EU biodiversity strategy to 2020 - Target 1 Habitats Committee, 26.9.2011

Brussels, 3.5.2011 COM(2011) 244 final COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Our life insurance, our natural capital: an EU biodiversity strategy to 2020

In a few words... 2050 vision Biodiversity & ecosystem services protected, valued and appropriately restored 2020 headline target Halting the loss of biodiversity and the degradation of ecosystem services in the EU by 2020

The six targets FULLY IMPLEMENT THE BIRDS AND HABITATS DIRECTIVES MAINTAIN AND RESTORE ECOSYSTEMS AND THEIR SERVICES INCREASE THE CONTRIBUTION OF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY TO MAINTAINING AND ENHANCING BIODIVERSITY ENSURE THE SUSTAINABLE USE OF FISHERIES RESOURCES COMBAT INVASIVE ALIEN SPECIES HELP AVERT GLOBAL BIODIVERSITY LOSS

TARGET 1: FULLY IMPLEMENT THE BIRDS AND HABITATS DIRECTIVES To halt the deterioration in the status of all species and habitats covered by EU nature legislation and achieve a significant and measurable improvement in their status so that, by 2020, compared to current assessments: 100% more habitat assessments and 50% more species assessments under the Habitats Directive show a favourable or improved conservation status; and 50% more species assessments under the Birds Directive show a secure or improved status.

So what does target 1 really mean? For habitats: 34% of conservation status assessments (EU-biogeographical level) are favourable or show evidence of improvement by 2020 (now 17% favourable) For species: 26% of conservation status assessments (EU-biogeographical level) are favourable or show evidence of improvement by 2020 (now 17% favourable) Based on feasibility calculations For Birds: 80% of bird species assessments are either secure or improving by 2020 (now 52% secure)

The Habitats Directive target based on the first conservation status assessment (Art.17 reporting) on biogeographic level conducted between 2007 (national reports) & 2009 (EU composite report). it revealed that only 17% of the biogeographic assessments for both habitats and species showed favourable conservation status. Next assessments (6-year cycle): 2013-15 2019-21

The Birds Directive target is based on the analysis of conservation status prepared by Birdlife International in 2004. Their analysis of each species refers to the extinction risk and the determination of species of European conservation concern (SPECs). The 2004 assessment concluded that 52% of species are secure Next assessment: 2014

Theoretical example for species 4% improved from red to amber 7% improved from amber to green 28% favourable or improving – target reached SPECIES Favourable status Inadequate status Bad status Unknown* 2007 17% 30% 22% 31% 2020 24% 27% 18% (31%)

Feasibility calculation Calculations carried our by EEA and ETC/BD Assumption: some parameters will potentially will improve quicker than others if adequate conservation management are taken: Species: habitat area, population and future prospects Habitats: future prospects, structure & functions Range unlikely to change significantly over 10 years. Cases where the overall assessment could be improved by only changing one or two parameter to the better were considered more likely than those which would need several parameters to change. The analysis used 2240 assessments for species and 701 assessments for habitats at biogeographical level.

Follow up of target and further work, e. g Follow up of target and further work, e.g. breakdown of target into biogeographical regions potentially follwed up by the Expert Group on Reporting We can do it!