Prohibiting Drivers of Biodiversity Loss
On 14 November 2024, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) found Germany in breach of the Habitats Directive (HD) due to a failure to prohibit agricultural activities that drove biodiversity loss in protected (Natura 2000) sites. The ruling in C-47/23 appears significant due to its focus on the drivers of deterioration and the need to take legally binding measures against those drivers. In light of the poor state of nature across the EU and the ongoing failure to adequately address the drivers of biodiversity loss, this ruling provides an important clarification on the HD’s non-deterioration obligation.
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