NATURA 2000: The Backbone of Nature Conservation in the EU

Matyas J. Prommer, Ph.d student, UF School of Natural Resources and Environment Moderator: Madan Oli, UF Wildlife Ecology & Conservation Europe has a long history of land transformation for human use. Agriculture, infrastructure, urban sprawl, and industrialization including mining consumed much of the wild habitats and significantly decreased biodiversity richness across the continent. A number of habitats and species, however, persist and improving their conservation status is an important task of Member States of the European Union. NATURA 2000, a network of protected areas targeting about 200 habitat types and 1,000 species is the key for that. Maintaining and managing of the network for the benefit of habitats and species, however, is often challenging amid economic and political interests.