The Rio Summit has pointed to the urgency for the development of an international conservation policy; and the post-Maastricht debates in Europe have highlighted the need for the EU to reassess structural funding in nature conservation, as well as the influences on policy and practice. This book is a 'route map' through the legislative and policy frameworks and explains how conservation works in Europe. It goes through the policies for nature conservation in the European Community and its constituent member states and sets out the mechanisms for delivering this policy. An understanding of the European legislative framework is now vital as its influence on local practice increases. Practitioners in the fields of countryside conservation and general land management will find the book an essential guide to the working of the EU, as well as helping an appreciation of their local role within the wider community objectives. This will, for example allow a better understanding of the grant system which many managers are now using.