Countryside Protection

Conservation policy in the UK is at a critical point in its development. International expectations are increasingly exacting, particularly after the Habitats Directive and the Rio Earth Summit, yet there is widespread concern that current conservation policies are ineffective and insufficient. This book presents an authoritative account of protected areas in the UK, examining the network of protected areas - national parks, nature reserves, sites of special scientific interest - as a whole rather than in isolation. Tracing the history, socio-legal and scientific background of the protected areas system, the authors evaluate the effectiveness of areas presently protected in the UK within the context of a wider Europe drawing from examples in Denmark, France, The Netherlands, Eastern Europe and elsewhere. Examining issues of sustainability, biodiversity, creative conservation, "wilderness", buffer zones and the role of economic sectors and local communities, the authors explore our future needs for protected areas, the new requirements of sustainability and biodiversity conservation and future management and policy strategies.