Regional Training “Natura 2000 – from Theory to Practice”
Date: 26-27.05.2015
Place: Mikulov, Znojmo, Podyjí, Czech Republic
Organizer: ECRAN Secretariat with EC TAIEX Unit
During the ECRAN regional training on Natura 2000 establishment held in Montenegro in 2014, training
participants expressed their requirement for follow up training focused on the practical demonstration of
major steps and outcomes of the process of building up Natura 2000 preferably organized and delivered in
one the EU MS.
Wider Objective:
- to improve knowledge of ECRAN Beneficiary countries on implementation of Natura 2000 – one of the most challenging pre-accession obligations ensuing from the EU Birds and Habitats Directives
Specific Objectives:
- to get practical experience with meaning of particular terms used in Natura 2000 establishment and management and to confront the theory with real practice in a Member State with considerably good implementation of Natura 2000;
- to see, on a practical example of one EU Member State, possible ways of solution of interrelationships of Natura 2000 and national protected areas;
- to see what changes and amendments in national nature protection have to be made in order to get functional Natura 2000 network while not jeopardizing national nature protection goals;
- to discuss individual issues and challenges with site managers – practitioners in charge of everyday implementation of both Natura 2000 and national obligations.
Expected Results of the meeting
Two-day field training will take part in the SE part of the Czech Republic with big concentration of Natura 2000 sites. The host country was chosen because of very good technical approach of the Czech Republic to Natura 2000 preparation recognized by the European Commission. The aim of the seminar is to enable the participants to see how particular provisions of both the Birds and Habitats Directives (2009/147/EU and 92/43/EEC) look in practice and what are the interrelationships of Natura 2000 sites with national protected areas. Focus will be put on the following issues: delineation of SPAs and SCIs in the field (scientific vs practical and administration perspective); SPA management; SCI overlapping with national protected areas – putting together conservation objectives for different target features; resolving conflicts between conservation objectives; local infrastructure projects and Appropriate Assessment.
Participants will visit around 10 Natura 2000 sites and will be provided with on-the-spot lectures of managers of these sites as well as protected areas overlapping them. All lecturers are going to be practitioners unified in the Czech section of EUROPARC Federation that kindly agreed to co-organise this event. In addition, lecturers from Czech Ornithological Society (in charge of management of SPAs) will provide their presentations of the state and management of the SPA-part of Natura 2000 network.
