Introduced at a time when international conservation initiatives were just beginning to take shape, the Birds Directive (Directive 2009/147/EC) is the oldest piece of European Union’s (EU) legislation on the environment and was unanimously adopted in April 1979. The Habitats Directive was adopted a few years later, in 1992 (Directive 92/43/EEC), and together with the Birds Directive, the Habitat Directive forms the cornerstone of the EU’s biodiversity conservation strategy.
At the heart of both directives is the Natura 2000 network, which sets conservation goals and legal standards to manage sites sustainably and limit harm from human activities. Today, almost one fifth of the EU land area and around 10% of its marine area are covered by the EU Natura 2000 network (around 28,000 sites), making it the largest network of protected areas in the world.
