Guidelines for the management of wilderness and wild areas in Natura 2000

Eurosite was delighted to be involved in the following important European Commission study and to be working (again) in partnership with Alterra and the PAN Parks Foundation. Wilderness and wild areas are increasingly important because of the valuable biodiversity they possess. Appropriate management approaches through, for example, restoration - or rewilding - are particularly interesting for our membership.

About the project

Wilderness and wild areas contribute to making nature more resilient to the impacts of climate change and to preventing biodiversity loss. Often, Natura 2000 sites are core components of such areas. The development of appropriate management approaches involves consideration about issues such as the scale of protection and protected areas, the relationship between Natura 2000 sites and their wider context and the practical implications for management of large areas, which include management of the ecological connections between and around Natura 2000 sites.

The report on 'Wilderness in Europe’ (Gyula Hegyi 2008. Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety. European Parliament, Session Document 2008/2210 (INI)) adopted by the European Parliament in February 2009 states that the European Commission should develop appropriate recommendations that provide guidance to the EU Member States on the best way of ensuring protection of present and potential wilderness or wild lands and their natural processes, which are likely covered by the Natura 2000 network.

Managed on behalf of the European Commission, the study’s key aim was to develop draft guidelines on the management of wilderness and wild areas in the Natura 2000 network. This involved giving consideration to both non-intervention management in existing wilderness areas and restoration measures and management in wild land areas, all being part of the Natura 2000 network.

The specific tasks were to:

Review available literature on definitions of wilderness, existing initiatives and legislative and statutory measures in Member States to protect wilderness and wild areas.

Establish the link between Natura 2000 sites and wilderness and analyse the role of the Natura 2000 network in the protection of wilderness.

Select and present a set of case studies representing different types of wilderness and wild areas.

Analyse the pressures affecting wilderness areas and review the quality of wilderness and wild areas in terms of their resilience and capacity to adapt.

Describe the key ecosystem services provided by wilderness areas and the benefits of these areas for e.g. the local communities.

Produce input to draft guidelines on protection and management of wilderness and wild areas.

Present an analysis of the means, objectives and feasibility for restoration measures leading to the development of wilderness and wild areas.

Provide cases of good practices on approaches for monitoring of wilderness and wild areas, and on typical financial needs for wilderness and wild areas.

Guidelines on the management of wilderness and wild areas in the Natura 2000 network

The European Commission's Nature and Biodiversity Newsletter 'Natura 2000' (number 32, July 2012 - available for download at the bottom of this page) announced that the full guidance document will be available on the following website later in the Autumn: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/wilderness/index_en.ht...

The draft guidance is available for download below.

European Parliament procedure file INI/2008/2210 'Wilderness in Europe' report:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&reference=P6-TA-20...