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
State of play in marine Natura 2000 designation
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
State of play in marine Natura 2000 designation 3
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
State of play in marine Natura 2000 designation
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.
State of play in marine Natura 2000 designation 5
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.
State of play in marine Natura 2000 designation
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).
State of play in marine Natura 2000 designation 7
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
State of play in marine Natura 2000 designation
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.
State of play in marine Natura 2000 designation 9
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
State of play in marine Natura 2000 designation
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.
State of play in marine Natura 2000 designation 11
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.
State of play in marine Natura 2000 designation
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.
State of play in marine Natura 2000 designation 13
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
State of play in marine Natura 2000 designation
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.
State of play in marine Natura 2000 designation 15
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
State of play in marine Natura 2000 designation
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
State of play in marine Natura 2000 designation 17
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
State of play in marine Natura 2000 designation
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).
State of play in marine Natura 2000 designation 19
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
State of play in marine Natura 2000 designation
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
State of play in marine Natura 2000 designation 21
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
State of play in marine Natura 2000 designation 22
References
EEA coastline for analysis
https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/eea-coastline-for-analysis-1
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)
State of play in marine Natura 2000 designation 23
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).
State of play in marine Natura 2000 designation 24
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.
State of play in marine Natura 2000 designation 25
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
State of play in marine Natura 2000 designation 26
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
State of play in marine Natura 2000 designation 27
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.
State of play in marine Natura 2000 designation
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