An Economic Assessment of the Costs and Benefits of Natura 2000 Sites in Scotland

In accordance with the European Commission "Habitats Directive" (Directive 92/43/EEC) and the "Birds Directive" (Directive 79/409/EEC), Scotland must contribute to the development of a UK network of protected areas that represent the most important wildlife sites in the European Union, known as the Natura 2000 (N2K) network. This network is made up of Special Protection Areas (SPAs) classified under the Birds Directive and of Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) under the Habitats Directive. In Scotland, by 31/12/02, 355 N2K sites had been identified, comprising 223 candidate SACs (cSACs) and 132 SPAs, accounting for 9.3% of Scotland's land surface. As 55 sites are both cSACs and SPAs, there are actually 300 separate individual N2K sites.