Brussels, 26/11/2012 (Agence Europe) - Natura 2000, the pan-European network of protected natural sites, has been added to by nearly 25,000 km² of invaluable spaces, the European Commission announced on Monday 26 November, having formally approved the inclusion of 235 sites proposed by 20 member states of the EU to be recognised as “sites of Community importance”.
The member states which have contributed to this extension of the network (the United Kingdom, Romania, Latvia, Italy, Sweden, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Slovakia, Estonia and Malta take the lion's share) will have six years to set in place the measures required to protect these sites by means of EU legislation - directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and wild fauna and flora, known as 'Habitats', and directive 2009/147/EC on 'Wild birds'. This extension covers the nine bio-geographical regions of the network - the Alpine region, the Atlantic region, the Black Sea region, the boreal region, the continental region, the Macaronesian region, the Mediterranean region, the Pannonian region and the steppe region. The Natura 2000 network now covers 768,000 km² (17.9 %) of the landmass of the EU and more than 217,000 km² (+/- 4%) of its seas and oceans.
Janez Potoènik, European Commissioner for protection of the environment, welcomes this “significant contribution to the protection of the natural heritage of Europe”.
Dogger Bank (12,330 km²), a shallow maritime basin nominated by the United Kingdom, represents the largest addition. This basin includes immersed sandbanks, and creates, with the adjacent sites of Germany and the Netherlands, a large cross-border Natura 2000 site of more than 18,000 km². Its highly productive sandbank habitats are important spawning and nursery grounds for many commercial fisheries. The inclusion will make it easier for the member states to manage the zone in collaboration with a view to setting in place adequate measures.
In the Baltic Sea region, ten new marine sites of nearly 4000 km², put forward by Sweden and Latvia, constitute a major addition. These sites include sandbank and reef habitats which are home to many species and constitute vital feeding grounds for seals and migratory fish. The country which has made the largest contribution in relation to its size is Malta, with 183 km2 of marine areas now designated, creating the necessary basis for a solid marine network in the neighbouring waters. The new Maltese marine sites will promote the conservation of Posidonia sea-grass beds and submerged reefs, and offer a crucial habitat for the gibbula nivosa, a species of vibrantly coloured sea snail which is native to Malta.
The largest extension of the land network was seen in Romania, with the addition of 109 sites and the extension of many existing sites containing a huge range of grassland and forest habitats which are vital to many rare and threatened species (bats and amphibians). These Romanian sites, which have links with other sites proposed by Bulgaria and the Republic of Slovakia, will help to protect the native fish population of the Danube basin. (AN/transl.fl)