Lably
Skip to content

Habitats Directive

European Union conservation directive

  • 17 min read
  • 7 chapters

Related on Lably

Through European Union, Protected area and Eastern Europe

LabBiodiversity & ConservationLab · Class 8–12Ecosystem Dynamics

The Habitats Directive required 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, along with '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.

This directive is one of the main pillars of the European Union's system of wildlife and nature conservation, another being the Birds Directive. The Habitats Directive, together with the Birds Directive, are also called the "nature directives".

The Habitats Directive consists of 24 articles of legislation to which all member states must comply. Article 17 of the directive sets the terms and standards for reporting on both the habitats and species listed in the annexes by the individual EU member countries. It stipulates a report from each member country on the state of nature every six years. The first preliminary reports were due in 2001 (but only published in 2004), the first actual assessments were due in 2007 (published 2009), the second in 2013 (published 2015), and the third set of assessment reports were due in 2019 (published 2020). The assessments of conservation status differ markedly from those of the IUCN Red List. The aim in the case of the EU conservation status is to assess the distance from a defined favourable situation, as opposed to the distance from extinction. There are three classes of conservation status: favourable (FV), unfavourable-inadequate (U1) and unfavourable-bad (U2).

The annexes of the directive outline the protected habitats and species:

  • 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.

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.

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

Sign in to keep reading

6 more chapters are free with a Lably account.

More in Environment

Jimmy CarterPresident of the United States from 1977 to 1981United Nations Environment ProgrammeUN environmental response agencyVulnerable speciesIUCN conservation categorySurface runoffFlow of excess rainwater not infiltrating in the ground over its surfaceCritically endangeredIUCN conservation categoryGerald FordPresident of the United States from 1974 to 1977