Written by an author with longstanding experience in the ecology of insects and birds and with a stellar academic record in molecular life sciences, this is a welcome challenge to the widely held beliefs in conventional environmental policies. Werner Kunz convincingly explains why maintaining high biodiversity in Europe depends heavily on the existence of open space and sparse ground vegetation that is neither used for intensive modern agriculture, nor eliminated by reforestation. He questions the commonly propagated opinion that nature conservation is equivalent to species protection - and shows that technical habitat design can rescue endangered species. A must-have for environmental agencies, policy makers, ecologists and all who are witnessing the current loss of species in Central Europe.