EU biodiversity: LIFE’s support role

Europe’s first comprehensive review of species and habitats conservation status across all 27 Member States has confirmed that active conservation actions remain extremely important at local, regional, national and EU level. The LIFE programme has played an important role in supporting such actions and continues to progress a rich mix of different species and habitat conservation work and management actions throughout the EU.

Member States are required to report every six years on the progress that has been made with implementing the Habitats Directive. The latest set of these ‘Article 17’ reports cover the period from 2000 to 2006 and their content provides a detailed assessment of the conservation status for species and habitats throughout the EU 27. Biogeographical Summaries have been prepared that present the Article 17 data for each Member State, and information is also available at EU level.

Findings from the Article 17 analysis indicate that biodiversity loss continues to represent a challenge for Member States, and delegates at a key note conference discussed this issue in Athens last month. Organised by the European Commission, the Athens conference examined progress made towards high-level biodiversity conservation commitments and explored options to strengthen conservation achievements for the period beyond 2010.

Crucial points noted during the conference included: the importance of identifying appropriate market mechanisms to help halt biodiversity decline; and the benefits from better integration of biodiversity concerns within all relevant national and EU policies. These and other conclusions from the Athens’ delegates are to be considered during development of the Commission’s forthcoming Communication on the status of protected species and habitats in the EU.

LIFE support for habitats and species

LIFE support has been shown to have made considerable differences in halting biodiversity decline across Europe. Furthermore, the experience gained by LIFE project beneficiaries has also been shown to be highly effective in promoting transfers of best practice techniques around the EU, and beyond.

A great many different LIFE project examples exist that have had positive impacts on the conservation status of EU biodiversity and a small selection of these include:

• Greece’s LIFE98 NAT/GR/005264 project, where outcomes include achieving ‘favourable’ conservation status for the priority habitat (9370*), Palm groves of Phoenix, in Crete;
• Ireland’s LIFE04 NAT/IE/ 000125 project in the Burren’s limestone landscape, which developed conservation farming measures intended to act as a blueprint for farm areas of high nature value across the whole of Ireland;
• The UK’s LIFE00 NAT/UK/007078 project, that restored raised bog habitats in Scotland and demonstrated the effectiveness of sustainable habitats conservation techniques;
• Italy’s LIFE00 NAT/IT/007131 project, that provided essential support to help reintroduce the brown bear (Ursus arctos) to Italy’s mountains; and
• Spain’s LIFE93 NAT/E/011100 and LIFE95 NAT/E/000856 projects, which pioneered the development of Europe’s first plant ‘micro-reserves’ as conservation models for small botanical reserves in Natura 2000 sites. These had a major impact on the conservation status of plant species and similar approaches have been adopted by several LIFE projects around Europe. See the LIFE and Europe’s endangered plants brochure (pages 17-20) for more information

A wide variety of other examples of LIFE contributions to improving the conservation status of EU habitats and species are available in the following LIFE website thematic sections: Animal & plant species; Coasts, seas & fisheries; Forests; Grasslands, scrubland & bogs; Rivers & lakes; and Wetlands.