EU's Conservation Efforts Need More Strategic Investment to Meet Continental Commitments

摘要: The European Union (EU) has made significant conservation efforts in the last two decades, guided by Birds and Habitats Directives, currently under evaluation. Despite these a large proportion of priority species are still in unfavorable condition continue declining. For this reason, thoughtful review implementation Europe is needed to identify potential causes behind poor effectiveness. We compiled information on distribution all funds LIFE-Nature, the main financial tool for Europe. found that LIFE-Nature has not adequately covered continental needs. majority of funds have been directed toward nonthreatened or regions low conservation priority. Given limited resources available, two key aspects are in urgent need revision improvement. First, funds should be global needs planned at the EU scale. Second, new mechanisms required to set priorities in dynamic fashion, rather than relying on fixed lists (i.e., Directives’ Annexes) may rapidly become outdated. These improvements would require new priorities redistribution efforts, supported adequate policy more effective top-down control on investment.