Environmental policy integration is an acknowledged principle of sustainable development. Spatial planning may be a useful means of integrating two policies with differing objectives. The Birds and Habitats Directives of the European Union (EU) aim at preserving biodiversity through the conservation of the Natura 2000 protected areas network, while the EU's Environmental Noise Directive aims at improving human health and wellbeing by controlling environmental noise, through the preservation of Quiet Areas (QAs). Using Greece as an example, an integrated network of Natura 2000 sites and QAs permitted the identification of potential spatial overlaps. The established Natura 2000 network incorporates more than 30% of the QAs located in the open countryside of Greece, and the combined network includes 17 out of the 19 conservation priority habitat types. Flagship species (like bear, wolf and wild goat) show a preference for sites containing QAs. It may be possible to combine these two EU policies efficiently, as protected and quiet areas appear to be mutually beneficial.

The Saimaa ringed seal (Phoca hispida saimensis) is the only endemic mammal in Finland. At present the total population size of this subspecies is c. 250 individuals. Because the seal feeds on fish, and because of its value particularly as a source of meat, oil and leather, hunting was allowed until 1955. Conservation of the seal and some of its lairing areas by means of fishing restrictions requires the adoption of new attitudes. Semi-structured interviews elucidated the basis of conflicts concerning protection of the Saimaa ringed seal and fishing in Lake Pihlajavesi, Finland, where one of the most viable populations of the seal lives. Socio-economic position largely determined personal attitudes towards conservation; local landowners felt that their use of natural resources was restricted, while summer cottage owners wanted strict conservation. Commercial fishers considered the protection of the ringed seal unnecessary and a waste of money. Conservation biologists believed that the proposed actions were necessary to reduce the risk of extinction. Attitudes were also widely influenced by culture and social backgrounds. Those influenced by the traditional Finnish peasant/nature relationship had a different vision of nature from the conservationists who were influenced by modern science. Questions raised by the protection of the Saimaa ringed seal form an example of transition of an environmental conflict to larger-scale criticism of ongoing structural transformation in society. It is obvious that if nature conservation requires the approval of all social groups, it needs a change of authoritarian measures and acceptance of local knowledge, which should be used alongside scientific knowledge in management. Nature conservation policy led by specialists and authorities could be seen as widening the gap between urban and rural areas.