Published: 07 Oct 2008
- At the World Conservation Congress currently
being held in Barcelona, the European Environment
Agency (EEA) presented an analysis of the
latest reports from member countries on
the state of protected species and habitats
in Europe.
The EEA calculates the
'ecological potential' of European landscape
by combining various data sets available
on protected areas (those designated at
country level, the European Union's Natura
2000 sites and others). It is therefore
possible to observe how land-cover change
and fragmentation by road networks affect
Europe's most valuable natural areas. Similar
analyses can provide insight into the impact
on Europe's biodiversity by other factors
such as climate change.
What initial assessments
say on Europe's biodiversity
Europe has selected
more than 1 000 species and 216 habitats
of 'European interest' defined as being
important for the continent's biodiversity.
Based on the 2007 country reports submitted
to the European Commission, a first analysis
of the state of conservation for these species
and habitats paints a rather disappointing
picture.
Only less than half
of the protected species and habitats in
Europe are considered to be in 'favourable
conservation status'. For most of the remaining
species and habitats, the conservation status
is considered to be either inadequate or
bad. Furthermore, for a significant number
of species and habitats, the data at hand
are simply insufficient to reach any assessment.
The data also confirm
the previous findings with regard to land-cover
change as set out in the report The European
environment — State and Outlook 2005, namely
that wetlands, dunes and grasslands are
among the less well-preserved habitats.
In some cases, this degradation is closely
linked to local policies and land management
in the surrounding areas.
The picture is nevertheless
mixed. Terrestrial habitats in the Alpine
and Mediterranean regions, the coastal and
marine habitats in Macaronesia (Azores,
Madeira and the Canary Islands) and the
Mediterranean appear to be enjoying the
best conservation status.
More information on
the state of biodiversity in different biogeographical
zones across Europe and in each European
country may be obtained from the EEA's Data
service.
What next?
The biodiversity conservation debate is
currently moving from increasing the number
of protected sites to the effective management
and evaluation of the sites. The fact that
biodiversity is being lost even in protected
areas means that Europe must work towards
maintaining and restoring the 'ecological
potential' of what is already under protection,
while taking the developments in the wider
countryside into account.
Additional efforts to
identify gaps in the data and to assess
the effectiveness of current policies are
already underway. These gaps must be closed
in order to develop the required tailor-made
solutions responding to each region's specific
problems and needs.
Background
European countries are legally bound by
international and European requirements,
including the EU Habitats Directive, to
regularly collect and share data on protected
areas. Country information networks, including
the EEA's Eionet, are instrumental for the
collection of data, which are in turn necessary
for European and global assessments.
