Integrated management of Natura 2000 sites

This new Focus brochure, from the Directorate General Environment’s LIFE Unit, examines the contribution that the LIFE-Nature programme has made to the integrated management of Natura 2000 sites. In this context, the term ‘integrated management’ is used to indicate the nature conservation of a site alongside the management of other activities or resources, such as for examples the management of agriculture, tourism or of the water resources. The publication is divided into three sections. Part one provides a summary of the key issues surrounding the EU Birds and Habitats directives linked to the Natura 2000 network. It provides a summary of the main guidelines and recommendations by Member States and illustrates national guidelines and manuals, prepared in France and Italy with LIFE-Nature projects. Part two contains examples of management plans that were produced during LIFE-Nature projects. Part three provides a list of the 428 LIFE-Nature projects that have included management plans, of which a considerable proportion deals with habitats and animal species.