Study investigates ways to improve the cost-effectiveness of Natura 2000 conservation
Research by a group from the European network ALTER-Net on the cost effectiveness of conservation policies in four EU Member States has been published recently. The researchers propose a number of options for improving cost-effectiveness of conservation. They also stress that the societal benefits of conservation needed to be accounted for.
The research, which is reported upon in the EU's Science for Environment Policy News Alert, looked at conservation policies in Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland. In these countries, between 7 and 14 per cent of total land area is designated as protected under each of the Habitats and Birds Directives (the protected sites forming part of Europe's Natura 2000 network of protected areas). The researchers applied a framework for assessing the cost-effectiveness of various conservation policies in place in each of the four countries. The framework considered different categories of costs: production costs for conservation measures, the cost of monitoring compliance with policies, and costs associated with researching, designing and evaluating conservation measures.
Interviews were also carried out with relevant experts on the implementation of conservation measures in Natura 2000 sites. options for improving the cost-effectiveness of conservation management were identified, and included:
- The societal benefits of conservation needed to be accounted for. For example, higher recreational value of a site will increase tourism
- Careful consideration of trade-offs associated with stakeholder involvement are needed, e.g. more public participation leads to higher decision-making costs but reduces the risk of costly conflicts
- Funding for conservation projects should be guaranteed in the long term, as it delivers more conservation benefit for a given budget
- More money should be spent on implementing conservation management plans, rather than making them, as this achieves more conservation for the same cost
- More research is required to better understand trade-offs in conservation, management and optimum timescales and levels (e.g. local, regional, national) for design of conservation policies.
The research is published in Wätzold, F. Mewes, M., van Apeldoorn, R. et al. (2010). Cost-effectiveness of managing Natura 2000 sites: an exploratory study for Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland. Biodiversity and Conservation. 19: 2053-2069.
The SEP article can be found here: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/integration/research/newsalert/pdf/206na4.pdf
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ALTER-Net is a network of 24 partner institutes from 17 European countries. ALTER-Net integrates research capacities across Europe: assessing changes in biodiversity, analyzing the effect of those changes on ecosystem services and informing the public and policy makers about this at a European scale. Originally funded by the European Union’s Framework VI program to stimulate a collaborative approach, ALTER-Net is now operating independently.
Young students in Portugal discover Natura 2000
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