Environment

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Natura 2000 / EU Nature Legislation

Summary
Evaluation
Commission Proposal
Legal Act
Implementation

Overall State of Play:

Fitness Check Completed Q4 2016, SWD(2016) 472
Action Plan adopted COM(2017)198

State of play, main conclusions, outlook

On 16/12/2016 the Commission published the 'Fitness Check' evaluation of the EU Birds and Habitats Directives (the 'Nature Directives') and concluded that, within the framework of broader EU biodiversity policy, they remain highly relevant and are fit for purpose.

Based on the findings, the Commission adopted an Action Plan to address shortcomings in implementation identified in the Fitness Check and improve the Directives' coherence with broader socio-economic objectives. The European Committee of the Regions is a key partner in this process. The Action Plan was adopted on 27 April 2017, setting out an ambitious programme of work for the next two and a half years.

Estimated savings and benefits

Several stakeholders considered that unnecessary costs related to authorisation procedures stem from incomplete or insufficient knowledge and data relating to the conservation objectives and measures of Natura 2000 sites as well as to the status of species and habitats they host and / or from unnecessarily complex implementation approaches/procedures set out at national level. The follow-up Nature Action Plan is meant to promote smarter and more efficient implementation approaches in relation to the site permitting and species protection rules of the Directives. The Action Plan should also contribute to enhancing the Directives’ effectiveness, leading to better conservation status of habitats and species.

REFIT Platform

In its opinion on EU policies on water, renewable energy and nature protection (Ref. IX.14.a), the REFIT Platform considers that those policies are not in contradiction but instead allows renewable energy generation to proceed in appropriate circumstances following procedures set out in the relevant pieces of legislation. Several members of the Government Group underlines the importance of working towards an integrated and balanced approach for implementing different EU legislative acts or policies. The sector specific guidance on hydropower and Natura 2000¹, on electricity transmission facilities and Natura 2000² as well as the updated interpretative guidance on Article 6³ issued in the context of the Action Plan reflect the need for an integrated approach.

¹https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:C:2018:213:TOC

²https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:C:2018:213:TOC

³Commission Notice no C(2018) 7621 of 23/11/2018 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/management/docs/art6/Provisions_Art_._nov_2018_endocx.pdf

State of Play:

Finalised in 2016, SWD(2016) 472

Scope:

Fitness Check of:
• Council Directive 2009/147/EEC of 30 November 2009 on the conservation of wild birds
• Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora

Evaluation findings:

For this Fitness Check the Commission conducted an extensive evidence gathering exercise throughout the EU, involving dialogue and exchanges with authorities, experts, stakeholders and the general public. Some 552 000 citizens responded to an on-line survey, confirming once again the considerable interest in and support of EU citizens for nature protection.

The goals of the Directives continue to reflect the needs of nature conservation and sustainable use for nature, people and the economy although more efforts are needed to achieve them. The Directives have already led to improvements in conservation status of species and habitats where targeted actions have been taken at a sufficient scale. There are opportunities for enhancing the efficiency of their implementation and reducing administrative burden such as through smarter use of permitting procedures. There is a need to ensure better coherence with other EU policies, including strengthened integration with the CAP since agriculture and forestry have the most important influence on terrestrial biodiversity in the EU. Better use of limited financial resources is critical to achieving the Directives' objectives. Within the framework of broader biodiversity policy the Nature Directives are fit for purpose but fully achieving their objectives and realising their full potential will depend on substantial improvement in their implementation in relation to both effectiveness and efficiency, working in partnership with different stakeholder communities in the Member States and across the EU, to deliver practical results on the ground.

Results of the Fitness Check can be found at the Fitness Check Website:

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/legislation/fitness_check/index_en.htm

State of Play:

The Action Plan for nature, people and the economy was adopted on 27/4/2017. It aims to boost achievement of the Nature Directives’ goals while also enhancing the benefits that flow from healthy nature to people and the economy. Sharply focused on key challenges and time bound, covering the period 2017-2019, it contains 15 main actions with over 100 individual measures, organised in four priority areas, fully reflecting the 2030 Agenda, namely:

• Priority A aims at ensuring better coherence with broader socio-economic objectives through improving guidance and knowledge. This includes guidance to support the integration of ecosystems and their services into planning and decision-making processes at local, regional, national and EU level, the development and promotion of dedicated guidance documents on site permitting procedures for plans and projects that may affect Natura 2000 sites and on species protection, as well as a targeted support mechanism to local authorities.

• Priority B aims at building political ownership and strengthening compliance to ensure a fully coherent and functional Natura 2000 network as well as the protection and sustainable management of species. The Plan provides a valuable framework to strengthen partnership between the European Commission, Member States and stakeholders to facilitate and promote the conservation and sustainable use of nature. This includes tools and approaches to address key challenges, such as local acceptance of co-existence with wolves in areas where this species is returning after a long period.

• Funding shortages are preventing the Natura 2000 network from delivering its benefits in full and are a major factor undermining the effectiveness of the Nature Directives. The work under Priority C is aiming at strengthening investments, including by providing guidance to support the deployment of green infrastructure for better connectivity of Natura 2000 areas and improving coherence with other policy areas such as agriculture and fisheries.

• Under Priority D, the Action Plan seeks to strengthen the involvement of the public, stakeholders, local authorities and communities. The Commission together with the European Committee of Regions and different stakeholder groups is using all available platforms to raise awareness and promote local involvement and exchanges of knowledge.

Ultimately, the Action Plan offers a solid short-term response to insufficient implementation of the main pieces of EU legislation for nature conservation.

While the period covered by the Action Plan is limited (2017-2019), many of the actions in the Plan have created the framework for long-lasting processes. This is the case of nature dialogues, the work under the biogeographical process, the stakeholder platforms on the coexistence with conflict species, the work on promoting synergies with funding from the common agricultural policy, cohesion policy and common fisheries policy, awareness-raising and communication actions.

So far, 96 of the 114 sub-actions have been delivered and more are close to finalisation. For example, under Action 1 several guidance documents have been updated / developed and other ones are close to finalisation, such as the methodological guidance on Article 6(3) and 6(4) of the Habitats Directive, the guidance on species protection rules under the Habitats Directive, the guidance on wind energy and Natura 2000 and the "Key concepts document on the period of reproduction and prenuptial migration of huntable bird Species in the EU". Under Action 4, guidance has been provided to Member States on how to improve synergies while implementing the Nature Directives and the Nitrates Directive as well as the Invasive Alien Species Regulation. Under Action 5, nature dialogues have taken place with 22 Member States and follow up dialogues have taken place and are still taking place to monitor the implementation of the agreed roadmaps. Under Action 6, work under the biogeographical process has also intensified with several seminars and events taking place in view of coordinating efforts across the EU to deliver the Directives’ objectives. Under Action 7, many species action plans have been developed, as well as habitats action plans for two of the most threatened habitat types. Under Action 8, the format for the Prioritized Action Framework (PAF) has been updated and several seminars took place in Member States capitals, to support Member States authorities in their PAF updates. The PAFs are recognised as strategic planning tools for Natura 2000 in the Commission proposals for sector regulations post-2020. In line with actions 9, 10 and 11 of the Action Plan, the Commission is working towards further mainstreaming nature and biodiversity in all major EU funds, in order to ensure funding for nature protection.