1. Overview at the European scale of potential impacts of TEN-T axes on core areas of nature protection and landscape connectivity – neighbourhood analysis EEA/BSS2/JLW 1 June 2006 Provisional results

2. The purpose of the study is the identification of possible impacts of TEN-T Extension Axis on: - core areas of nature protection and - fragmentation of ecological background landscape (so-called green landscape). The methodology combines local measurements and neighbourhood analysis for both protected areas and green landscape features, favourable to connectivity (pasture and mosaic agriculture, forests, semi-natural and natural dryland and wetlands). For each pixel of the maps, neighbouring values (in a span of 5 km and divided by the square of the distance to the pixel) are added to the central value; then the result is expressed as a %. By doing so, patches are converted to an index of the probability to meet them in a given place. A consumption of these values by the TEN-Taxes has been computed, with 10 km and 2 km buffers. This warns about the importance of the risk of meeting either protected areas or green landscape (or both). Assessment at the macro-scale by spatial analysis; possible local conflicts with small important protected areas may not all be detected at the scale of the study. These maps are a warning and aim at sketching possible conflict areas. Sources of data are of uneven quality, in particular in Eastern Europe where the full analysis has not been possible. At the same time, the available data relate to axes and not to precise projects. Impact intensity indexes mean the probability that a transport infrastructure hits or come in a close contact of an important piece of nature. The threshold values of these need to be agreed upon; the conventional threshold values on the maps are 25% for the impact on protected nature and 50% for the consumption of green landscape. Other values can be tested. Present results remain indicative.

3. TEN-T extension and nature: overview Priority & Multimodal axes, Green Landscape and Core areas of nature protection

4. TEN-T (10 km buffer) Overview of main sectors of fragmentation of green landscape

5. Statistics

8. TEN-T (2 km buffer) Overview of the fragmentation of the green landscape

9. Northern & Central Axis Fragmentation of green landscape (2 km buffer)

10. South Eastern Axis Fragmentation of green landscape (2 km buffer)

12. South Western Axis Fragmentation of green landscape (2 km buffer)

13. Northern and Central Axis, detail Priority & Multimodal axes, Green Landscape and Core areas of nature protection

14. Northern and Central Axis, detail, Fragmentation of green landscape (2 km buffer)

15. Northern and Central Axis, detail – Via Baltica, Priority & Multimodal axes, Green Landscape and Core areas of nature protection

16. Northern and Central Axis, detail – Via Baltica, Fragmentation of green landscape (2 km buffer)

17. Northern and Central Axis, detail – Via Baltica, Direct impact on core areas of nature protection: Natura2000 only (where it exists…) (2 km buffer)

18. South Eastern and Central Axis – detail Priority & Multimodal axes, Green Landscape and Core areas of nature protection

19. South Eastern and Central Axis – detail Direct impact on core areas of nature protection: Natura2000 & international designations (CDDA – where available) (2 km buffer)

20. South Eastern and Central Axis – detail Fragmentation of green landscape (2 km buffer)