state of play in marine natura 2000 designation · state of play in marine natura 2000 designation...

State of play in marine Natura 2000 designation 1

State of play in marine Natura 2000 designation

Prepared by / compiled by: Laura Gavilan and Michelle Watson ETC/BD


Contents

1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 3

2 Marine Natura 2000 in numbers ...................................................................... 5

2.1 Current status .......................................................................................... 5

2.2 Comparison with end_2015 database ..................................................... 9

2.3 SAC designation.................................................................................... 15

3 Results from the SCI sufficiency evaluation ............................................... 18

References .............................................................................................................. 22

Annex I. Conservation status of marine habitats and species ........................... 23

3.1 Conservation status of marine habitats ................................................. 23

3.2 Conservation status of marine (non-bird) species ................................. 25

3.3 Population status of bird species ........................................................... 27


1 Introduction

The aim of the Habitats directive is to contribute to biodiversity conservation through the

maintenance or restoration in favourable conservation status of natural habitats and fauna and

flora of Community interest in the European Union. A similar aim is stated in the Birds

directive for naturally occurring wild birds. A key mechanism to achieve this is the

identification, protection and management of suitable sites under the Natura 2000 network.

Article 3(1) of the Habitats directive establishes that the Member States will designate special

areas of conservation (SAC) with a view to maintaining or restoring, at a favourable

conservation status, the natural habitat types and habitats of species of Community interest.

To do so, the first step under Art. 4(1-3) of the directive is the identification and selection, on

the basis of criteria in Annex III, of Sites of Community Importance (SCI) which are then

under Art. 4(4) designated by the Member States as SAC. Similarly, the Article 4(1, 2) of the

Birds directive foresees the classification of Special Protected Areas (SPA) to protect the bird

species listed in the Annex I, as well as regularly occurring migratory birds. Together,

SCI/SACs and SPAs make the Natura 2000 network.

Both directives fully apply to the marine environment of the European Union, including the

Economic Exclusive Zone (Case C-6/04 United Kingdom v Commission) and/or other areas

where Member States are exercising equivalent sovereign rights. The Commission has issued

guidelines for the establishment of the Natura 2000 network in the marine environment1.

In the context of the marine biogeographical regions the following Annex I habitats and

Annex II species of Community interest are considered:

Code Marine Annex I habitat

1110 Sandbanks

1120* Posidonia beds (Mediterranean Sea)

1170 Reefs

1180 Submarine structures made by leaking gases

8330 Submerged or partially submerged sea caves

And regarding Annex II species:

Code Marine Annex II species

1349 Tursiops truncatus (also in Annex IV)

1351 Phocoena phocoena (also in Annex IV)

1364 Halichoerus grypus (also in Annex V)

1 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/marine/docs/marine_guidelines.pdf

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/marine/docs/marine_guidelines.pdf


Code Marine Annex II species

1365 Phoca vitulina (also in Annex V)

1366 Monachus monachus* (also in Annex IV)

1938 Phoca hispida botnica (also in Annex V)

1224 Caretta caretta* (also Annex IV)

1227 Chelonia mydas* (also Annex IV)

1095 Petromyzon marinus

1099 Lampetra fluviatilis (also Annex V)

1100 Acipenser naccarii* (also Annex IV)

1101 Acipenser sturio* (also Annex IV)

1102 Alosa alosa (also Annex V)

1103 Alosa fallax (also Annex V)

4125 Alosa immaculata (also Annex V)

4127 Alosa tanaica (also Annex V)

1113 Coregonus oxyrhynchus* (also Annex IV)

2578 Gibbula nivosa (also Annex IV)

Some of these animals are also listed in Annex IV, which requires their strict protection

throughout their natural range, and/or Annex V of the Habitats directive, implying that their

exploitation may be subject to management measures.

There are two categories of Annex I and migratory sea birds species for which marine SPAs

should be considered: seabirds and waterbirds. They mainly include species in the following

families:

Marine Annex I species groups

Procellariidae (fulmars, petrels, shearwaters)

Hydrobatidae (storm-petrels)

Sulidae (gannets)

Phalacrocoracidae (cormorants)

Stercorariidae (skuas)

Lariidae (gulls)

Sternidae (terns)

Alcidae (auks)

Gaviidae (divers)

Podicipedidae (grebes)

Anatidae (ducks)

Phalaropodinae (phalaropes), etc.


This paper presents the state of play of marine SCIs and SPAs designated according to the

provisions of the Habitats and Birds directives. It also gives an account of marine SCIs

designated as SACs by the Member States according to the provisions of Art. 4(4) of the

Habitats directive.

Currently, 3149 sites (pSCIs2, SCIs and SPAs) have been designated to protect the above

habitat types and species, representing 7.2 % of EU’s marine area that is protected under the

Natura 2000 Network (see table 2-1 for more information). However, further efforts are

needed in order to fulfil the implementation of the Nature directives to complete the

Network- notably offshore - and put in place management measures that guarantee the

achievement of a favourable conservation status of marine features.

2 Marine Natura 2000 in numbers

2.1 Current status

This chapter presents the current situation in marine Natura 2000 designation (i.e. marine

pSCIs, SCIs and SPAs). Statistics and maps are based on the latest public official database

available: End 2016, which includes submissions made by Member States from the beginning

of 2016 to February 2017. Statistics are shown by both marine regions and Member States.

2 pSCI is a proposed SCI which has not been yet published in the Union Lists.


Figure 2-1 Current marine Natura 2000 designation

This map (Figure 2-1) illustrates the current status of site designations under the Birds and

the Habitat directives in the European Union’s seas. In red are depicted the Special Protected

Areas (SPA) classified to protect marine Annex I and migratory bird species. In blue,

(beneath the SPA layer) are depicted the Sites of Community Importance (SCI and pSCI),

selected to protect Annex I marine habitat types and Annex II marine species. Finally, in

orange, are sites designated under both directives.

In the next sections Natura 2000 marine statistics are presented per marine regions and sub-

regions (as defined under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive) and then per Member

State.

2.1.1 Marine Natura 2000 by marine regions and sub-regions:

Table 2-1 below introduces the current marine Natura 2000 statistics by marine region and

subregion as defined by the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). It also presents

data on the sites located inshore (buffers from 0-1 nm and from 1-12 nm) and offshore

(beyond 12 nm).


Table 2-1 Natura 2000 coverage in European Seas (using MSFD regions and sub-regions). End 2016 database.

European regional seas and

sub regions (sensu MSFD)

EU part of

sea (km2)

Area

covered by

N2K (km2)

Total no of

N2K sites

% of EU

waters

covered

by N2K

% of 0-1

NM zone

covered by

N2K

% of 1-12

NM zone

covered

by N2K

% of 12

NM to END

zone

covered by

N2K

Baltic Sea 368720 56039 856 15.2 32 16 9

North East Atlantic Ocean

(NOEA)

4082719 290172 1082 7.1 54 28 4

Celtic Seas 930900 70127 443 7.5 51 24 3

Greater North Sea, incl. the

Kattegat and the English

Channel

491305 114122 381 23.2 60 34 19

Bay of Biscay and the Iberian

Coast

803350 78685 201 9.8 60 34 7

Macaronesia 1857164 27238 69 1.5 31 19 1

Mediterranean 1274892 62941 1169 4.9 31 11 1

Western Mediterranean Sea 659989 44926 524 6.8 53 20 1

Ionian Sea and the Central

Mediterranean Sea

240068 6667 155 2.8 29 6 1

Adriatic Sea 120069 6531 361 5.4 37 5 0

Aegean-Levantine Sea 190382 4818 137 2.5 14 2 0

Black Sea 64384 9156 44 14.2 84 51 6

Total 5790715 418308 3149 7.2 40 19 4

These values (Table 2-1) have been calculated by combining a database query and a GIS

operation for selecting all Natura 20000 sites designated beyond the coastline

(https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/eea-coastline-for-analysis-1) and within the

marine regions. The methodology and the procedure used for selecting marine sites are

illustrated in the EEA report 'Spatial Analysis of Marine Protected Areas in Europe's Seas'.

These statistics cannot be calculated using only the tabular data (SDF) for the following

reasons:

- The existence of overlapping sites

- Missing data in the field ‘Percentage of Marine Area’ still presents a problem when

counting marine sites in the database i.e. filtering the database based on this field

alone to get a picture of the sites with a marine area is not accurate.

Therefore a GIS operation is required to calculate marine statistics by marine MSFD regions

and Member States.

In order to get information on the distribution of protected sites in territorial (0-12 nm) and

offshore waters (beyond 12 nm), three buffers were used: the first one from the coastal line to

1 nm, the second one from 1 to 12 nm and the third buffer from 12 nm to the outer limit of

the marine regions shapefile (marine regions and sub-regions borders were agreed by the

Member States in the Committee of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive in 2016, see

https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/msfd-regions-and-subregions-1#tab-

documents). In most cases, this outer border appears to correspond with the individual

country border of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) or other zones such as Ecological

https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/eea-coastline-for-analysis-1

https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/msfd-regions-and-subregions-1#tab-documents

https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/msfd-regions-and-subregions-1#tab-documents


Protection Zone (EPZ) and only exceptionally does it appear to extend into waters that do not

benefit from holding a particular status (i.e. southern Italy).

Both datasets, Natura 2000 tabular and Natura 2000 spatial data, are publicly available at the

EEA website: www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/natura-8.

Currently, 418 308 km² of EU’s seas are designated, which means that 7.2% of European

waters form part of the Natura 2000 network. (NB: It should be noted that the above table

does not consider the pSCI UK0030388 - Hatton bank because it lies completely outside of

the assessment area and it also excludes a portion of the UK0030363 - North West Rockall

Bank because of its partial extension outside the agreed marine regions).

The total number of sites is lower than the sum of sites at regional/subregional level because

some sites span different regions or subregions. For sites where most of the surface area is

declared as marine in the SDF but they have been excluded, their exclusion is attributed to

outstanding inaccuracy between the spatial and tabular dataset (for example, some estuaries

are considered marine but they are still inside the coastline).

2.1.2 Marine Natura 2000 SCI and SPA area by Member States (database End 2016):

Figure 2-2 below shows the area of marine pSCI and SCI (in blue) and marine SPA (red) as

provided by the national Natura 2000 databases of the coastal Member States up until

February 2017. C –type sites are counted twice as SCI and SPA (i.e. where SCI area is the

same as the designated SPA). However, Member States are ordered by Natura 2000 area, i.e.

double counting of overlapping sites has not been taken into account.

The UK is the Member State that contributes the most area (km2) to the network (the area of

Hatton Bank UK0030388 has been taken into account here as a proposed SCI ), followed by

Spain, France, Portugal and Germany. However this should be put in a context considering

the extent of marine waters under each MS jurisdiction.

It should be noted that the barometer provides a different total result than the statistics made

under MSFD/marine regions since the methodology to obtain marine site area is different: the

table 2-1 only takes into account the Natura 2000 sites within marine regions (i.e. portions of

sites which extend beyond marine regions boundaries are not considered), while the

barometer takes into account the whole coverage of marine Natura 2000 sites, which means

Hatton Bank and North West Rockall Bank are completely included.

http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/natura-8


Figure 2-2 Area covered by marine SCI/SAC and SPA per Member State until January 2017 (barometer End 2016)

2.2 Comparison with end_2015 database

2.2.1 Comparison by marine regions The following maps compare the changes in the marine Natura 2000 network from End 2015

until End 2016 by marine region.

Marine Atlantic:

There has been an increase of the Marine Atlantic Network thanks to the Natura 2000 sites

submitted by the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Sweden:

NL 2016166 Friese Front designated for protecting guillemot (Uria aalgae)

SE0420360 Nordvästra Skånes havsområde designated for protecting sandbanks,

reefs, marine birds species, harbour porpoise and the grey and harbour seals

UK0030393 Inner Hebrides and the Minches

UK0030395 Southern North Sea

UK0030396 Bristol Channel Approaches / Dynesfeydd Môr Hafren

UK0030397 West Wales Marine / Gorllewin Cymru Forol

UK0030398 North Anglesey Marine / Gogledd Môn Forol

UK0030399 North Channel, all of the above UK sites designated for protecting

harbour porpoise.

0 20000 40000 60000 80000 100000 120000 140000 160000

Slovenia

Cyprus

Belgium

Lithuania

Bulgaria

Malta

Latvia

Croatia

Romania

Estonia

Italy

Finland

Greece

Poland

Ireland

Netherlands

Denmark

Sweden

Germany

Portugal

France

Spain

United Kingdom

SCI

SPA


Figure 2-3 Distribution of marine Natura 2000 sites in the wider Atlantic region.

Marine Baltic:

The increase in the Marine Baltic Network is thanks to the Natura 2000 sites submitted by

Lithuania and Sweden:

LTNER0006 Sambijos plynaukštė designated for protecting reefs.

SE0330308 Hoburgs bank och Midsjöbankarna designated for protecting sandbanks,

reefs, harbour porpoise and bird species.

SE0430183 Havet kring Ven designated for protecting sandbanks, reefs, harbour

porpoise and grey seal.

SE0430187 Sydvästskånes utsjövatten designated for protecting sandbanks, reefs,

harbour porpoise, harbour and grey seals.


Figure 2-4 Distribution of marine Natura 2000 sites in the Baltic region.

Marine Black Sea:

An increase in the Marine Black Sea Network is thanks to new Natura 2000 sites submitted

by Romania and an increase of some existing sites. New SCI submitted:

ROSCI0413 Lobul sudic al Câmpului de Phyllophora al lui Zernov designated for

protecting sandbanks, submarine structures made by leaking gases, harbour porpoise,

alosa and bottlenose dolphin.

ROSCI0311 Canionul Viteaz designated for protecting reefs, submarine structures

made by leaking gases and the bottlenose dolphin.


Figure 2-5 Distribution of marine Natura 2000 sites in the Black Sea.

Marine Macaronesian:

This marine region has not undergone changes. No new sites have been designated in 2016.

Figure 2-6 Distribution of marine Natura 2000 sites in marine Macaronesia.


Marine Mediterranean:

An increase in the Marine Mediterranean Network is mainly due to new Natura 2000 sites

submitted by Malta:

MT0000106 Il-Bahar tat-Tramuntana designated to protect the bottlenose dolphin, the

loggerhead turtle and the Scopoli’s shearwater.

MT0000110 Il-Bahar tan-Nofsinhar designated to protect the bottlenose dolphin, the

loggerhead turtle, Yelkouan shearwater and the Scopoli’s shearwater

MT0000113 Il-Bahar tal-Punent designated to protect the bottlenose dolphin and the

loggerhead.

MT0000114 Il-Bahar tal-Majjistral designated to protect the storm petrel.

MT0000112 Il-Bahar ta' Madwar Ghawdex designated to protect Cory’s and

Yelkouan shearwaters.

MT0000107 Il-Bahar tal-Grigal designated to protect the storm petrel and the

Yelkouan shearwater.

MT0000108 Il-Bahar tal-Lvant designated to protect the Cory's shearwater and the

storm petrel.

MT0000111 Il-Bahar tal-Lbic designated to protect the Cory's shearwater, the storm

petrel and Yelkouan shearwater.

MT0000109 Il-Bahar tax-Xlokk designated to protect the Cory's shearwater.

Figure 2-7 Distribution of marine Natura 2000 sites in marine Mediterranean


Comparing End_2016 and End_2015 statistics by marine region and sub-region, there is an

increase of 74779 km² (Table 2-2). However, the total number of sites seems to have

decreased, despite the fact that many sites were added as is shown above.

Table 2-2 Natura 2000 coverage in European Seas (using MSFD regions and sub-regions). End 2015.

European regional seas and

sub regions (sensu MSFD)

Sea surface

area (km2)

EU part of

sea (km2)

Area

covered by

N2K (km2)

Total no of

N2K sites

% of EU

waters

covered

by N2K

% of 0-1

NM zone

covered by

N2K

% of 1-12

NM zone

covered

by N2K

% of 12

NM to END

zone

covered by

N2K

Baltic Sea 393529 370176 46333 923 12.5 31 16 4

North East Atlantic Ocean

(NOEA) 7926835 4075640 232851 1094 5.7 47 22 4

Celtic Seas 920041 916049 38551 414 4.2 35 8 3

Greater North Sea, incl. the

Kattegat and the English

Channel 670215 503047 88359 425 17.6 59 32 11

Bay of Biscay and the Iberian

Coast 803731 803744 78703 201 9.8 60 34 7

Macaronesia 1852800 1852800 27238 69 1.5 31 19 2

Mediterranean 2516635 1210570 59625 1194 4.9 32 11 1

Western Mediterranean Sea 846255 660051 44915 523 6.8 53 20 1

Ionian Sea and the Central

Mediterranean Sea 772768 239995 3355 148 1.4 28 2 0

Adriatic Sea 139795 120080 6532 383 5.4 37 5 0

Aegean-Levantine Sea 757816 190444 4823 145 2.5 14 2 0

Black Sea 473894 64354 4720 42 7.3 84 33 1

Total 11310892 5720740 343529 3243 6.0 37 16 3

Two main factors can explain this apparent discrepancy:

- An improvement in the compilation of data records contained in the tabular database.

A more accurate compilation of the data records avoids the selection of some coastal

sites previously selected in the earlier database versions as being marine and which,

due to projection shifts or improved coastline and site accuracy, were retained in the

analysis with a small marine extension. A random check amongst reported marine

sites shows that this occurs in the Baltic Sea, Adriatic Sea and Aegean- Levantine

Sea;

- The introduction to the selection procedure of a new European coastline and MSDF

boundary layer. The latter is the main contributing factor responsible for the decrease

in number of sites in the Greater North Sea, incl. the Kattegat and the English

Channel.


2.2.2 Comparison by Member State

The following graph (Figure 2-8) compares the changes in the marine Natura 2000 network

since End 2013 until End 2016 by Member State.

Figure 2-8 Evolution of the marine Natura 2000 network in terms of area km2 since

2013 (Source: barometers End 2013, End 2014, End 2015 and End 2016)

As explained above, the barometer provides a different result than the analysis done by

marine region and sub-regions since the methodology to obtain marine site area is different.

Only the barometer reports marine area by Member States, and as is depicted in the maps

above the Member States that contributed additional area to the Natura 2000 network are

Malta, Lithuania, the Netherlands and mainly Sweden and the UK.

As is seen in the above maps, the distribution and size of sites varies among the 23 coastal

Member States, for most of them the coverage in coastal waters is better represented than in

offshore waters.

7.2 % of European waters is protected by the Natura 2000 network, still far from the targeted

10% of coastal and marine waters conserved through effectively and equitable managed,

ecologically representative and well-connected systems of protected areas and other effective

area-based conservation measures.

2.3 SAC designation

Article 4.4 of the Habitat directive states that once a Site of Community Importance (SCI)

has been adopted, the Member State concerned shall designate that site as a Special Area of

Conservation (SAC) as soon as possible and within six years at most, establishing priorities

0,00

20 000,00

40 000,00

60 000,00

80 000,00

100 000,00

120 000,00

140 000,00

BE BG CY DE DK EE ES FI FR GR HR IE IT LT LV MT NL PL PT RO SE SI UK

2013

2014

2015

2016


in the light of the importance of the site for the maintenance or restoration, at a favourable

conservation status, of a natural habitat type in Annex I or a species in Annex II and for the

coherence of Natura 2000, and in the light of the threats of degradation or destruction to

which those sites are exposed.

The designation of marine sites as SAC is far from being complete. The current situation is

presented in the below charts, these statistics are based on the information reported in the

SDF, the exact fields used are: ‘date the site is proposed as SCI’ and ‘date the site was

designated nationally as SAC’ –both compulsory fields-. The information represented in

Figure 2-9 is extracted from a temporal database -not publically available- created in

November 2017 for this purpose.

Figure 2-9 The current status of designation of marine SAC/SCI (number of sites) by marine region

The above chart (Figure 2-9) shows the numbers of SCI and those designated as SACs in

each marine region. The marine region with the highest proportion of SAC is the Marine

Macaronesian, followed by the Marine Atlantic and Marine Baltic. In the Marine Black Sea,

no SCI has yet been designated as SAC.

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

Marine Atlantic Marine Baltic Marine BlackSea

MarineMacaronesian

MarineMediterranean

SCI

SAC


Figure 2-10 Current status of designation of marine SCI/SAC (number of sites) by Member State

Figure 2-10 shows the numbers of SCI and SAC designated by each coastal Member State.

For Belgium, Denmark, Latvia, the Netherlands, Slovenia and the United Kingdom, all sites

under the Habitat directive have already been designated as SAC. The proportion of sites

granted SAC status is also high for Estonia, France, Greece and Sweden.

As Article 4.4 states Member States have a 6-year period to designate adopted SCI as SAC,

for this reason, all SCI proposed after 2011 are still within the timeframe to establish

conservation priorities and to be designated as SAC. On the contrary, all SCI nominated

before 2011 should have already been designated as SAC.

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

BE BG CY DE DK EE ES FI FR GR HR IE IT LT LV MT NL PL PT RO SE SI UK

SCI

SAC


This chart shows both the number of SCI which are still within the timeframe for SAC

designation and those which have not yet been designated as SAC, although the 6 year

deadline has expired.

Figure 2-11 Number of SCI and the expiration of the 6-year deadline for SAC designation per Member State

Many Member States are still behind the schedule for designating SAC (Figure 2-11). Further

efforts need to be put in place to properly fulfil the requirements of the Habitats directive.

3 Results from the SCI sufficiency evaluation

This section presents the results from the evaluation of the sufficiency of SCI designations

under the Habitats Directive, as undertaken during the Marine Atlantic, Macaronesian and

Mediterranean Seminar, held in Malta in September 2016 together to the latest Marine Baltic

and Black Sea sufficiency data from the evaluation undertaken in 2015 with Bulgaria’s and

Sweden’s submissions. These results have already been presented to the Marine Expert

Group in December 2016.

The sufficiency exercise of the latest submitted databases (2016 and 2017) is on-going.

Annex III of the Habitats Directive provides the framework for assessing the sufficiency of

designation by Member States of Sites of Community Interest (SCI) and Special Areas of

Conservation (SAC) for habitats listed in Annex I and species listed in Annex II of the Habitats

Directive. Results from this exercise are depicted below by marine region and by Member State.

Figure 3-1 represents the proportion of habitat types by region, which are sufficiently

represented by the SCI network (SUF) and therefore, no additional areas are required, and

those who need additional SCI to be adequately represented and protected (INSUF).


SR indicates scientific reserve, i.e. when further research is required to identify the most

appropriate SCI.

SR REF LIST indicates scientific reserve on the Reference lists when the regular occurrence

of the habitats is uncertain and needs to be confirmed.

Figure 3-1 Annex I habitat type % sufficiency by marine region

The marine region where more SCI are needed is the marine Mediterranean region followed

by the marine Macaronesian (INSUF) (Figure 3-1). The marine Baltic and marine Black Sea

are the regions where more research is needed in order to identify the most appropriate areas

for Annex I habitat types (SR).

Figure 3-2 Annex II species % percentage sufficiency by marine region

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

MATL MBAL MBLS MMAC MMED

SUF

SR REF LIST

SR

INSUF


Regarding the Annex II marine species (Figure 3-2), the regions where additional areas are

required in order to solve the insufficiencies and provide an adequate protection to these

species are also the marine Mediterranean region and the marine Macaronesian region

(INSUF). Again, the marine Baltic and the Black Sea region are those where further research

is required to identify the most appropriate SCI for certain species (SR).

The regions with the highest proportion of sufficiency for habitat types are the marine

Atlantic and marine Baltic (closely followed by the Black Sea) and for species the Black Sea

and marine Atlantic (closely followed by marine Baltic).

Table 3-1 Proportion of Annex I habitat and Annex II species sufficiently covered by the marine Natura 2000 network

HABITATS SPECIES

MARINE REGION Number CONCLUSIONS

SUF %SUF Number CONCLUSIONS

SUF %SUF

ATLANTIC 31 20 64,52 72 43 59,72

BALTIC 20 13 65,00 34 19 55,88

BLACK SEA 8 5 62,50 8 7 87,50

MACARONESIAN 7 3 42,86 7 1 14,29

MEDITERRANEAN 39 17 43,59 37 14 37,84

At Member State level, sufficiency results of the analysis of marine habitat types and species

are shown in the below graphs (Figures 3-3 & 3-4).

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

MATL MBAL MBLS MMAC MMED

SUF

SR REF LIST

SR

INSUF


Figure 3-3 Sufficiency conclusions (% sufficiency) for marine Annex I habitat types per Member State

Figure 3-4 Sufficiency conclusions (%sufficiency) for marine Annex II species per Member State)

Additional areas are still required to adequately protect marine habitat types and species in many

Member States (Figures 3-3 & 3-4), e.g. Italy, Spain, France, Finland, Portugal and Cyprus

(INSUF).

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%B

E (2

)

BG

(4)

CY

(5)

DE

(4)

DK

(6

)

EE (

2)

ES (

13)

FI (

2)

FR (

7)

GR

(5

)

HR

(4)

IE (

4)

IT (

5)

LT (

2)

LV (

2)

MT

(4)

NL

(2)

PL

(2)

PT

(7)

RO

(4)

SE (

8)

SI (

5)

UK

(6

)

SUF

SR REF LIST

SR

INSUF


References

EEA coastline for analysis


EEA-Marine Regions and Subregions under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive

https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/msfd-regions-and-subregions-1#tab-

documents

EEA Natura 2000 Barometer

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/barometer/

EEA Natura 2000 viewer

http://natura2000.eea.europa.eu/

EIONET Building the Natura 2000 network

https://bd.eionet.europa.eu/activities/Natura_2000/chapter2

EEA data portal for Natura 2000 data – The European network of protected sites

https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/natura-8

EEA/ETC-BD, “Criteria for assessing sufficiency of sites designation for habitats listed in

annex I and species listed in annex II of the Habitats Directive”

https://bd.eionet.europa.eu/activities/Natura_2000/pdfs/sufficiency_criteria.pdf

EEA Report No 2/ 2015. State of Nature in the EU: results from reporting under the Nature

directives 2007-2012.

https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/state-of-nature-in-the-eu

EEA Report No 3/ 2015. Marine protected areas in Europe’s seas- an overview and

perspectives for the future.

https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/marine-protected-areas-in-europes

EEA Report No 17/2015. Spatial analysis of marine protected area networks in Europe’s

seas.

https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/spatial-analysis-of-marine-protected

Guidelines for the establishment of the Natura 2000 network in the marine environment.

Application of the Habitats and Birds Directives.

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/marine/index_en.htm

Temporal Natura 2000 Database - 201711 (not public)


https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/msfd-regions-and-subregions-1%23tab-documents

https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/msfd-regions-and-subregions-1%23tab-documents

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/barometer/

http://natura2000.eea.europa.eu/

https://bd.eionet.europa.eu/activities/Natura_2000/chapter2

https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/natura-8

https://bd.eionet.europa.eu/activities/Natura_2000/pdfs/sufficiency_criteria.pdf

https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/state-of-nature-in-the-eu

https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/marine-protected-areas-in-europes

https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/spatial-analysis-of-marine-protected

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/marine/index_en.htm


Annex I. Conservation status of marine habitats and species

The data presented in this chapter on the conservation status of marine habitat types and

species comes from the Art 17 and Art 12 reporting period 2007 to 2012 and has already been

published in the “State of Natura in the EU” report (2015).

3.1 Conservation status of marine habitats

For Annex I habitat types, the conservation status reported by the Member States is presented

in the Figure 4-1 by marine region at European scale, i.e. conservation data reported by

Member states was combined. In the Article 17 reporting exercise, the number of marine

habitat types listed is considerably wider than in Natura 2000, which only considers 5 Annex

I habitat types. Article 17 reporting also takes also into account estuaries (1130), mudflats

and sandflats not covered by seawater at low tide (1140), large shallow inlets and bays (1160)

and boreal Baltic narrow inlets (1650).


Figure 0-1 Conservation status of marine Annex I habitats by marine region

Only two regions out of five reported favourable habitat assessments (Figure 4-1):

Macaronesia (33.3 %) and the Black Sea (14.3 %). The North-east Atlantic Ocean and the

Baltic Sea show a particularly high proportion of unfavourable-bad assessments, with 71.4 %

and 42.9 % respectively. The proportion of ‘unknown’ assessments is also considerable and

is most evident in Macaronesia.

The conservation status of a natural habitat is considered 'favourable' when the following

are true:

• Its natural range and areas it covers within that range are stable or increasing;

• The specific structure and functions that are necessary for its long-term maintenance exist

and are likely to continue to exist for the foreseeable future;

• The conservation status of its typical species is favourable.


Figure 0-2 Ranking (%) of pressures that were reported as having the highest impact

on habitats (Source: State of Nature in the EU, 2015)

The conservation status of marine habitat types can be jeopardize by many pressures, among

the most frequently reported are (1) fishing and harvesting aquatic resources, (2) changes in

water bodies conditions and (3) pollution of waters (Figure 4-2).

3.2 Conservation status of marine (non-bird) species

Regarding the conservation status of non-bird species per marine region, 60 non-bird species

were assessed (Figure 4-3), included in Annex II, Annex IV or Annex V. All marine regions

(except the Marine Black Sea) reported favourable habitat assessments (ranging from 2.4% to

20%); the Marine Baltic region indicated that 60% unfavourable-bad species assessments,

being by far the highest, but it only concerns five species. The proportion of unknown

assessments is higher for the Marine Atlantic than for other regions (ranging between 33%

and 88%). The Marine Black Sea region reports 100% of the known species assessments to

be in either unfavourable-inadequate or unfavourable-bad conservation status, but these

assessments only concern three species.

The conservation data reported is at European scale, i.e. conservation data reported by

Member states was combined.

0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14% 16% 18% 20%

A02 - Modification of cultivation practices

A07 - Use of 'pesticides' in agriculture

E04 - Scattered structures and buildings

F05 - Illegal taking of marine fauna

K02 - Vegetation succession/Biocenotic evolution

L05 - Collapse of terrain, landslide

E06 - Other urban/industrial developments

M01 - Abiotic changes (climate change)

A08 - Fertilisation in agriculture

H02 - Pollution to groundwater

H04 - Air pollution, air-borne pollutants

K01 - Abiotic natural processes

C01 - Mining and quarrying

F01 - Marine and freshwater aquaculture

F06 - Other hunting, fishing and collection activities

I01 - Invasive alien species

E01 - Urbanisation and human habitation

G05 - Other human intrusions and disturbances

E03 - Discharges (household/industrial)

G01 - Outdoor sports, leisure and recreational…

J03 - Other changes to ecosystems

D03 - Shipping lanes and ports

H03 - Pollution to marine waters

H01 - Pollution to surface waters

J02 - Changes in water bodies conditions

F02 - Fishing and harvesting aquatic resources


Figure 0-3 Conservation status of marine Annex II, IV and V species by marine region (Source: State of Nature in the EU, 2015)

The conservation status of a species will be considered ‘favourable’ when the following are true:

Population dynamics data on the species concerned indicate that it is maintaining

itself on a long-term basis as a viable component of its natural habitats

The natural range of the species is neither being reduced nor is likely to be reduced

for the foreseeable future

There is, and will probably continue to be, a sufficiently large habitat to maintain its

populations on a long-term basis.

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

MBAL (5)

MATL (48)

MMED (32)

MMAC (41)

MBLS (3)

Favourable Unknown Unfavourable-inadequate Unfavourable-bad


Figure 0-4 Ranking of pressures (%) reported as having the highest impact on (non-bird) species (Source: State of Nature in the EU, 2015)

The conservation status of marine species can be jeopardize by many pressures (Figure 4-4),

among the most frequently reported are (1) fishing and harvesting aquatic resources, (2)

pollution to marine waters, (3) shipping lanes and ports and (4) excess energy (noise, light,

heating, electromagnetic).

3.3 Population status of bird species

There is no assessment as such on the conservation status of marine birds alone, however

Figure 4-5 shows a general grouping of bird species which include the relevant seabirds and

waterbirds, such as: petrels, storm-petrels and shearwaters; ducks, geese and swans; waders,

gulls and auks; gannets and cormorants, grebes and loons or divers. The grouping of petrels,

storm-petrels and shearwaters have the highest proportion of “threatened” out of all sea birds

and water birds.


Figure 0-5 Population status of EU’s birds (2008 – 2012) (Source: State of Nature in the EU, 2015)

There is no data on pressures specific to marine bird species. Figure 4-5 shows the ranking of

the most important pressures reported for species in general.

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Cuckoos (2)

Loons or Divers (3)

Storks and Flamingo (3)

Herons, Pelicans, Ibises and Spoonbills (13)

Grebes (5)

Gannets and Cormorants (4)

Hawks and Eagles (28)

Pigeons and Doves (8)

Owls (13)

Woodpeckers (11)

Passerines (182)

Cranes, Rails, Gallinules and Coots (10)

Kingfishers, Rollers, Bee-eaters and Hoopoe (4)

Waders, Gulls and Auks (74)

Falcons (10)

Ducks, Geese and Swans (36)

Swifts and Nightjars (8)

Bustards (3)

Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse (13)

Petrels, Storm-petrels and Shearwaters (15)

Sandgrouse (2)

Population status

Secure Unknown Near Threatened, Declining, Depleted Threatened

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