The Habitats Directive (more formally known as Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora) is a directive adopted by the European Community in 1992 as a response to the Berne Convention. The European Community was reformed as the European Union the following year, but the directive is still recognised.
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.Suvi Borgström, Frederik H. Kistenkas, 'The Compatibility of the Habitats Directive with the Novel EU Green Infrastructure Policy' (2014) 23 European Energy and Environmental Law Review, Issue 2, pp. 36–44. http://www.kluwerlawonline.com/abstract.php?id=EELR2014004
Annex I Annex I lists the specific habitats which have been designated as the a Special Area of Conservation, to which a common EU-wide legislation applies. Certain habitats among those are furthermore designated as "priority habitat types". Habitats in the EU are given codes. An area or habitat can combine two habitats, and be designated as for example code 35.2 × 64.1 - Open grassland with Corynephorus and Agrostis (35.2), in combination with continental dunes (64.1). Example Annex I habitats are:
Open sea and tidal areas Sea cliffs and shingle or stony beaches Atlantic and continental salt marshes and salt meadows Mediterranean and thermo-Atlantic salt marshes and salt meadows Salt and gypsum continental steppes Dunes Sea dunes of the Mediterranean coast Continental dunes, old and decalcified Standing and running freshwater Sections of water courses with natural or semi-natural dynamics (minor, average and major beds) where the water quality shows no significant deterioration Matorral Mediterranean arborescent matorral Thermo-Mediterranean and pre-steppe brush Phrygana Grasslands Natural grasslands Semi-natural dry grasslands and scrubland facies Sclerophyllous grazed forests (dehesas) Semi-natural tall-herb humid meadows Mesophile grasslands Bogs, mires and fens Sphagnum acid bogs Calcareous fens Rocky areas and caves Scree, chasmophytic vegetation on rocky slopes Other rocky habitats Forests - Only (sub-)natural Forests of temperate Europe Mediterranean deciduous forests Mediterranean sclerophyllous forests Alpine and subalpine coniferous forests Mediterranean mountainous coniferous forests The full list of habitats is distributed over 9 main categories.
Annex II Annex II lists species which determine if an area is a Special Area of Conservation. These include:
Animals Mammals Pyrenean desman (Galemys pyrenaicus) Bats: Rhinolophus blasii, R. euryale, R. ferrumequinum, R. hipposideros, R. mehelyi, Barbastella barbastellus, Miniopterus schreibersi, Myotis bechsteini, M. blythi, M. capaccinii, M. dasycneme, M. emarginatus, M. myotis Rodents: Spermophilus citellus, Castor fiber, Microtus cabrerae Carnivores: Lynx (Lynx lynx), otter (Lutra lutra) and Mustela lutreola Grey seal and harbour seal natural populations of wild goats (Capra aegagrus) natural populations of wild sheep (Ovis ammon musimon) on Corsica and Sardinia. Rupicapra rupicapra balcanica the dolphin Tursiops truncatus and the harbour porpoise Phocoena phocoena
Reptiles and amphibians Land tortoises: Testudo hermanni, T. graeca and T. marginata Freshwater turtles: Emys orbicularis, Mauremys caspica and M. leprosa Lizards: Lacerta monticola, L. schreiberi, Gallotia galloti insulanagae, Podarcis lilfordi, P. pityusensis, Chalcides occidentalis (a skink) and Phyllodactylus europaeus (a gecko) Snakes: Elaphe quatuorlineata, E. situla and Vipera ursinii Salamanders: Chioglossa lusitanica, Mertensiella luschani, Salamandrina terdigitata, Triturus cristatus, olm (Proteus anguinus), Speleomantes ambrosii, S. flavus, S. genei, S. imperialis and S. supramontes Toads: Bombina bombina and B. variegata Frogs: Rana latastei, Discoglossus jeanneae, D. montalentii and D. sardus
Fish All Eudontomyzon species, Lampetra fluviatilis, L. planeri, Lethenteron zanandrai, Petromyzon marinus Aphanius iberus and A. fasciatus only natural populations of Hucho hucho only freshwater populations of salmon (Salmo salar), the trout S. marmoradus and S. macrostigma the cyprid fish Alburnus vulturius, A. albidus, Anaecypris hispanica, Aspius aspius, Barbus plebejus, B. meridionalis, B. capito, B. comiza, Chalcalburnus chalcoides, Chondrostoma soetta, Ch. polylepis, Ch. genei, Ch. lusitanicum, Ch. toxostoma, Gobio albipinnatus, G. uranoscopus, Iberocypris palaciosi, Leuciscus lucomonis, L. souffia, all species of Phoxinellus, Rutilus pigus, R. rubilio, R. arcasii, R. macrolepidotus, R. lemmingii, R. friesii meidingeri, R. alburnoides, Rhodeus sericeus amarus, Scardinius graecus the Cobitidae loaches Cobitis conspersa, C. larvata, C. trichonica, C. taenia, Misgurnis fossilis, Sabanejewia aurata of the perches: Gymnocephalus schraetzer and all Zingel species except Z. asper and Z. zingel Gobiidae: Pomatoschistus canestrini, Padogobius panizzai, P. nigricans the freshwater sculpins Cottus ferruginosus, C. gobio, C. petiti all Alosa species, the river herrings or scads. Aristotle's catfish (Silurus aristotelis)
Crustaceans the freshwater crayfish Austropotamobius pallipes
Insects the beetles Buprestis splendens, Cerambyx cerdo, Cucujus cinnaberinus, Dytiscus latissimus, Graphoderus bilineatus, Limoniscus violaceus, Lucanus cervus and Morimus funereus the butterflies Coenonympha oedippus, Erebia calcaria, E. christi, Eriogaster catax, Euphydryas aurinia, Graellsia isabellae, Hypodryas maturna, Lycaena dispar, Maculinea nausithous, M. teleius, Melanagria arge, Papilio hospiton, Plebicula golgus the praying mantis Apteromantis aptera the dragonflies Coenagrion hylas, C. mercuriale, Cordulegaster trinacriae, Gomphus graslinii, Leucorrhina pectoralis, Lindenia tetraphylla, Macromia splendens, Ophiogomphus cecilia, Oxygastra curtisii the grasshopper Baetica ustulata
Molluscs Gastropods (snails): Caseolus calculus, C. commixta, C. sphaerula, Discula leacockiana, D. tabellata, Discus defloratus, D. guerinianus, Elona quimperiana, Geomalacus maculosus, Geomitra moniziana, Idiomela subplicata (as Helix subplicata), Leiostyla abbreviata, L. cassida, L. corneocostata, L. gibba, L. lamellosa, Vertigo angustior, V. genesii, V. geyeri, V. moulinsiana Bivalves: Margaritifera margaritifera and Unio crassus
Plants Mosses and liverworts: Bruchia vogesiaca, Buxbaumia viridis, Dichelyma capillaceum, Dicranum viride, Distichophyllum carinatum, Drepanocladus vernicosus, Jungermannia handelii, Mannia triandra, Meesia longiseta, Nothothylas orbicularis, Orthotrichum rogeri, Petalophyllum ralfsii, Riccia breidleri, Riella helicophylla, Scapania massolongi, Sphagnum pylaisii, Tayloria rudolphiana
Ferns and allies the ferns Asplenium jahandiezii, Culcita macrocarpa, Trichomanes speciosum and Woodwardia radicans the water ferns Marsilea batardae, M. quadrifolia and M. strigosa Botrychium simplex and Ophioglossum polyphyllum the squillworts Isoetes boryana and I. malinverniana
Monocots Alismataceae: Caldesia parnassifolia and Luronium natans Allium grosii Eleocharis carniolica Juncus valvatus Hyacinthoides vicentina Leucojum nicaeense Daffodils: Narcissus asturiensis, N. calcicola, N. cyclamineus, N. fernandesii, N. humilis, N. pseudonarcissus subsp. nobilis, N. scaberulus, N. triandrus subsp. capax and N. viridiflorus Grasses: Avenula hackelii, Bromus grossus, Coleanthus subtilis, Festuca brigantina, F. duriotagana, F. elegans, F. henriquesii, F. sumilusitanica, Gaudinia hispanica, Holcus setiglumis subsp. duriensis, Micropyropsis tuberosa. Pseudarrhenatherum pallens and Puccinellia pungens Orchids: Cypripedium calceolus and Liparis loeselii Cretan date palm (Phoenix theophrasti)
Dicots Apiaceae: Angelica palustris, Apium repens, Athamanta cortiana, Eryngium alpinum, Petagnia saniculifolia, Rouya polygama and Thorella verticillatinundata Aldrovanda vesiculosa Asteraceae: Centaurea corymbosa, C. gadorensis, C. kartschiana, Centaurea micrantha subsp. herminii, C. pulvinata, C. rothmalerana, C. vicentina, Crepis granatensis, Erigeron frigidus, Hymenostemma pseudanthemis, Leontodon microcephalus, L. boryi, Leuzea longifolia, Ligularia sibirica, Santolina impressa, S. semidentata and Senecio nevadensis Boraginaceae: Myosotis lusitanica, M. rehsteineri, M. retusifolia, Omphalodes kuzinskyana and Solenanthus albanicus Brassicaceae: Alyssum pyrenaicum, Arabis sadina, Biscutella vincentina, Boleum asperum, Brassica glabrescens, B. insularis, Coincya cintrana, Diplotaxis ibicensis, D. vicentina, Erucastrum palustre, Iberis procumbens subsp. microcarpa, Ionopsidium savianum, Sisymbrium cavanillesianum and S. supinum Campanulaceae: Asyneuma giganteum, Jasione crispa subsp. serpentinica and J. lusitanica Caryophyllaceae: Arenaria provincialis, Dianthus cintranus subsp. cintranus, D. marizii, D. rupicola, Herniaria algarvica, H. berlengiana, H. maritima, Moehringia tommasinii, Petrocoptis grandiflora, P. montsicciana, P. pseudoviscosa, Silene cintrana, S. hifacensis, S. longicilia and S. mariana