Has implementation of the precautionary principle failed to prevent biodiversity loss at the national level?

Over the past decade, efforts to minimize biodiversity loss at the global scale have been unsuccessful owing to the ineffective nature of the implementation of the precautionary principle. A comprehensive review and analysis of the success of the Habitats Directive as a precautionary tool in conserving biodiversity at the national scale can assist policy makers to further develop anticipatory plans to reduce biodiversity loss at the larger scale. In this respect, three main criteria to evaluate the success of the implementation of the precautionary principle are suggested: status quo, naturalistic reference, Leitbild reference. The details of each criterion are flexible dependent on the current situation and policy. We found that the Habitats Directive can be both effective and ineffective at the different protected areas. Mostly, the directive is efficient when the evaluation of the success is based on only the concept of the principle: to take action before the harm occurs. However, it becomes ineffective when the evaluation is based on the three main references. The implementation fails automatically especially, when there is no report on the development with respect to the status of biodiversity in question. In addition, uncertainty emanating from economic demand and perception on the value of biodiversity also influence the decision making process in relation to the application of the precautionary principle. The application of the principle by the decision makers is relatively active when the uncertainties are foreseeable whereas it becomes ineffective when uncertainties are beyond the control of policy makers even though it is contradictory to the concept of the principle.