NATURA 2000 NETWORK

The Natura 2000 Network is an ecological network for biodiversity conservation across the European Union, consisting of:

• Special Protection Areas (SPAs): Established by Member States under the Birds Directive 79/409/EEC (later repealed and fully replaced by Directive 2009/147/EC, which maintains its fundamental objectives). This was transposed into Italian law with Law No. 157 of February 11, 1992.
• Sites of Community Importance (SCIs): Identified under the Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC (transposed into Italian law by Presidential Decree 357/97, later amended and supplemented by Presidential Decree 120/2003) to ensure the long-term conservation of natural habitats and species of flora and fauna that are threatened or rare at the community level. These sites are subsequently designated as Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) as required by Article 4 of the Directive.

The Birds Directive aims to protect and manage all naturally occurring wild bird species in the European territory and regulates their exploitation. The Habitats Directive is designed to "safeguard biodiversity through the conservation of natural habitats and of wild flora and fauna in the European territory of the Member States to which the Treaty applies" (Article 2). To achieve this objective, it establishes measures to ensure the maintenance, or restoration, of a favorable conservation status for the habitats and species of Community interest listed in its annexes.

The Habitats Directive also sets regulations on site management and Appropriate Assessment (Article 6), funding (Article 8), monitoring and national reporting on the implementation of the Directive’s provisions (Articles 11 and 17), and the granting of possible exemptions (Article 16).

The general objective set by the relevant legislation is, therefore, to maintain a favorable conservation status for areas included in the Natura 2000 Network, which represent environments of great importance for habitats and animal and plant species, as well as for biodiversity conservation. The designation of SACs, as required by Article 4 of the Habitats Directive and Article 3, paragraph 2 of Presidential Decree 357/97 and subsequent amendments, is a crucial step in the full implementation of the Natura 2000 Network. It ensures the full application of site-specific conservation measures and provides greater security for the management of the network.

The national coverage of the Natura 2000 Network is also important in relation to the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, which calls for expanding protected areas across the EU. Specifically, it mandates the protection of "at least 30% of terrestrial and 30% of marine areas, representing at least a 4% increase in land and a 19% increase in marine areas compared to today." Additionally, the strategy states that "at least one-third of the protected areas should be strictly protected, meaning at least 10% of the EU's land and 10% of its seas."