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01 THE FACTS
Which benefits could be obtained by a town, or specifically
a cattle or land farmer, for being within the Natura 2000
Network?
The policies of the European Union will particularly favour those areas
that are within the Natura 2000 Network. So, the production of biological
or special foodstuffs, ecological tourism, the maintence of land or cattle
farming methods that are beneficial for the conservation of species or
environmental education activities will have the opportunity of benefiting
from funding. Likewise, the LIFE funds will show preference for those
areas within the Natura 2000 Network.
Who must inform about the possible aids or legal
constraints for those that undertake an activity within the
Natura 2000 Network?
It is the official bodies of each autonomous communities who must give all
information regarding the Natura 2000 Network: the environment or rural
development departments, in the first place, and other sectors secondarily
(industry, environmental quality, etc.)
The Life+ Natura 2000: Connecting people with Biodiversity project has set
up a toll free phone number to give information in this respect 900 667 790.
How much does the mangement of the Natura 2000
Network cost?
The Spanish government has estimated the investment need for the corect
management of the Natura 2000 Network in 1.000 million euros per year.
The European Commision, back in 2010, estimated the cost of managing
the network in 5.800 million euros per year.
How will this investment be paid for?
There is no specific European financing tool for the management of the
Natura 2000 Network, but it will receive investment coming from different
European funds: rural development funds FEADER and FEDER, fisheries
funds or LIFE funds, for example. That is, the fishing, agricultural, forestry
or rural development policies will be embedded with environmental values
and must seriously take into account, when investing money, whether a
territory is within the Natura 2000 Network.
In this way, belonging to the network can mean an advantage over areas
outside it.
The percentage of investment that each country must make will vary in
each case according to the objectives and the assigned European funds.
Which benefits does the Natura 2000 bring?
200.000-300.000 millions euros per year. The EU itself considers this
estimate conservative, as only a subset of environmental services
has been evaluated, such as carbon sequestration, the provision
and purification of water, the prevention of natural disasters and the
possibilities for developing tourism and leisure activities, among others.
If we didn´t have natural ecosystems to rend these services to us, we
would have to pay for them: water, oxygen, landscape, etc. That would
cost us between 200.000 and 300.000 million euros per year.
Is it profitable to invest in the Natura 2000 Network?
If we take into account that correctly managing Natura 2000 in the whole
of the EU would cost us 5.800 million euros per year and that it yields
300.000 million euros value per year, its a highly profitable investment.
Besides, we must take into account the enormous investment required
for trying to restore a habitat once it has deteriorated. That is why it is
much more practical to opt for preventive conservation than to have to
remedy the losses later.
Who benefits the most from a sustainable management of
the resources of Natura 2000?
The society at large benefits from it, but the populations and persons living
within the network benefit even more directly: those who use its natural
resources, those who live in a natural environment that is a synonym
for health and wellbeing or those who may suffer the effects of natural
disasters, as great floods, due to an unsustainable use of the territory.
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Natura 2000 Network. Handbook for journalists