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Canaries, Azores, get first EU-wide nature zones |
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| EU: January 18, 2002 | ||
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BRUSSELS - The Canary Islands, the Azores and Madeira became yesterday the first parts of the European Union to have areas designated as conservation zones of EU-wide importance.
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The sub-tropical volcanic islands in the Atlantic become the first to create environmentally important sites that will be protected under an EU project called Natura 2000. Areas in the rest of the Union will follow in the coming months, creating large inland and coastal zones that will be subject to strict conservation rules, including restrictions on industrial activities that could damage the environmental balance. "The adoption of this list (of sites) is a landmark in the realisation of the Natura 2000 network," EU Environment Commissioner Margot Wallstrom said in a statement. "These islands possess some of the most important and diverse wildlife anywhere in the EU." Among the species to be protected on the islands is the endangered giant lizard of Hierro, Europe's rarest reptile. EU governments agreed to create the Natura 2000 network in 1992 with the aim of protecting 200 natural habitats and 600 species. The entire network should have been designated by 1998, with full protection measures applying six years later, but some countries have been late in proposing areas to be included, often experiencing local opposition.
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REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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