Brussels, 10/01/2011 (Agence Europe) - Good news for nature protection: the pan-European network of protected natural habitats has gained an additional 739 sites covering nearly 28,000 km², over 17,500 km² of which are marine areas, the European Commission announced on Monday 10 January.
This extension will make it possible to improve the protection of many plant and animal species under threat in Europe, such as beech forests, otters and salmon. It has mainly come about by the addition of protected areas in the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Spain and Poland.
With 26,000 protected sites to its name, Natura 2000 now covers nearly 18% of the land territory of the EU and more than 130,000 km² of its seas and oceans.
Janez Potoènik, Commissioner for the Environment, particularly welcomes “this increased protection for 17,500 km² of seas and oceans”, for the greater benefit of nature, but also of human beings. “When we protect nature, we protect ourselves. Natura 2000 is like a life assurance policy, safeguarding nature's resilience, and ensuring that we have a sustainable relationship to the natural world we depend on”, he explains in a press release.
The marine sites which have been added are mainly in France, Denmark and Spain. Among the new marine sites which have been included in the network for the Atlantic region is part of the Loire estuary (680 km²), where there are many cold water reefs and sand banks. It is also a growing area for young fish and a vital stage area for major migratory species such as Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and rock herring (Alosa alosa).
The sites added by Denmark include, amongst others, the area Sydlige Nordsø, an area earmarked for the conservation of a harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena). El Cachucho, Spain's new contribution, is made up of a vast offshore bank and an underwater mountain in the Cantabrian Sea (off the northern coast of the country). This area is home to a number of vastly different marine species, including a number of recently discovered giant sponges, the Commission states. (A.N./transl.fl)