Additional tools
Natura 2000: Sites - Habitats Directive
Under the Habitats
Directive, there are three stages in the selection of
Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) for the Natura
2000 network
- The responsibility for proposing sites under the Habitats
Directive lies with the Member States. They carry out
comprehensive assessments of each of the habitat types
and species present on their territory. The choice of
sites is a purely scientific process, based on standard
selection criteria specified in the directive. Site specific
data are communicated to the Commission by using Standard
Data Forms.
- On the basis of the proposed national lists, the Commission,
in agreement with the Member States, must adopt the lists
of “Sites of Community Importance”. Scientific seminars
are then convened by the Commission for each bio-geographical
region in order to analyse the Member States’ proposals
in a transparent way. They are open to the Member States
concerned and to experts representing relevant stakeholder
interests, including owners, users, and environmental
NGOs. These seminars are supported by the European Environment
Agency, assisted by the European Topic Centre on Biological
Diversity which is based in Paris, France.
These expert seminars aim to establish if sufficient high-quality
sites have been proposed by each Member State to ensure
the favourable conservation status of each habitat type
and species throughout their range in the EU. The objective
is to establish a list of “Sites of Community Importance”
for each of the regions determined by the Habitats Directive,
applying a consistent approach across the Member States.
- Once the lists of “Sites of Community Importance” have
been adopted, it is for the Member States to designate
all of these sites as “Special Areas of Conservation”,
as required by the Habitats Directive, as soon as possible
and within six years at the most. They should give priority
to those sites that are most threatened and/or that are
of most importance in conservation terms. During this
period, Member States must take the necessary management
or restoration measures to ensure the favourable conservation
status of those sites.
Biogeographical Regions
The Habitats Directive divides the EU into 9 ecologically coherent
“biogeographical” regions – the Atlantic, Continental, Alpine (which includes the Pyrenees, the Alps, the
Carpathian mountains and parts of Scandinavia), Mediterranean, Boreal (Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and part of
Lithuania), the Macaronesian (Madeira, Azores and Canary
Islands), the Pannonian (essentially Hungary and parts
of the Czech Republic, Romania and Slovakia), the Steppic and the Black Sea region (parts of Bulgaria and Romania). Natura 2000 sites are selected
according to each biogeographical region. Working on this
level makes it easier to conserve species and habitat types
under similar natural conditions across a suite of countries.
See
as well relevant information on EIONET
The Natura 2000 Barometer