Protected areas and climate change<br> Reflections from a practitioner’s perspective

Abstract

Protected areas classified under EU wildlife legislation have achieved real gains for biodiversity. Protected areas also safeguard the environmental conditions and functions that support diverse ecological communities. Ensuring they are properly protected and maintained in favourable condition will help build resilient populations that are better able to respond to climate change. Changes are inevitable, and will require the conservation objectives and management of protected areas to be reviewed and adapted over time, at different spatial and temporal scales for different species. Increasing their area through habitat creation will increase their resilience and provide the space to accommodate change. The EU Birds and Habitats Directives are well framed to help meet the challenges of climate change adaptation. The overall purpose of the Directives is straightforward: to maintain species and habitats at a favourable conservation status over the long term. The Directives possess a robust, dynamic framework of habitat conservation measures, including protected areas, designed to work together to deliver this overarching objective, although this potential has not yet been fully realised. Climate change adaptation will require the interpretation and implementation of the Birds and Habitats Directives to be developed, but their fundamental construction is as sound today as it was when they were adopted.