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Fern Briefing Updated August 1998
www.greennet.org.uk/fern

The EU's Biodiversity Strategy and Habitats Directive

1. Introduction

Biodiversity is currently an important issue for the EU. First, the European Commission presented a new Biodiversity Strategy i to the Council and Parliament in February 1998. Second, this year the Commission has to adopt Sites of Community Importance which will form the Natura 2000 network in accordance with the Habitats Directive ii. This Directive is the strongest EU tool for preserving biodiversity wihin the Union.

2. The Biodiversity Strategy

2.1 Background

The European Commission ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in December 1993 (see Box I). As a party to the Convention, the Commission is obliged to develop a Biodiversity Strategy iii. All EU member states have ratified the CBD and are also obliged to adopt national biodiversity strategies. So far Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands and the UK have adopted national strategies. Other member states are either about to finalise a Strategy or at an early drafting stage.
At the end of 1995, the Council asked the Commission to draft a Strategy by early 1997. This should be complementary to the strategies developed by the member states. The European Commission presented its Biodiversity Strategy (in the form of a Communication) to the Council and Parliament in February 1998.

2.2 How does the Strategy work?

The Strategy is conceived as a 'matrix' of five major themes (biodiversity conservation; sustainable use; sharing of benefits; research; and education) relevant to seven different policy areas (including forests; nature conservation; agriculture; and development). The relevant actors in each policy area (the relevant Directorates General of the Commission) will be required to elaborate biodiversity Action Plans (by February 2000).

2.3 The goals of the Strategy and its relevance to forests

The overarching goals of the Strategy are described as:

  • "to contribute to reverse present trends in biodiversity losses", and
  • "to place species and ecosystems in a satisfactory conversation status both within and beyond the territory of the European Union".
The Strategy recognises that "Globally, forests contain the greatest quantity of biological diversity". It therefore contains a section on forests which lists objectives for the conservation of biodiversity in European forests. The section on development cooperation is highly relevant for biodiversity conservation in tropical forests, given that the European Commission spends 50 MECU on tropical forest projects every year.
The objectives of the forest section are to be incorporated into the EU Forest Strategy which will be developed by January 1999.

Box 1: The Convention on Biological Diversity

The Convention on Biological Diversity is a globally legally binding instrument which was agreed at the Rio Conference (UNCED) in 1992. Some 170 countries around the world are Parties to the CBD
The CBD has three objectives:

1. Conservation of biological diversity.
2. Sustainable use of the biological components.
3. Equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilisation of genetic resources.

2.4 NGO comments

NGOs believe the final version of the Strategy is certainly better than previous drafts, but it is still too vague in its content. The future challenge of the Biodiversity Strategy lies with the different Directorates-General of the Commission. It is of utmost importance that the obligations of the Strategy reach all parts of the Commission. The Action Plans adopted by the DGs should:
  • have an overall objective,
  • focus on real priorities (ie conservation, integration),
  • focus on real outcomes (ie species, eco-systems),
  • be implementable (saying who is going to do what and by when).

If the relevant DGs do not fulfil these basic requirements the practical impact of the Strategy will be questionable. NGOs welcome the decision to develop a forest Action Plan as part of the EU Forest Strategy, as this is consistent with the principle of integration. However, it is vital that the biodiversity aspects should indeed be an integral part of the Forest strategy and that DG XI (Environment) should be given sufficient time to elaborate these, given that the Forest Strategy is due to be presented to the Council and Parliament in less than a year (January 1999).

3. The Habitats Directive

3.1 Relevance to the Biodiversity Strategy

In May 1992, the Council adopted a Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and Wild Fauna and Flora (the Habitats Directive). This Directive constitutes the most important instrument and the strongest legal weapon for nature protection within the EU. It is also the principal mechanism for the implementation of the CBD at member state level. A clear objective of the Biodiversity Strategy is, for the same reason, "to fully implement the Habitats Directive in the required timescale". Other legislation relevant to the Biodiversity Strategy includes the Birds Directive iv and the EU Regulation on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) v.

Box II The process of creating the Natura 2000 Network

STAGE 1 - NATIONAL LEVEL (1992-1995)
a) By June 1994: member states transpose the Habitats Directive into national legislation (article 23).
b) By June 1995: member states send the European Commission a list of sites which they consider to be eligible for designation as Special Areas of Conservation (article 4.1).

STAGE 2 - COMMUNITY LEVEL (1995-98)
a) 1995-1998: The Commission evaluates the national lists and selects Sites of Community Importance. The Commission may also propose sites not mentioned in the national lists in order to ensure a coherent network.
b) By June 1998: The Commission adopts a list of Sites of Community Importance (article 4.2).

STAGE 3 - NATIONAL LEVEL (1998-2004)
By june 2004: All sites on the Community list must be designated as Special Areas of Conservation by member states (article 4.4), and the necessary measures for their protection and restoration are adopted.

NB: the dates given are the original target dates. Due to delays at the national level, these are no longer realistic. At present the Commission is still waiting for the national lists of sites (stage 1b).

3.2 The aim of the Habitats Directive

The aim of the Habitats Directive is to create a coherent European ecological network known as Natura 2000. This network will consist of a series of Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) which will protect habitats and species of Community interest. Areas classified as Special Protection Areas under the Birds Directive are also a part of Natura 2000.
The process of creating the Natura 2000 Network is briefly described in Box II. It should be stressed that the process is suffering from a considerable delay.
Once the Nature 2000 Network is established it is up to the member states to protect the sites in order to achieve the Habitats Directive's objectives. The Habitats Directive puts forward a number of important minimum conservation measures required from the member states (see the Habitats Directive's Article 6).

3.3 The Habitats Directive and forests

The Habitats Directive is a key tool to ensure protection of forests in Europe. It lists "Natural Habitat Types of Community interest whose conservation requires the designation of Special Areas of Conservation (SAC)" in Annex I. This contains nine habitat types, including forests. The "forests" habitat type is divided into:

i) forests of Boreal Europe

ii) forests of Temperate Europe;

iii) Mediterranean deciduous forests;

iv) Mediterranean sclerophyllous forests;

v) Alpine and Sulalpine coniferous forests;

vi) Mediterranean mountainous coniferous forests.

Within these subcategories a number of forest types are identified as "priority habitat types", eg Caledonian forests and Mediterranean pine forests with endemic Black Pine. Such priority forests will automatically qualify as Sites of Community Importance if they have been included on a national list of candidate sites (see box II).

3.4 WWF's "100 Forest Hotspots"

WWF has selected '100 Forests Hotspots', which are particularly valuable forests in Europe that need urgent protection or restoration. These forests are representative examples of what should be included in the Nature 2000 (as SACs). They are therefore indications to member states to include these forests in their national lists.

3.5 Implementation problems

  • Serious delays in designation of sites by member states. The Commission has recently (October 1997) taken legal action against France, Finland, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain and Italy for sending only partial lists of sites to the Commission or no list at all. As long as a Community list is not established, damage can be done to European habitats and species with no possibility of applying sanctions. However, the Commission cannot finish its work before member states take their obligations seriously. The process is so far three years behind schedule.

  • Costs: The lack of progress by most member can be explained by the unwillingness of governments (often regional governments) to bear the costs of Natura 2000. Some sites are located on private land, where for instance farming takes place. Current owners want compensation for a restriction in their practices once the site becomes protected. At the moment clarification is needed on what kind of compensation could be granted, how the costs of Natura 2000 should be estimated, and which instruments/funds will be employed for covering these costs. The Biodiversity Strategy states that Action Plans (for the different policy areas) "should...promote the implementation, within the Community, of the Natura 2000 Network"; and "provide financial and technical support". However, it is not specified how this should be done.

3.6 NGO comments

  • Socio-economic interests should not be the basis of the selection of the Natura 2000 sites. Sites should only be selected based on the ecological importance of the area.
  • The management of the Natura 2000 sites should use forest certification measures to publicly guarantee that they are sustainably used.
  • NGO influence in the process should be guaranteed especially through the European Habitats Forum which was set up for this purpose.

4. The road ahead

The UK Presidency has taken the initiative to organise a conference on the Habitats Directive and Natura 2000. This will take place in Bath, (June 1998).


What is Fern?

Fern is an NGO created by the World Rainforest Movement. Fern advocates changes in EU activities in order to achieve:
  • Conservation and sustainable management of forests,
  • Respect for the rights of forest peoples,
  • Greater transparency in EU aid to tropical forest countries.
Fern briefing notes aim to inform NGOs, MEPs and European Commission officials about key forest related issues.

Fern Contacts

Saskia Ozinga,
Fern/WRM
1C Fosseway Business Park
Stratford Road Moreton-in-Marsh
UK - GL 56 9NQ
Tel: 44 1608 652 895
Fax: 44 1608 652 878
Saskia@gn.apc.org

Chantal Marijnissen & Susan Leubuscher,
Fern
20 Av des Celtes 1040
Brussels
Belgium
Tel: 32 2 742 24 36
Fax: 32 2 736 80 54
Fern@arcadis.be

 

i) Communication to the Council and Parliament on a European Community Biodiversity Strategy, COM (98) 42.
ii) Directive 92/43/EC on Conservation of Natural Habitats and of wild Fauna and Flora; OJ L 206/7, 22.7.92
iii) According to article 6 of the CBD.
iv) Directive 79/409/EC on the Conservation of Wild Birds; OJ L 103, 25.4.79
v) Regulation ?/96 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein; OJ L 061, 3.3.97.