National approaches to Natura 2000 management in the marine environment:

 

Germany: Germany’s coastal waters inhabit countless rare and endangered marine species. At the same time the North and the Baltic Seas are some of the most industrialized marine areas world-wide. Despite large designated Natura 2000 sites, many marine protected areas in German waters are at risk to become paper parks, only, due to a fundamental lack of management and regulation of human activities. Read more…

 

Spain: Currently Spain only has a very small network of marine Special Protection Areas (SPAs, according to the EU Birds Directive) designated by the regional governments and pending of management plans. In October 2011, however, the Spanish Government proposed to designate another 41 sites as SPAs, largely mirroring the inventory of marine Important Bird Areas (IBAs) elaborated by SEO/BirdLife in Spain. Read more…