European Red List of Habitats The first Red List assessment of all terrestrial, freshwater and marine habitats in the EU28, EU28+ and neighbouring seas DG ENV November 2016

Objectives Assessment of all natural & semi-natural habitats in the EU28 and EU28+ Complementing information reported on Annex I habitats of the Habitats Directive Inform and underpin EU2020 Biodiversity Strategy, MAES, habitat recovery & restoration work , …. Provide fundamental baseline information in a structured way for each habitat assessed – useable in many ways, underpinning also the EUNIS classification

Some facts First ever European Habitats Red List! Service contract by DG ENV of 30 months – final deliveries to become available in November Budget: 1,5 million euro Contractor: Alterra & IUCN plus naturebureau, Sue Gubbay and John Rodwell

Scope Assessments on two levels: EU28 & EU28+ EU28+ including in addition Iceland, Switzerland, Norway & the Balkan countries Marine: Baltic Sea, North East Atlantic, N-Mediterranean Sea & Black Sea

Habitat Classification Following a Feasibility Study in 2012, a habitat typology based on the hierarchical EUNIS Habitat Classification (level 3 for terrestrial and level 4 for marine) was used. All in all: 490 habitats assessed 233 natural and semi-natural terrestrial habitats 257 benthic marine habitats Relationship with Annex I habitats is complex: 1:1 relationship is only the case for a few (16% of terrestrial & only 1 type in the marine). The relationship is however described for all Annex I types.

Assessment method Assessment Categories & Criteria based on a modified version of the IUCN (2013) Guidelines for the Red List of Ecosystems

Criteria & Categories

Working Method Data were provided by territorial experts in each country or regional sea Assessments were coordinated by the habitat/sea group Terrestrial habitats: Coastal (30 habitats) Freshwaters (26) Mires & bogs (13) Grasslands (53) Heath & scrub (38) Forests (42) Sparsely vegetated (31) Marine habitats: Baltic Sea (61 habitats) North East Atlantic (86) Northern Mediterranean Sea (47) Black Sea (63)

Results: 233 Terrestrial Habitats Overall results reveal 37% habitats threatened (in top 3 threat categories) in EU28, 32% in EU28+

Which terrestrial habitats are most threatened? The most threatened terrestrial habitats are mires and bogs, grasslands, freshwaters and coastal habitats, in both the EU28 and EU28+ ■ Critically Endangered ■ Endangered ■ Vulnerable ■ Near Threatened ■ Least Concern ■ Data Deficient Mires (13) Grasslands (53) Freshwaters (26) Coastal (30) 84% threatened/54% 53%/49% 46%/38% 45%/43%

Pressures & threats for terrestrial habitats Many different pressures threaten terrestrial & freshwater habitats and their impacts vary in different habitats (Threat typology from Article 17)

Results: 257 Marine Habitats 19% of marine habitats are threatened (top 3 threat categories) in EU28, 18% in EU28+

Different seas show different levels of threat ■ Critically Endangered ■ Endangered ■ Vulnerable ■ Near Threatened ■ Least Concern ■ Data deficient Mediterranean (47) NE Atlantic (86) Black Sea (63) Baltic (61) 32% threatened/ 23%/23% 13%/10% 8%/8% 30% EU28+

Pressures & threats for marine habitats Main pressures on marine habitats are common across the regional seas but the impacts of threats vary with different depths

Outputs of the Red List Two publications (hard copy & pdfs), flyers, poster Assessment fact sheets for 490 habitats (pdf & database) Red list assessment Full habitat description Images Distribution maps Links to other classifications Occurrence and trends in range countries Threats & pressures Restoration potential All integrated into the online EUNIS data-base Territorial data (Excel)

Applications - example 1 To help visualise the impact of particular threats, the Red List can: indicate which habitats are most urgently threatened by a particular pressure provide distribution maps of the habitats provide background data on extent and condition in each country E.g. Traditionally managed wet meadows threatened by agricultural improvement and hydrological change T

Applications - example 2 To help meet restoration goals under Target 2 in the EU 2020 Biodiversity Strategy, the Red List can: indicate which habitats most urgently need restoration highlight which threats must be alleviated estimate time frame for restoration list indicators of recovery E.g. Traditionally-grown arable crops with rich and colourful annuals assessed as Endangered across Europe as a whole.

Thank you for your interest in the state of European habitats! For further information about the European Red List of Habitats in the two publications on terrestrial and marine habitats, go to: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/knowledge/index_en.htm