How much does it cost to include a marginal rural area as a Natura 2000 site?. Social costs and expenditures for compensation schemes

Abstract

Following the identification of sites of community importance (SCI) under the habitats directive (43/92 EEC), managing authorities are designing conservation plans to maintain and/or enhance the natural values of the sites. This paper presents both an estimate of the costs associated with the implementation of the management plan and an estimate of the compensation payments that will be established. This allows us to know whether including this area in Natura 2000 is profitable from an economic perspective and managing authorities to budget suff icient resources for implementing conservation plans. The paper ends with some considerations regarding the global cost of Natura 2000 network in Europe.