1.2 Legal obligations
The Habitats Directive is given effect
in Great Britain by legislation commonly referred to as the
Habitats Regulations [3] . These Regulations
set out in detail the duties and powers of the organisations
responsible for implementing the Directive. The Regulations
are long and complex, and relevant extracts are given in Appendix
1 . The key provisions in relation to marine SACs can
be summarised as follows:
i. all public
and statutory bodies must have regard to the requirements
of the Habitats Directive in exercising all their functions;
ii. in relation
to marine areas, all public and statutory bodies with functions
relevant to marine conservation, must exercise them in accordance
with the requirements of the Directive;
iii. certain
types of statutory bodies (called “relevant authorities”)
[4] may
establish management schemes for marine SACs, under which
they shall exercise their functions. (The relevant authorities
for the Cardigan Bay cSAC are described is section 2 of this
report).
iv. the nature conservation
body (CCW in Wales) must advise the other relevant authorities
as to the conservation objectives for a site, and any operations
which may cause deterioration or disturbance to the habitats
or species for which a site is designated. This is a separate
duty to the establishment of a management plan, although
the plan is to be guided by this advice. CCW’s advice
to the other relevant authorities for the Cardigan Bay cSAC
is contained in a separate document which can be obtained
from CCW.
This management plan arises from (iii)
above. It has been prepared by the relevant authorities for
the site, in consultation with others. It describes how each
relevant authority intends to comply with the requirements
of the Habitats Directive in relation to the Cardigan Bay
cSAC. It is also intended to act as guidance to others as
to the management requirements of the cSAC.
At the time of writing, Cardigan Bay is
a candidate SAC. This means that it has been proposed by
the UK Government to Europe, but not yet designated. Designation,
if the site is accepted, is time-tabled to occur by 2004.
This means that the obligations outlined above do not yet
apply as matter of law. However, it is the policy of the
UK Government and the National Assembly for Wales (NAW) that
candidate SACs should be protected as if they were already
designated [5] .
[3] The Conservation (Natural
Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994. - (Some relevant
extracts are given in Appendix
1)
[4] Defined in Regulation
5 of the Habitats Regulations (see Appendix
1)
[5] DETR. 1998. European
Marine Sites in England & Wales: A Guide to the Conservation
(Natural Habitats &c.) Regulations 1994 and to the preparation
and Application of Management Schemes. pbl. HMSO.
