The Habitats Directive

A Developer's Obstacle Course?

Gregory Jones KC

• Publisher: Hart Publishing
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9781849462938
• eBook ISBN: 9781782250210
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Law
• Subtopic: Environmental Law
• Index: Law

Biodiversity within the European Union is under threat. Almost a quarter of Europe's vascular plant species and 155 species of its native mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians are threatened with extinction. The Habitats Directive imposes a strict regime for environmental protection. But with the euro zone economy falling from 'stagnation' to 'contraction' in the second quarter of 2012 and the UK entering into a 'double dip' recession in April 2012, European governments face an economic crisis. The English courts have said that the Directive should not become a property developer's obstacle course. Yet the tensions between environmental protection and economic growth are all too readily apparent with the UK government stating both that we must 'arrest the decline in habitats and species and the degradation of landscapes' and later that 'gold plating of EU rules on things like habitats' was putting 'ridiculous costs' on business enterprise. Edited by Gregory Jones QC, The Habitats Directive: A Developer's Obstacle Course? brings together a unique combination of leading academics and practitioners in the field of European environmental and planning law to address and debate controversial issues arising from the Habitats Directive in an authoritative and practical manner. A must for anyone engaged in property development, planning and environmental law.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Prelims
• Foreword
• Preface
• Table of Contents
• List of Contributors
• List of Abbreviations
• Table of Cases
• Table of Legislation
• 1. The Bern Convention and the Origins of the Habitats Directive
• 2. A Comparison of the Habitats Directive with the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity
• 3. After Morge, where are we now? The Meaning of 'Disturbance' in the Habitats Directive
• 4. How to Deal with Candidate SACs and Potential SPAs
• 5. The Meaning of 'Any Plan or Project' Under Article 6(3)
• 6. Appropriate Assessment: A Paper Tiger?
• 7. SANGs: The Thames Basin Case Study
• 8. The Habitats Directive: Nature and Law
• 9. Adverse Effects on the Integrity of a European Site: Some Unanswered Questions
• 10. Are Imperative Reasons Imperiling the Habitats Directive? An Assessment of Article 6(4) and the IROPI Exception
• 11. The Maritime Dimensions of the Habitats Directive: Past Challenges and Future Opportunities
• 12. Judicial Review, the Precautionary Principle and the Protection of Habitats: Do we have a System of Administrative Law yet?
• 13. The Principle of Equilibrium in Environmental Law: The Example of the Habitats Directive
• Appendix
• Index