04 February 2025
The Habitats Directive as a Tool for Systemic Biodiversity Litigation
On 22 January 2025, the District Court of The Hague found the Netherlands in breach of the Habitats Directive and the Dutch nitrogen targets by failing to stop the deterioration of protected habitats and by failing to prioritise the most vulnerable habitats through its nitrogen targets. This blogpost provides an overview of the judgment and argues that the case enables a link between the location specific approach of EU nature protection and a systemic dimension and highlights the strength of the Habitats Directive. Conversely, it shows some limitations regarding the remedy and a missed opportunity to consider the longer-term and inter-generational impacts Continue reading >>
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19 December 2024
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. Continue reading >>
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