Draft Guidance document ‘Management of wilderness and wild areas in Natura 2000’ Contributors: Loek Kuiters Zoltan Kun Neil McIntosh Carleen Poirters Rob van Apeldoorn Vlado Vancura Michiel van Eupen Contact person: Olli Ojala (DG ENV)

Purpose of Guidance Guidance in management of Natura 2000 sites where the objective is to preserve wilderness qualities Present current knowledge on the benefits of such objective Clarify relevance of Birds and Habitats Directives for wilderness areas by looking at qualities of wilderness Clarify key aspects of the management of wilderness areas Provide best practice examples, both on non-intervention management in existing wilderness areas and restoration management in wild areas in Natura 2000

Draft Guidance document Chapters 1.What is wilderness in the context of Natura 2000? 2.EU policy framework on biodiversity preservation 3.Ecosystem resilience, ecosystem services and benefits 4.Management approaches for wilderness in Natura Restoration approaches and management in wild areas 6.Financial needs and funding 7.Communication strategies

What is wilderness? A wilderness is an area governed by natural processes, it is composed of native habitats and species and it is large enough for the ecological functioning of natural processes and the shaping of natural structures. It is untouched, and appears to be primarily affected by the forces of nature. It is undeveloped without settlements, roads or visual disturbance. In Europe ‘wilderness’ is a relative concept. For practical reasons, the wilderness continuum concept is used. Wilderness is not a ‘new aim’ of Natura 2000 or prescribing ‘new rules’, its already current practice in parts of the network and contributes to FCS of certain habitats and species.

Spatial link with Natura 2000 (1) Source: CDDA-database/ N2000-database IUCN management categories Ia/Ib: strictly protected area/ wilderness Estimate: 10-15% of Natura 2000 Check is needed: set up of wilderness register

Mapping: Natura 2000 sites where wilderness quality is likely Wilderness index: combination of attributes, such as population density, road/railway density, naturalness of land cover and ruggedness of the landscape, all scaled between 0 and 100. For each Natura 2000 site, the presence of the highest wilderness class (<20% HFP) was determined as cover percentage. Spatial link with Natura 2000 (2)

Input for draft guidance document Questionnaire among site managers Best practice cases for wilderness management Best practice examples for restoration/rewilding Literature sources

Input from site managers: Questionnaire Technical details of Natura 2000 sites: Status: wilderness / wild area Description habitat types / species; connectivity, buffer zones, zonation Key-ecosystem services and benefits Natural disturbance regimes, conservation objectives, potential conflicts, management of conflicts, statutory/administrative management Re-wilding and restoration measures Stakeholder involvement Monitoring programs Finances: funding options and used instruments

Response Questionnaire Number of responses: 36 Member States: 13 AT, BG, CZ, DE, EE, FI, GR, IT, NL, PL, RO, SE, SK Biogeographical regions: 5 Alpine (12), Atlantic (1), Boreal (6), Continental (13), Mediterranean (4) Categories: Wilderness (12), Wild area (7), Mixed (17) Median size: 31,420 ha Wilderness zone: 12,960 ha Dominant habitat types and species: Habitat types: 84 Annex species: 131 (Bird species: 59; Annex II: 72 species) Nature values which benefit from wilderness qualities: Habitat types: 22 Annex species: 70 (Bird species: 42; Annex II: 28 species)

Ecosystem services Provisioning services Clean water Clean air Regulating services Carbon sequestration Water regulation / flood prevention Water purification Air quality regulation Erosion control Avalanche control Wild fire mitigation Genetic / species diversity maintenance, e.g. (endemic varieties) Social and Cultural services Ecotourism and recreation Cultural values / inspirational services, e.g. education, art & research Landscape & amenity values Direct and indirect employment Regional marketing Supporting services Nutrient cycling and decomposition Water cycling Weathering / erosion Pollination Evolutionary processes / reservoirs for genetic resources Refuges for endangered species

Ecosystem services (2)

Favourable conservation status Wilderness areas are important for the FCS of a large set of natural habitat types (primary habitats) and species they host Examples Sand dunes Rocky habitats Alpine calcareous and siliceous grasslands Boreal heaths Raised bogs Taiga forest Bog woodland, fens, mires Riparian hardwood forests along rivers

Best practices on wilderness management Examples show that wilderness management is a currently applied approach in line with Birds and Habitats directives RegionWildernessMSLIFE ALPKalkalpen NPAustria+ BORSoomaa NPEstonia BORArchipelago Sea NPFinland+ CONBavarian Forest NPGermany MEDSamaria NPGreece+ MEDPeneda-GerêsPortugal+ Preservation of wilderness qualities does not mean inaction! Measures need to be taken to maintain and improve biodiversity status, and actions are needed linked to visitors, local residents, stakeholders There are management challenges as well!

Wilderness management actions Biodiversity related actions: Re-introduction of species to re-establish ecological functions and linkages Removal of non-alien, invasive species Increasing connectivity / reducing fragmentation of habitats Monitoring habitats, species, natural disturbances /research facilities Creating zonation: core zone / buffer zone Other actions: Minimising human intervention through law enforcement / ranger service for strict protection zones Creating opportunities for recreational activities (trails) Communication to local residents and visitors Cooperation with local fire brigades Stakeholder involvement

Good practice on restoration/re-wilding Restoration is the re-establishment of the dominance of natural processes and is applied in Natura 2000 sites where this is feasible and realistic. RegionWild areaMSLIFE ALPHohe Tauern NPAustria+ BOROulanka NPFinland+ BORSällevadsån NPSweden CONKampinos NPPoland+ ATLOostvaardersplassenNetherlands

Restoration –Good practices (1) OULANKA National Park: Natural rivers, alluvial meadows, mires, bogs, fens, western taiga, bog woodland (29,400 ha) Measures : prescribed burning removal of non-alien species: American mink monitoring visitor management: recreational zoning Involvement of local communities Boreal region Natural processes: flooding, storms, wild fires LIFE-Nature: GREENBELT: Natural Forests and Mires in the “Green Belt” of Koillismaa and Kainuu ( ). LIFE04 NAT/FI/000078

Restoration –Good practices (2) HOHE TAUERN National Park: Habitats: calcareous and siliceous alpine grasslands, Picea forests, rocky slopes, alpine heaths (33,500 ha) Measures: re-introduction of key-(extinct) species: bearded vulture, ibex and Danubian trout monitoring dealing with sheep grazing Natural processes: avalanches, erosion, mud streams, rock falls and defreeze of permafrost Alpine region LIFE-Nature: GYPAETE - International programme for the Bearded vulture in the Alps: LIFE03 NAT/F/000100

Concluding remarks Wilderness management is a current practice in a significant part of the Natura 2000 network ‘Wilderness’ is not a ‘new aim’ of Natura 2000 or prescribing ‘new rules’ Wilderness areas contribute to the FCS of many habitats and species in line with the Birds and Habitats Directive Wilderness management does not mean inaction! Document aims to offer guidance on wilderness management and restoration/re-wilding approaches, based on available best practices

Consultation process among Member States and key-stakeholder groups Your comments are welcome before 10 th December 2011 draft guidance document: 0/library?l=/2000_management&vm=detailed&s b=Title THANK YOU!