The world’s largest coordinated network of protected areas is not located at the South Pole or in Australia, Africa, Asia or on the American continents – but in Europe. Twenty per cent of the EU’s landmass and large parts of the surrounding seas have been designated nature protection sites under Natura 2000 over the last 17 years. As part of an international team, researchers from the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) have examined how effectively Natura 2000 protects listed habitat types in Germany. They also compared Natura 2000 with a hypothetical, ideal network. The result: although the existing network includes sites of special interest, not all habitat types are represented proportionally.