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on the composition of species and their physical setting
shall be protected and
maintained if favourable conservation status is already accomplished, or measures
shall be taken to reach this status in case the present condition is not in compliance
with that goal.
Art. 2 HD proclaims in general terms that all measures taken by Member States
pursuant to the directive
—
shall be designed to maintain or restore, at favourable
conservation status, natural habitats and species of wild fauna and
'
fl
flora of com-
munity interest
'
. According to the Directive, the status of a habitat quali
es as
'
favourable
'
when, among other things, its range is
'
stable or increasing
'
and the
'
structure and functions which are necessary for its long-term maintenance exist and
are likely to continue to exist for the foreseeable future
. The conservation status of
a species is deemed favourable when, inter alia, the species
'
is maintaining itself on
a long-term basis as a viable component of its natural habitats
'
'
and
'
there is, and
will probably continue to be, a suf
ciently large habitat to maintain its populations
on a long-term basis
.
The BD (
1979
) in its present
'
version of 2009 (Directive
2009
, based
on the amended version of Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979) relates
to the conservation of all species of naturally occurring birds in the wild state in the
territory of the European Member States. It covers the protection, management and
control of these species and lays down rules for their exploitation. The directive
applies to birds, their eggs, nests and habitats (Art. 1 BD). Member States shall take
the requisite measures to maintain the population of the bird species at a level which
corresponds in particular to ecological, scienti
'
codi
ed
'
c and cultural requirements, while
taking account of economic and recreational requirements, or to adapt the popu-
lation of these species to that level (Art. 2 BD). Art. 1 and 2 BD do not contain the
words
, but are generally understood to imply this
purpose for wild birds (Trouwborst
2011
, p. 70 et seq.).
A coherent European ecological network of SAC shall be set up under the title of
'
favourable conservation status
'
“
, composed of sites hosting the natural habitat types listed in Annex I
and habitats of the species listed in Annex II (Art. 3 HD). These special areas of
conservation protected by the HD include, inter alia, aquatic habitats such as
stagnant and
Natura 2000
”
flowing water bodies and submerged vegetation, which are in the
focus of the WFD, too (Friedrich
2003
, p. 39). As designated in Art. 3 HD,
the Natura 2000 network includes also the special protection areas classi
fl
ed by the
Member States pursuant to the BD. Insofar, the bird
s protection measures are
integrated to the system that has been created by the HD. The coherent Natura 2000
designated areas must be secured by appropriate conservation measures. Relevant
species and their habitats should be effectively protected from considerable harm
and should maintain a favourable degree of conservation.
Both the BD and the HD are, at least in part, fundamentally connected with the
WFD. The BD lists in its Article 4 that
'
'
Member States shall pay particular attention
'
'
'
to the protection of wetlands
, but
explicitly not addressing these latter types exclusively. Yet, as a large group of wild
birds depends on wetlands, this Directive is also closely connected to the intrinsic
topic of the Ramsar Convention of 1975 (
, including
wetlands of international importance
'
Convention on Wetlands of International
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