ABSTRACT

The management of natural resources is shared between the EU and the Member States. While the EU sets a management frame for all Member States, mainly through legislation, the day-to-day management within this frame is ensured by the Member States. This chapter describes the details of the EU management frame and then assesses, if and to what extent the EU is in compliance with the targets for sustainable development of natural resources which were developed by the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

INTRODUCTION: CLARIFYING THE TERMINOLOGY

This chapter will examine the management of natural resources by the EU and its contribution to sustainability. In a short first section, the use of the terms ‘natural resources’, ‘management’ and ‘sustainability’ will be clarified. The second section will present the management framework set up by the EU within which the specific management measures by Member States are to be taken. The third section will assess EU achievements concerning natural resources, compared to the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. A short conclusion will end the contribution.

The EU environmental policy has to aim at a high level of protection and is committed to ensuring a prudent and rational utilization of natural resources (Article 191(1) TFEU). In this chapter, ‘natural resources’ will be understood as biodiversity and water, soil, air quality, raw materials and waste. Though marine biological resources – in particular fish – are explicitly mentioned in Article 3 TFEU, they will not be examined outside the discussion on biodiversity. – The term ‘management’ is very broad and lacks a clear legal shape. In EU law and policy, the term is mainly used in contrast to legislative action, so that it might be appropriate to define it here as the implementation of political objectives within the given legal context. While the implementation – and thus also the management – of EU environmental policy is normally in the hands of the Member States (Article 192(4) TFEU), EU legislation frequently fixes framework conditions which lead to practical management measures which are carried out jointly by EU and by national administrations.