ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the individual Member States of the European Community. Many of the initiatives of the individual countries were developed prior to the European policies and international agreements. Member States have nominated their existing policies as their 'formal compliance'. The operational considerations of land management dramatically influence the practical implementation of conservation policy. The mechanisms of practical land management and conservation are as much a product of political, governmental and managerial systems as they are of knowledge of the natural environment. The practical management of National Parks or Nature Reserves is carried out in Europe by a wide variety of agencies: central government employees in several government departments, government sponsored semi-autonomous agencies, local government employees, private landowners or volunteer groups. Together with the population pressure, the demand for land for agriculture and forestry gives a broad picture of what land 'might' be 'available' for conservation.
