Experts have answered open questions about the effectiveness, efficiency, relevance and coherence of the EU Birds and Habitats Directives with the rest of EU laws as well as their added value to the EU. Following an official request to access the document by the WWF European Policy Office, a study prepared by a Consortium including Milieu Ltd, the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEЕР) and ICF International and Ecosystems Ltd has now been released. The report followed a more than yearlong process, including an extensive consultation with stakeholders from all over the European Union, as well as an in-depth analysis of the situation in 10 EU Member States.

This report confirms IUCN’s position last year on the fitness check of the EU Nature Directives, in which IUCN supported the scientific and evidence-based assessment of policy and legislation and called for the process to result in enhanced implementation of the EU’s nature directives.

This new study concludes that the economic benefits of implementation are estimated to exceed costs, and identifies several areas for improved implementation, such as the availability of funding, closing the gaps in knowledge, the adoption of management plans for the Natura 2000 sites, the better engagement of stakeholders in the implementation of the process and the need for more guidance and capacity.