Progress on preparation for Natura 2000 in future EU member states

The report evaluates preparations in 11 EU candidate countries for implementation of Natura 2000, the EU's nature conservation network. The report concludes that the pace must be stepped up to meet the 2004 deadline, and the timely establishment of Natura 2000 needs greater political will and commitment. It cautions that potential Natura 2000 sites are threatened in all candidate countries. These threats range from conventional timber logging in Lithuania to planned extension of the EU network of motorways through the Biebrza National Park in Poland and the Kresna Gorge in Bulgaria. The proposed Danube-Oder-Elbe canal will irreparably damage the Danube, Odra, Elbe and Morava rivers as well as floodplains, and impact on 26 Natura 2000 sites in Poland alone. WWF calls on the European Commission and national authorities to halt further degradation of valuable sites and to ensure that plans for new infrastructure developments comply with EU environmental acquis. It calls for additional EU resources, in particular pre-accession funds, to be allocated for completing the scientific work to ensure that all potential Natura 2000 sites can be identified. The administrative capacity of candidate countries at national and regional level must be considerably strengthened. National authorities must create an ecologically coherent network with a large variety of habitats and species. The financial requirements for Natura 2000 in an enlarged EU must be included in forthcoming discussions for the next EU budgetary period. National authorities and the European Commission must ensure that no funds are allocated to transport, hydro, or other infrastructures that endanger present or future Natura 2000 sites.