Regional capacity building on compliance with environmental legislation – Nature protection
Date: 30.09-02.10.2015
Place: Bitola, Pelister National Parc, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Organizer: ECRAN Secretariat in cooperation with the EC TAIEX Unit
The continuation of the deterioration of natural habitats and the threats posed to certain species are
one of the main concerns of European Union (EU) environmental policy. The EC Habitats Directive
introduced the range of measures to protect the series of habitats and species listed in Annexes I
and II of the Directive. Each Member State was required to prepare and propose a national list of
sites which has been evaluated in order to form a European network of Sites of Community
Importance (SCI). These will eventually be designated as Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), and
along with Special Protection Areas (SPAs).
The Birds Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on the
conservation of wild birds is the EU’s oldest piece of nature legislation and one of the most
important, creating a comprehensive scheme of protection for all wild bird species naturally
occurring in the EU.
The workshops under ECENA/ECRAN will be built on the results of the ECENA programme under
RENA, with its workshops in Lake Ohrid and Lake Skhodra, and will next to the attention for cross
border issues in nature inspection also pay attention to related and cross-cutting issues.
The latter not only refers to for example forestry and nature protection but also to the nature
legislation with other pieces of environmental legislation, including the IED and EIA. Trade in illegally
harvested timber and trade in endangered species are other elements to receive attention (ref. EU
timber regulation, CITES convention, Environmental Crime Directive). The present workshop is
especially focused on the enforcement aspects. Many issues are relevant in this respect including:
- the need for transboundary cooperation;
- the need for joint management (for example harmonized monitoring indicators, centralized joint baseline data, and monitoring data);
- legal framework harmonisation with integrated roles into national legislation.
Workshop Objective:
Increasing the effectiveness of inspection bodies and promoting compliance with environmental requirements by increasing capacity in the field of planning of Nature Inspection with attention for cross border cooperation and cross-cutting issues.
Expected Results of the training
The following results are expected for this activity scheme:
- Improved knowledge base and understanding of the required legal and institutional requirements with compliance, and enforcement aspects in cross border nature protection areas at key staff of the inspection bodies;
- Strengthened regional network of SEE professionals and experts in nature protection areas with its compliance and enforcement aspects.
- Improved knowledge of a number of related and cross-cutting issues.
