Abstract : Until 2011, the Ecological Network Natura 2000 in Romania includes 273 Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) - 13,21% from the country surface, designated by the M.O. no. 1964/2007 (5), as a result of the implementation of Habitats Directive no. 92/43/CEE and 108 Bird Special Protected Areas declared by the Government Decision no. 1284/2007 regarding the declaration of bird special protected areas as an integrant part of the European Ecological Network Natura 2000 in Romania The total surface of the sites Natura 2000 (pSAC + SPA - Bird Special Protected Areas) represents 17,84% of the country surface. Partially, some of these sites are superposed, being designated both as SAC and SPA, and a part of them is superposed too over the protected natural areas of national interest (national parks, natural parks and reservations). SACs represent 13,21 % of the country surface, and SPAs represent 11, 89% of the country surface.(7) From the total of the natural grassland habitats whose conservation necessitates identifying the special areas of conservation, 37% of them are priority habitats, meaning they are in danger to disappear in their natural area, or they have a reduced natural area, or they constitute representative samples with typical characteristics for one or more biogeographical region. Mainly, the present paper intends to approach the legal aspects concerning the management way of the protected natural areas comprising natural grassland habitats, the realization of their management plans and regulations, and to analyze the measures imposed by these last in order to assure the favourable conservation status and the sustainable development of the natural grassland habitats, considering that Romania is into an incipient stadium under these aspects.. “The main causes contributing to grassland and hayfield degradation are: overgrazing, non-grazing, land clearing and arson of Pinus mugo woods, the conversion of the grasslands into arable lands, changing of land usage, the absence of a coherent management and other causes. Also, a special threat is constituted by the precarious state of the local agricultural economy. The traditional agricultural non-profitable methods, the massive emigration of population out of the rural medium led to abandonment of the marginal lands and to intensification of exploitation of the lands easy of access. All the problems and their solving must be introduced within the management plans of the protected natural areas and the authorities of local public administration must respect the obligations stipulated by the law in this field (1)” .

grasslands, natural habitats, priority grassland habitats, Ecological network Natura 2000, conservation and sustainable management measures.

Presentation: oral