The Natura 2000 network of protected areas is the centrepiece of European Union nature policy, currently covering almost one-fifth of the EU's entire land territory plus large marine areas. This vast EU-wide network, which aims to conserve Europe's most valuable and threatened species and habitats, has major impacts on land use throughout all Member States of the EU. This book critically assesses the origins and implementation of the Natura 2000 network, established under the Birds Directive of 1979 and the Habitats Directive of 1992.

Based on original archival research and interviews with key participants, the book records a detailed history of the origins and negotiation of Natura 2000 policy and law, with the history of EU environmental policy provided as a framework. An historical institutionalist approach is adopted, which emphasises the importance of understanding legal and policy development as processes that unfold over time. Three phases in the history of EU environmental policy are identified and described, and the history of EU nature policy is placed within the context of these three phases. Informed by this history, the author presents a comprehensive summary and assessment of the law and policy that protects Natura 2000 sites at EU level, and reviews the nature conservation outcomes for the targeted species and habitats. The book reveals how a knowledge of the history of Natura 2000 enriches our understanding of key issues such as conflicts in establishing and conserving the Natura 2000 network, EU integration in the field of nature conservation, and the future of EU nature policy.

Andrew L. R. Jackson is an Assistant Professor in environmental and planning law, UCD Sutherland School of Law, University College Dublin, Ireland. He is a graduate of Oxford University (BA, Law) and of Cambridge University (LLM). He also holds an MSc in Biodiversity and Conservation from Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and a PhD from TCD on EU environmental policy and law. He previously worked for the international law firm Slaughter and May in London and Paris; for the UK government's legal service, in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra); and with NGOs Friends of the Irish Environment and An Taisce, the National Trust for Ireland, where he was Natural Environment Officer and in-house Solicitor. Dr Jackson has been involved in public interest environmental and planning cases for many years, including before the Irish, English and EU courts.