The European Natura 2000 Network
European Natura 2000 Network is the name that the European Union has adopted to make uniform, a management point of view, a system of interconnected areas within the territory of the European Community. These areas are intended for the conservation of habitats and species of animals and plants listed in the Annexes of Community directives "Habitat" and "Birds".
The European Directive 92/43/EEC, known as Directive "Habitat", is a legal instrument which is the conservation of natural and semi-natural habitats and wild flora and fauna in Europe. The habitat and species are listed in the Annexes of the Directive (about 200 habitat types, 200 species of animals and 500 species of plants) and their conservation requires the identification of Sites of Community Importance proposed (pSCIs). The Directive "Habitat" has been implemented by the Italian legislation through Presidential Decree 357/97 and 120/2003.
The European Directive 79/409/EEC, known as Directive "Birds" is another legal instrument dealing with the conservation of wild birds (181 species listed in the annex) and has been transposed into national law through the LN 157/92. The Directive "Birds" provides direct actions for the conservation and identification of areas to be allocated specifically to the conservation of wild birds, the so-called Special Protection Areas (SPAs).
The identification of sites offer was made in Italy by individual provinces and autonomous regions, in a process coordinated at the central level. Currently the implementation of the project European Natura 2000 Network is being completed.
