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Habitats Directive

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The Habitats Directive (more formally known as Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora)[1] is a European Union directive adopted in 1992 as an EU response to the Berne Convention. It is one of the European Union's directives in relation to wildlife and nature conservation, another being the Birds Directive.[2][3] The Habitats Directive, together with the Birds Directive, are also called the "nature directives".[4] The Habitats Directive requires national governments to specify areas that are expected to be ensuring the conservation of flora and fauna species. This led to the setting up of a network of protected areas across the EU, special areas of conservation which together with the existing Special Protection Areas, became the so-called Natura 2000 network established to protect species and habitats.[5] The annexes of the directive outline the protected habitats and species:[1]

  • Annex I covers habitats,
  • Annex II species requiring designation of Special Areas of Conservation,
  • Annex IV species in need of strict protection, and
  • Annex V species in which member countries may decide for themselves how to manage the population.

Article 17 of the directive requires EU Member States to report on the state of their protected areas every six years.[1] The first complete set of country data was reported in 2007.[6]

History

From 1988 to 1992, the policy was given importance at the national level by policy experts, scientists and ecologists; later on in the 1990s this spawned further political, social and administrative discussions among the relevant countries.

Due to differences in nature conservation traditions, national problems have arisen in the implementation of the directive. Since member states in the south and east of Europe participated less in nature policies, these states experienced problems with the EU provisions. In Germany, Austria, Italy and Belgium, the observation of conflicts between various government layers have caused prolonged delays in the management of nature policies. On the other hand, in member states such as the United Kingdom and Sweden, positive outcomes have developed due to stakeholder involvement, pro-active authorities, agencies responsible for implementation and public participation.[citation needed]

According to one 2014 report there are increasing incompatibilities with the Natura 2000 policy on economic development.[7]

Annex I

Annex I lists the specific habitats which have been designated as the a Special Area of Conservation, to which a common EU-wide legislation applies. Certain habitats among those are furthermore designated as "priority habitat types". Habitats in the EU are given codes. An area or habitat can combine two habitats, and be designated as for example code 35.2 × 64.1 - Open grassland with Corynephorus and Agrostis (35.2), in combination with continental dunes (64.1). The Annex I habitats are:[1]

Open sea and tidal areas

  • Sea cliffs and shingle or stony beaches
  • Atlantic and continental salt marshes and salt meadows
  • Mediterranean and thermo-Atlantic salt marshes and salt meadows
  • Salt and gypsum continental steppes

Dunes

  • Sea dunes of the Mediterranean coast
  • Continental dunes, old and decalcified

Standing and running freshwater

  • Sections of water courses with natural or semi-natural dynamics (minor, average and major beds) where the water quality shows no significant deterioration

Matorral

  • Mediterranean arborescent matorral
  • Thermo-Mediterranean and pre-steppe brush
  • Phrygana

Grasslands

  • Natural grasslands
  • Semi-natural dry grasslands and scrubland facies
  • Sclerophyllous grazed forests (dehesas)
  • Semi-natural tall-herb humid meadows
  • Mesophile grasslands

Bogs, mires and fens

  • Sphagnum acid bogs
  • Calcareous fens

Rocky areas and caves

  • Scree, chasmophytic vegetation on rocky slopes
  • Other rocky habitats

Forests - Only (sub-)natural

  • Forests of temperate Europe
  • Mediterranean deciduous forests
  • Mediterranean sclerophyllous forests
  • Alpine and subalpine coniferous forests
  • Mediterranean mountainous coniferous forests

Annex II

Annex II lists species which determine if an area is a Special Area of Conservation. These include:[1]

Animals

Mammals:

Reptiles and amphibians:

Fish:

Crustaceans:

Insects:

Molluscs:

Plants:

Mosses and liverworts: Bruchia vogesiaca, Buxbaumia viridis, Dichelyma capillaceum, Dicranum viride, Distichophyllum carinatum, Drepanocladus vernicosus, Jungermannia handelii, Mannia triandra, Meesia longiseta, Nothothylas orbicularis, Orthotrichum rogeri, Petalophyllum ralfsii, Riccia breidleri, Riella helicophylla, Scapania massolongi, Sphagnum pylaisii, Tayloria rudolphiana

Ferns and allies

Monocots

Dicots

Priority species

There are also a number of priority species:[1]

Animals:

Plants

Macaronesia

There is a separate list for plants from Macaronesia.

Macaronesian priority species

Annex III

This annex explains the criteria which are used to select sites which are eligible to be recognised as important for Europe or as special areas of conservation. The process consists of two stages. The first stage is to assess the importance at a national level, based on the habitats and species listed in Annex I and II. The second stage is to assess the importance for Europe as a whole, again based on the two earlier annexes.[1]

Annex IV

Annex V

Annex VI

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora". Eur-Lex. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  2. ^ "The Habitats Directive". Europa. European Commission. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
  3. ^ "Joint Nature Conservation Committee – European Legislation". Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
  4. ^ http://inspire.ec.europa.eu/codelist/ReferenceSpeciesSchemeValue/natureDirectives
  5. ^ "Natura 2000 - Environment - European Commission". ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  6. ^ "Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora". Eur-Lex. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  7. ^ Suvi Borgström, Frederik H. Kistenkas, 'The Compatibility of the Habitats Directive with the Novel EU Green Infrastructure Policy' (2014) 23 European Energy and Environmental Law Review, Issue 2, pp. 36–44. http://www.kluwerlawonline.com/abstract.php?id=EELR2014004
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