From national parks to biodiversity conservation

Abstract

Critical review of the evolution of the legal regime concerning the protection of biodiversity since the accession of Spain to the EEC (1986). The law in force at that moment, the LEPN of 1975, had the support of the Public Administration with competences in forestry, which regarded the LEPN as an instrument to maintain its monopoly in the policy of nature conservation. However, the constitutional commitment on environmental issues, together with the Autonomous Regions’ actions in support of the environmental values in their respective territories, led to the nature conservation legislation of 1989, which had a conservationist approach. Finally, the Community requirements of the Birds Directive (1979) and the Habitats Directive (1992) configured a true general system of protection of biodiversity through the Natura 2000 network. The paper explains the meaning of this network, paying particular attention to the scope of the State obligations and to the problems derived from the late and incomplete transposition of the above mentioned Directives. The main conclusion is the need of a full development of the Natura 2000 network in order to make it the axis around which the Spanish policy of protection of biodiversity should revolve.