From carrots to sticks - Natural habitat protection after the countryside and rights of way act 2000

There are a range of regulatory and policy instruments which may be used to protect bio-diversity. These range from: protection of individual species from deliberate destruction or disturbance; valuing bio-diversity concerns in the planning and development system; providing financial incentives for the protection or enhancement of bio-diversity; and the use of protected areas. Protected areas aim at safeguarding areas of importance either in their own right for their physiographical or geological value, or in order to maintain or enhance habitats for species of animal or plant. This article seeks to explain and evaluate the new system for regulating and managing protected habitats - particularly those carrying the site of special scientific interest (SSSI) status - introduced by Part III of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (CROWA 2000). This legislation has brought about a dramatic shift in the form and nature of regulation of SSSIs in England and Wales, essentially moving the locus of habitat protection from voluntary co-operation to regulated site management. Carrots and sticks?1 Voluntary co-operation was almost totally reliant on carrots as incentives to protect sites. Regulated site management has introduced sticks,2 which will change the nature of the co-operative relationship between nature conservation agency and land manager.