Protected areas and birds
Eurostat uses biodiversity data collected by other organisations.
The data in the database cover the following topics:
- protected areas comprising both nationally designated protected areas and Natura 2000 sites, using data collected by the European Environment Agency
- common bird indicators – including common farmland birds, common forest birds and all common birds – using data collected and processed by the European Bird Census Council and national BirdLife organisations
The variety of birds are used as indicators for assessing the health of the environment. In addition, the number of bird species are used as indicator of biodiversity.
Eurostat and EU countries have developed other ways to measure biodiversity using ecosystem accounts. Ecosystem accounts measure the condition of ecosystems, alongside their extent and the ecosystem services they provide. Ecosystem services are the services or benefits that nature provides to the economy and society, such as pollination, carbon sequestration, etc.
EU countries will submit ecosystem accounts for the first time in 2026.