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The composition of the NATURA
2000 network
The NATURA 2000 network is composed of areas selected
by Member States and the European Commission following
strictly scientific criteria according to the two “Nature“
Directives. Special Protection Areas (SPAs)
are classified under the “Birds” Directive
and Special Areas of Conservation (SACs)
are designated under the “Habitats” Directive.
> See the texts of the two Directives in the section
The two key
texts
The “Birds” Directive:
Member States classify the SPAs and send a formal notification
to the European Commission
accompanied by the necessary documentation. This classification
must be established on the basis
of ornithological criteria following the “Birds”
Directive (Special Protection Areas for species listed
in Annex I of the Directive
and for migratory species, as well as wetlands of international
importance).
The IBA inventory (Important Bird
Areas) provided by BirdLife International is used by
as best available reference for SPA classification:
see http://www.birdlife.org/action/science/sites/index.html
The “Habitats”
Directive:
A three stages selection procedure is described in Article
4 of the Directive.
> See the simplified
diagram
- The “Interpretation
Manual of European Union Habitats” (EU
27) describes the natural habitats of Annex II
of the “Habitats” Directive (32/43/EEC).
It is used by scientists to identify, by means of local
inventories, the habitats which justify the selection
of a site:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/legislation/habitatsdirective/docs/2007_07_im.pdf
- Lists
of sites adopted by the European Union by biogeographic
region:
For the “Habitats” Directive, the second stage for the selection of sites consists of the adoption
by the European Commission of lists of sites of community importance (Article 4 of the Directive)
The biogeographic regions are scientific and legal spaces of reference at the European level.
Necessity of indisputable scientific inventories
The two Directives operate on the basis of scientific inventories, which establish the presence of the species and habitats concerned.
Without these inventories made by recognised scientists,
the legal obligations can not apply.
The European Commission has set out
an interpretative guide regarding natural habitats to
make these issues clearer: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/legislation/habitatsdirective/docs/2007_07_im.pdf
NATURA 2000 sites’ identity card
For each NATURA 2000 site, a standard data form with the NATURA 2000 data is drawn up at the time when Member States
submit their list of potential sites to the European Commission.
This form is used as a legal reference when assessing the management of the species
and habitats through the concept of favourable conservation status.
The European standard data form:
Get this document from your national or local administration.
Standard Data Forms and Explanatory notes : http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/legislation/habitatsdirective/index_en.htm#sdf
NATURA 2000 barometer
This is an overall table drawn up by the
European Commission revealing progress on advancement
of NATURA 2000
and sites submission in each Member State:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/barometer/index_en.htm
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