Page 26 - Environmental_Ecology

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Chapter 5 JOIN THE MOVE

It is a network of protected areas covering Europe’s most valuable and threatened species and habitats. It
is the largest coordinated network of protected areas in the world, extending across all 28 EU countries,
both on land and at sea. The sites within Natura 2000 are designated under the Birds and the Habitats
Directives. Natura 2000 sites are therefore considered as the contribution from EU Member States to the
Pan-European Emerald Network of the Bern Convention. The two networks are fully compatible and use
the same methodology and information tools. Whereas Natura 2000 applies to the EU Member States,
Emerald applies to the rest of Europe. The European database of Natura 2000 sites consists of
1
a compilation of the data submitted by the Member States of the European Union. This European
database is generally updated once a year to take into account any updating of national databases by
Member States. However, the release of a new EU-wide database does not necessarily mean that
a particular national dataset has recently been updated.

The descriptive data in the European database are based on the information that national authorities have
submitted, for each of the Natura 2000 sites, through a site-specific standard data form (SDF). In addition
to other site-specific information, the standard data form provides the list of all species and habitat types
for which a site is officially designated. The spatial data (outlining the boundaries of sites) submitted by
each Member State are validated by the European Environment Agency (EEA).

Clean energy The EU Strategy on Green Infrastructure

Quality of life: Best practices from CHAFEA portal

1 https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/natura-11
https://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/db_gis/index_en.htm#sites