young, Juliette, et al., Towards sustainable land use: identifying and managing the conflicts between human activities and biodiversity conservation in Europe", 14 Biodiversity and Conservation 1641 (2005), Cliquet, Ann, et al., Adaptation to climate change: Legal challenges for protected areas", 5 Utrecht Law Review 158, (2009). Trouwborst, Arie, International Nature Conservation law and the Adaptation of Biodiversity to Climate change; a mismatch?" 21 Journal of Environmental Law 419 (2009) and Ebbeson, Jonas, The rule of law in governance of complex socio-ecological changes", 20 Global Environmental Change 414, 421. (2010).
25. ECJ, Case C-355/90, Commission v. Spain [1993] ECR I-4221, paras 26±27; ECJ Case C-44/95, Regina v. Secretary of State for the Environment ex parte Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, [1996] ECR I-3805, para. 26; ECJ Case C- 67/99, Commission v. Ireland [2001] ECR I-5757; ECJ Case C-71/99, Commission v. Germany [2001] ECR I-05811, C- 371/98, First Corporate Shipping Ltd [2000]ECR I-09235,Asia C-209/04, Commissionv. Austria [2006] ECRI-02755.
26. Member states have more discretion in deciding how to protect species that are listed as in need of protection. The Habitats Directive contains suggestions, but not require- ments, for how their favorable conservation status should be attained or maintained. These suggestions include limiting access to their habitat, regulating hunting and establishing breeding programs, amongst others (Article 14(2)).
27. Schoukens, Henrik, Temporary Nature: A new way forward for ecological restoration in highly urbanized areas?" The Nordic Environmental Social Science Conference, 11-13 June 2013 Abstracts. available in http://ness2013.ku.dk/documents/NESS_2013-Volume_of_abstracts.pdf/.
28. Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Commit-tee and the Committee of the Regions. Our life insurance, our natural capital: an EU biodiversity strategy to 2020. COM (2011)244 final.
29. Kistenkas, Frederik H. Rethinking European Nature Conservation Legislation: Towards Sustainable Develop-ment", 10:1 Journal of European Environmental and Planning Law, 72, 75 et seq.(2013).
30. C-258/11 (Galway bypass) [2013] ECR-000. See also Kistenkassupra n. 35.
31. Ureta, Ariel, Instruments for sites active management of Natura 2000 sites: balancing between stakeholders and nature conservation? International Conference Antwerp, 12-13 December 2012. 20 years of Habitats Directive: European Wildlife's Best Hope?
32. See, inter alia, Cliquet et al., supra n. 30, 171, Trouwborst supra, n. 30, 439±440.
33. Habitats Direcctive, Art. 10.
34. A Cliquet et al., supra n. 30, 175.
35. Commission of the European communities, White paper. Adapting to climate change: Towards a European frame- work for action, COM(2009) 147 final.
36. Kettunen Marianne, et al. Guidance on the maintenance of landscape features of major importance for wild flora and fauna - Guidance on the implementation of Article 3 of the Birds Directive (79/409/EEC) and Article 10 of the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC),(Institute for European Environ- mental Policy (IEEP)) 7.
37. Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council 60/2000/EC. Establishing a framework for community action in the field of water policy. OJ. 2000 L 327.
38. Mertens, K et al. Ecosystem services. What's in it for a Lawyer?" European Energy and Environmental Law Review. (2012) 31+33.
39. However, in its first report on the implementation of the Directive, the European Commission concluded that the coordination arrangements between different authorities within the member states were inconclusive. Coordination at the international scale seems lacking as well; the Commission reported that despite international coordination mechanisms in place in many international river basin districts, only a few member states reported using them to coordinate their monitoring programs, indicating weak horizontal information flow. Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council, Towards sustainable water management in the European Union, First stage in the implementation of the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC, COM (2007) 128 final.
40. See more in Epstein, Yaffa, Population Based Species Management Across Legal Boundaries: The Bern Convention, Habitats Directive, and the Gray Wolf in Scandinavia", 25:4 Georgetown International Environmental Law Review, 550(2013).
41. Convention on the conservation of European wildlife and natural habitats (Bern, Switzerland, 1979-09-19, CETS 104) (Bern Convention).
42. Case C-518/04 Commission v Greece [2006] ECR I-42 para.16.
43. Olivia Green et al. EU Water Governance: Striking the Right Balance between Regulatory Flexibility and Enforcement?" 18:2 Ecology and Society, 10, 17 (2013).
44. Epstein, Yaffa, The Habitats Directive and Bern Convention: Synergy and Dysfunction in Public International and EU Law", Georgetown International Environmental Law Review (Forthcoming 2014).
45. Consolidated Version of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union [2008] OJ C 115/49, Art. 258.
46. Kraämer, Ludwig, The enforcement challenge: how to fill the gap between theory and practice, International Conference 20 years of Habitats Directive. Antwerp, 12-13/12 2012.
47. CleÂment, Marc, Global objectives and scope of the Habitats Directive: what does the obligation of result mean in practice?'International Conference 20 years of Habitats Directive. Antwerp, 12-13/12 2012.
48. See the Study on possible options for strengthening the EU level role in environmental inspections and strengthening the Commissions capacity to undertake effective investigations of alleged breaches of EU environmental law" (European Commission ± DG Environment Final Report 2013).
49. The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters. Aarhus, Denmark, 25th June 1998.
50. McGillivray, Donald, "Mitigation, compensation and conservation: screening for appropriate assessment under the EU Habitats Directive", 8:4 Journal of European Environmental and Planning Law, 329(2011)
51. Kistenkas Frederik H., supra, n. 34.
52. Kistenkas, Frederik H., Concurring regulation in European forest law, 22/3 GAIA (2013).
53. COM(2013) 249 final at 10 and 11.
54. COM(2012) 746 final and SWD(2013) 401 final.
55. SWD(2013) 401 final at 61.