Implementation of natura 2000 in new EU members states of Central Europe : assessment report

The implementation of Natura 2000 in the New EU Member States of Central Europe is a long process which began with the signing of Accession Treaties in the beginning of the 1990s and will continue for several years. Environmental NGOs have been lobbying for proper designation and implementation of Natura 2000 sites with the involvement of civil society. This publication, prepared by several experts from nature protection organisations, gives a picture of this process. It is maybe too early to assess how successful the implementation of Natura 2000 in the New EU Member States of Central Europe has been, but it gives examples of good practice in the designation process and public consultations; it also illustrates where problems can appear and how to avoid them. The text is based upon questionnaires sent out to NGOs of eight new Central European Member States of the EU. Comments are often subjective and according to the individual authors of the questionnaires, which have been edited together to form a country-by-country panorama.