Not all parts of an AONB are necessarily open to the public. In fact, most are not in many cases. An AONB has special funding to help promote good management and sustainable development within it. It also has planning restrictions to prevent unwanted development. This directive calls for protection of Europe's rarest flora and fauna, and the sites in which they live.
Protection is stronger than that given to SSSIs.
Most of the proposed 178 SACs are already SSSIs. The directive requires member states to provide habitat to protect numbers of migratory birds. SPAs are strongly protected against development. Although government provides incentives to retain condition of the land, there is no legal protection for ESAs. All NNRs have some areas which are accessible to the public 4.